Doesn’t anyone else have a slight feeling of dread?

[DiddlyWiddly]

I’m in the south east, the weather recently has been odd, in my opinion anyway.

We had a few days of alternating snow and sunshine, literally sunshine pouring down followed by snow then back to sunshine.

Now we are nearing the end of April and maybe it’s just me, but it seems unusually hot and dry?
My garden was very thoroughly drenched with the hose just a few days ago and although the more shaded parts are absolutely fine, the soil in the more exposed, sunny portion is already baked dust dry.
Desert dry.
Some of the plants are wilting and in need of water again and we are only in April.
We haven’t even reached proper summer yet.

I’m feeling a little nervous for the future, if it’s like that here in April, what is it going to be like in the peak of summer?
What is it like in traditionally hotter countries?
How will the farmers cope?
How will we find sufficient water?
Ornamental flowers are one thing but fruit and vegetables need water to grow, quite a lot of water for certain edibles.

And another thing I noticed yesterday, admittedly a lot of my ‘fail safes’ like Buddleja and open roses and snapdragons are not flowering yet but I haven’t seen many bees around, even on sunny days and when I have, I have witnessed them landing then leaving plants I have bought that allegedly they like!
The bees I have seen have only really been on my dandelions, my bird cherry and I saw one bee on a hyacinth.
I have seen barely any butterflies, just one peacock butterfly.
Hardly any insects anywhere.

Not just in my garden but in the surrounding area.

Is anyone else feeling a bit antsy?

Northern here. Very dry at the moment, I do know what you mean, even though April is always a bit unpredictable. I am trying to move to a permaculture based system, am going to get a good thick mulch down after the next rains.

Yes, I've noticed this too. Bees don't stay long. I've seen a few insects today though, I've had the sprinkler on creating an arc of water spray, which they seem to like. A few robbins come along when I put it on too, and a couple of magpies and that's it. I've seen only one squirrel, usually see quite a few. Even the local fox population is down.

The sprinkler has been on to feed the new bit of turf, I wouldn't usually

It is supposed to rain next week across the country, but I agree very dry conditions at the moment. I’ve seen a fair bit of insect and bird life in my garden and pond, so not that worried.
I do have some large shallow trays of water for the birds to drink and bathe in.

Rural south west Wales here (originally from south Hampshire) and it's unseasonably dry which I shouldn't complain about as it's usually very wet....but lots of stuff in the garden is looking a bit sad/in need of a drink. Will be getting the hose on everything later - we have our own borehole so virtually limitless supply of water - which is very unusual for the time of year.

Otoh, I've seen plenty of insects including tons of butterflies and bees. We have lots of bird feeders about and these are swarming with tits, robins, wrens, nuthatch, thrush, sparrows etc. We also have plenty of water out for them. DH spotted a fox in our lane the other evening which is a first - sometimes we hear them but have never seen one in just over three years here....

Plenty of insects in my bit of Surrey, including bumbles and butterflies.

But yes, it's very dry. Bees won't waste time on flowers that aren't producing nectar or pollen, but my honey bees are bring in lots, so it's out there.

I'm in the NE. It's sunny, cold and very dry. My lawn has cracks in.

I'm desperate for rain for the plants and mini fruit trees. My honeysuckle is galloping away and the trees are in blossom. I've seen some insects - bumble bees, Queen wasps, masonry bees, bee flies, spiders and little beetles. We have blue tits, magpies, goldfinches and I can hear a skylark in the nearby fields.

I'm only able to water the garden and grass with a watering can because we're on a water meter and I'm not allowed to use the hose.

Yes, it's really odd weather this year I think. Usually it's all lush and green now with everything growing really fast. I repotted some plants a couple of weeks ago and have forgotten to water them some days. This time of year it would usually be ok as the rain would keep them moist, but there just hasn't been the rain this year. Everything is a bit parched.

We raked and scarified the lawn and there hasn't been any rain since and it looks crap.

Plus, we've had frost some mornings and there's a lot of buds on things like my lilac that have just gone brown and shrivelled looking.

I am nervous for summer. Where are the April showers?!

There is some rain coming next week. We have had dryish Aprils for a couple of years now.

The late frost is a killer though, I just want to get going putting some bedding plants out etc and I'm sick of having to bring seedlings in from my greenhouse at night this week.

