Slight but steady precip of individual snow grains, since 09.30 or
thereabouts. Overcast, with an erratic westerly air movement (too
on-off to call it a breeze), to replace the flat calm we had until
09.00. Temp still -1.9C after an overnight low of -4.7C. Ground
obviously is still rock hard. It will be interesting to see what
"tender" plants get through this cold spell, when spring arrives. I
suspect parts of my garden have been subjected to lower than -12C,
probably for the first time in nearly a decade.

It's too early to tell for sure but some of my allegedly tender
bamboos and "half-hardy" shrubs look OK, so I'm quite hopeful. Over
the past 20 years, many plants that were previously thought not to be
particularly frost-hardy (and because of that weren't planted) have
been found to be OK in most cold spells.

I'd echo the sentiments a few days ago about this cold snap being
beneficial in reducing pests. With the ground here being frozen hard
for so long, I've noticed the birds have been very busy ferreting
around for food on leaves and branches, pausing to peck away more
objectively as they appear to find it. Presumably much of it is
overwintering insects and eggs, as all the berrys in my garden were
taken weeks ago.

- Tom, Blackmore, SW Essex.