A question I get asked at work every day, much to our frustration is "what we think the weather will be the next few weeks". My darling sister who has worked for the enviromental department says if there is one thing she has realised it is that forecasting weather in the North (or South) is alot harder than closer to the Equator. In other words the variations can be much larger.
Well since we are a garden center and not the metrological institute. We kinda just answer what ever we like in a joking manner. Truth be told yes, colder spells will come. Yes, it has snowed in June. No, snow does not damage plants and yes, it may still drop below zero and no we don´t think every plant will die because of that. And my favourite answer to the last issue is,....if they do so, you can just come back and buy more!
But we still have the most faithful of all flowers in a little pot! The Viola, such a delicate looking flower and yet it handles minus degrees that makes me think of it as a little miracle plant. Earlier in April I came to work and all the Violas had frozen. The soil had frozen solid and all the bowls were stuck to the trays of the containers. The flowers lay flat over the edge. When checking the thermometer I saw it had been -8 degrees and was still -2. The sun was shining so the trolleys were rolled out. Within 2 hours the soil had thawed and the flowers had popped up like it had been summer for weeks! This seasons last pansies are selling out. So grab some, they actually last all summer with some care.
