My garden is a war zone.

We had similar temperatures. I’ve got a fair bit of replanting to do too. It’s amazing that the spring bulbs come through each year no matter what weather they’ve had to endure.

Mine is the same, it’s very cold and wet here in the winter, I’m in the mountains in Wales. I’m leaving my shrubs in a bit longer yet before I give up on them, as I think there’s still hope for some yet. All my scabious has definitely gone, which I’m sad about.

I’ve been out all morning, just in for a break before I finish feeding some plants and pack up until the next dry day.

Oh meant to say that I’m not sure about what has survived. I’ll wait until mid-may before I give up on stuff.

We've just spent most of a lovely sunny (but a bit cold) morning trying to clear up our front garden a bit. It all looked a bit sparse until we cleared up lots of leaves from between the plants. Our lovely peony is starting to grow, lovely red stems and new leaves. There are lots of purple, pink and white anemones dotted around and some tiny blue star flowers that I forget the name of have sprung up under the oak tree.

On the downside there are a million acorns trying to root in the middle of the plants - we have a huge oak tree but I've never seen so many rooting before. I might have to dig up some of the plants to get rid of the budding oak trees 😥

I spent time the other day emptying pots of dead plants. The prolonged cold spell caused lots of damage. I have lost cordylines, hardy fuschias, jasmine, to name but a few,as well as my huge agapanthus which I have loved and nurtured for years, packing with straw and fleecing to no avail.
My garden centre shopping list is growing by the day!

Busy day yesterday lovely weather we too 6 large shrubs out that were totally dead, probably about 12 yrs old so quite large, another 3 might recover so pruned those. When OH decides on a plan things happen quickly.
Then went to the garden centre for replacements making sure they are fully frost hardy, plant those today, sandy soil here so we wanted to plant while it’s still damp and cool.

A small flowered Rhody is coming into flower. SO-- we are due some frost. Guaranteed. I should dig it up and throw it out.

I’ve just spent the morning dividing pot bound grasses and Siberian irises.
I thought my fuchsia’s in the greenhouse had died, but on closer inspection tiny green shoots are sprouting. I’m not giving up on anything dead looking, just yet.

We get the same in reverse when it is stinking hot. I have lost some lovely ferns and a shrub we call a cigarette plant ( flowers look like glowing cigarette ends) because we were away and didn’t water in 40 C heat.

With the drought last summer and the hard frost during the winter as well as being to find a proper gardener my garden is a sorry sight. Before I had to give up Gardening it was my hobby so I feel very frustrated.
Am desperately trying to find a gardener because I am hoping to get straight for my 100 birthday party in May.

Wow Bijou you certainly deserve a beautiful flowering garden for your birthday. Congratulations.
Do you think a local gardening club might be able to suggest someone.

Yes. here in Northumberland I've had 6 "hardy" Hebes growing in 60cm pots on the patio for the past couple of years. All moved up to the kitchen wall to give them a bit of protection for the Winter, but that prolonged, horrendous cold snap we had with sub zero temperatures for around 10 days has seen them off, I fear. I'm leaving them for a while just in case they recover, but I think I'm going to be disappointed.

I have lost Fuchsias and Hebes. I think it is quite sad but I will get a lot of pleasure out of nurturing new shrubs.

I have lost a mature rosemary bush that had been growing happily in a large pot for years. I had taken cuttings but sadly none of rosemary's babies have survived the cruel winter. We are no strangers to cold weather here but there was something about this winter that was particularly brutal to plants.
I hope you find your gardener, Bijou.

Apart from the loss of many plants, including those with greenhouse protection, it is the literally, millions of sycamore seedlings that are causing me the biggest problem. There is hardly any ground not covered by them, including gravel. I can only think it was the heat and drought which have put the trees under stress and they have produced all this seed. It is back braking having to hoe and pull them all out, especially when there are other jobs to be done.

I’ve had some losses this winter. My salvia “hot lips” has carked it, ditto geum Mrs Bradshaw and phygellius “Devils Tears”. Some losses on the rockery wall too. My plan is to clear out the main flower bed this year, save a couple of favourites and replant it afresh. Trouble is I’m going to have to get someone in to clear it and dig it over and that’s proving to be a problem.

The gardener is now going to come on 21st April. Probably he realised that he would lose a valuable contract .
Good news have found a gardener! I had enough worries with pain without trying to find a gardener.
There are so many men now who just want to cut the grass and don’t know a weed or proper plant and call themselves gardeners.
Some of my plants have memories for me having been grown from cuttings from my father or from my journeys.

It killed off my Echium, third one I've tried to grow, it was doing quite well boohoo

AreWeThereYet can I suggest you put your little Oak trees on Freecycle. I love to think that they aren't wasted. I gave away an Ash tree that had appeared in a pot in my garden and the person who took it assured me it would be planted in his field in Norfolk. I often think of that little tree that, when I'm gone, will hopefully be a lovely mature tree.

My plants are fine as it is mild here but moss and weeds have covered the paths and beds. Unfortunately my gardener does not do weeding so I don't know how to fix this.

SkyDancer It's a nice thought but few people want Oak trees. My DF once grew half a dozen trees until they were about 3 years old and offered them to a gardening club, the Council, and various other people but no one was interested. They ended up in the compost. Many who are involved in reforestation want only trees that are certified disease free and particular types/species, and English Oak trees grow too big for most gardens and allotments. Our Village Society has planted 25 trees around the village over recent years and not one is an Oak - although there are already a number of oak trees around anyway, especially on the nearby heath.

Apart from the loss of many plants, including those with greenhouse protection, it is the literally, millions of sycamore seedlings that are causing me the biggest problem.

I have a sycamore seedling problem every year because we have several very large ones around the property and they grow like weeds, I'm continually having to pull up the ones that get away. They are very worrying because we have horses and the seedlings at the two leaf stage are poisonous to horses.

But I've discovered that if you cut them short at that stage they don't regenerate. So rather than weed them out of grass or gravel it would be worth going over them with a strimmer (or mower on grass) to cut their heads off...

I'm actually quite astounded at what has survived the winter as we live in a frost pocket and sometimes the biting cold meant that it never lifted all day. But perhaps our northern plants are tougher than the effete southern ones

We are over the moon that most of our hostas in pots have survived, despite some of the terracotta pots breaking up in the frost and ice. We've collected them over the years, split them many times and most of our families, friends and neighbours have received our 'extras'. We forgot in the Autumn to remove the dishes that fill with water from beneath the pots, and thought the ice would have finished them off so it's nice to see the new leaves starting to poke through the soil.