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Snow has arrived early in my part of the East Midlands, and in many other areas too. The BBC radio weather forecast this morning summed it up nicely: plunging temperatures, record-breaking conditions, no sign of it letting-up all week.And what

for the weather to work on over winter. I'm sure it helps to let the frost penetrate your soil where you can.I have been worrying about the birds. My bird bath was covered by a 15cm deep layer of snow when I woke up on Thursday morning, so it was important to get

're beautiful and unique, and as I admire them I always want to call up friends and invite them round to share one of nature's winter treats.Thankfully most of our garden plants are hardy enough to withstand frost and snow, but I live in hope that temperatures

I'm beginning to wonder whether growing old heirloom or heritage varieties of vegetables is really worthwhile. My tomato 'Snow White Cherry', sold as a heritage variety by many companies, was a real disappointment this year, and I wish I'd grown

and stand it on the patio instead.I remember the Big Freeze of 1963 very well - enjoying deep snow as a young boy - and do recall finding dead pigeons in our garden that must have frozen to death! Quite how any birds survive outside during such cold weather

't get worse before they get better! Last year in February we had snow in the Midlands where I live! Friends in London have been boasting camellias in full flower for weeks, and I'm sure they look wonderful in warmer parts of Cornwall and the southern

the years this doesn't appear to have done it any damage. This seems strange as my RHS A-Z of Garden Plants tells me that this palm needs greenhouse protection and a minimum temperature of 10-16°C (50-60°F).It has certainly been colder than that in the past

Should I feel guilty about heating my greenhouse? While I'm turning the heat down in my home to save energy, keep bills down, and reduce CO2 emissions, here I am considering heating my greenhouse to both protect plants through winter and provide

wasted.Later in October I'll be able to start picking other varieties (I've about 10 in all), including Cox, that have also cropped really well this year. These later ripening varieties do store much better, so I set them out in wooden, stacking trays

, and is offered in a range of colours. New for 2010 is the pure white 'Double Click Snow Puff', which has been approved as a new novelty variety by Fleuroselect (a European variety trial organisation looking for the best new bedding plants). Many cosmos come