My snowdrops struggle up through the snow near the end of March on a good year and the bulbs that have been planted for a few years multiply into a small clump and grow a bit taller. Last week’s visit to the North of England showed me real Snowdrops. They were everywhere in nice sized patches and then we happened upon this wooded area where the ground was literally carpeted with thousands of them. This being a small English road it took us a while to find a place to pull over so that I could jump out and get this picture. There were also a multitude of Crocus blooming everywhere; a real treat for this gardener’s winter weary soul. These plants stay in bloom much longer than they do here but that’s the upside of the cool damp weather that we “enjoyed” while we were there. Didn’t stop a hardy group of surfers braving the cold waters of the North Sea. We continued to observe them from the lounge of the Grand Hotel while sipping a warming libation. Oh! Yes, the granddaughter was delightful and provided all of the sunshine that we needed.




After a few years of disappointing onions in my garden, I’ve decided to try and rectify the problem. Of course the first step would be to identify the problem and that is not always easy. Beginning at the beginning seems like a good idea and that’s what I have done. I have always seeded my onions in one common flat where they grow quite closely together. Transplanting to the garden was a process of carefully separating the seedlings and planting them. They always seem to recover quickly and start to grow but maybe I am creating too much shock at transplant time. This year I have taken the time to plant the seeds individually in a plug tray where they will be able to grow with little competition and then be transplanted with all of their roots and much less shock. We’ll see if that makes enough difference to compensate for the much greater space that the Onion seedlings are going to occupy in the cold frame.