NW: very dry, lots of my plants looking sad or less lush/large as previous years. Many plug plants I’d bought a month ago are no larger. Not many bees, though before the recent-ish snowfall I had many butterflies visiting.

I'm in London. I have been gardening for years and this is one of most unusual Aprils I can remember (apart from last April which was odd in a different way).

Where are you though? It's not hot here at all, in fact one of the main problems is how consistently cold it's been every night which means I can't put out a lot of the seedlings and it is slowing the growth of lots of things like perennials and even the lawn. Things should be shooting up at the moment and they're just not. The biggest problem is the lack of rain though, it's so dry and I am having to water heavily every evening as if it's August.

In April there should be regular showers and mild evenings, neither of which we've had. I know strictly speaking frost is always possible until May but in the SE it hasn't been that way in decades and the growing season has shot off from the end of March. But not here.

The only positive thing is that the forsythia, and then fruit blossom has been glorious for a longer time as there's been no wind or rain to bedraggle it.

I'm trying to grow a lawn from seed. Even if I water it, a few hours later it's like a dustbowl. I think the cold nights are really slowing the growth too.

I think it was like this last year though? And then it was over by July, we had lots of rain by then. (I'm in the North of England)

Yes. In Hampshire and my lawn is cracked. It was dry last April too. I'm spot watering and hoping the slugs don't appear.

I've stopped growing in pots as they get too dry and die when we go away (in normal times).

I'm fed up of the overnight frosts (south east).
Keep putting seedlings out to harden off and bringing them in but I'm impatient to get them planted out
But I forgot to bring in the cosmos the other day and they froze solid

Everything is slow. Its dry and cold at night.
I don't feel dread though, but perhaps I should. We need a good harvest in these times.

Welsh Marches here, very very dry, we have a smallholding, sell veg, fruit, plants and cut flowers, and are watering beds at least a month earlier than usual.

Polytunnel shade netting up at least a month early.
Worried about the veg crops due to cold and dryness, the top and soft fruit due to frosts and yes the flower beds (all perennial, apart from hay meadow annuals) are looking very sad.
I'm worried (yet again) about our business, tbh.

Climate change in action.

North Derbyshire here. Everything is behind this year due to the overall cold weather so far. We're also quite high up so it tends to be a couple of degrees colder here than other places nearby.

I've overhauled a big, sloping bed and a few of the things I've planted have been damaged by the overnight frosts. I've been watering every other day as it's been dry for a couple of weeks and we've had a few warm, sunny days. I'm working on the basis that not everything I've put in will thrive - we have clay soil - but I'm giving things a go. A lot of what I've planted is evergreen as it was pretty miserable looking in winter before.

Last year I went too late with everything, this year I’ve gone too early, so fed up of the night frosts. I tried to get a paraffin heater for my polytunnel and couldn’t get one for love or money. I had a facebook moment pop up from last year and I think my blossom from the apple and pear trees is a week or so behind last year so doesn’t seem that bad. What I feel is a worry is that many of the trees haven’t leafed yet, including my oaks (not sure if that’s unusual for this time of year, but this year I’ve noticed), just feel for the birds that are nesting and have very little cover.

I'm in Hampshire and we've had plenty of bumblebees and peacock butterflies. Emerging queen wasps too. But the frosts have prevented the soil from warming up yet so plenty of bugs are still bedded down. No cuckoos here yet either.

@Whatthechicken have you done the tea light and inverted terracotta plant pot thing?

Forgot to say, lots of birds, bees and insects and I saw a pair of butterflies a couple of days ago.

Hi @picklemewalnuts I have been told to do that, but the frosts here (yorkshire) have been occurring between 4-6 in the morning - would the heat from the tea lights last until then, I’m presuming the tea lights would go out before then? (I can’t get down to there after dark as I’d break my ankles falling down rabbit holes).

Just use a bigger candle then.

Tea lights usually have on them the number of hours they burn. If you want the heat late in the process, use several pots. You light the candle, put the first pot over it on feet, then a bigger one. The heat gets stored in the terracotta and slowly released. Bit like an electric storage heater.

Are you able to experiment? There are various instructions online, some of them showing the pots bolted together so the metal transfers the heat more quickly.

I've seen a few bees and butterflies, and loads of insects generally here in Surrey. It's a lot colder than it was last year so some things are later. But the apple trees are coming into bloom and the birds are everywhere, as are the foxes. Also, apparently hedgehogs are back! Not seen one yet but living in hope.