BLACKPOOL
THE CONDITIONS AND THE LOCATION

So where is Blackpool (OK I know all you Brits know, but some of my visitors are not from these shores OK), well Blackpool is situated on the west coast of the UK as can be seen from the map. I will try on this page to give you an indication as to what it is like to live and garden in what I think is the best home town in the world
(all right you my not think so but I'm directing the script OK).



THE CONDITIONS (ZONE 8)!!!!!

Well the conditions, living in Blackpool is like living in a, well lets just say its different. Our weather is not like any other, mind the weather people would say different, but then they never get it right anyway. We are situated on the coast and between two river estuaries, with a range of hills to the rear and the wicked Irish sea to the front, what a brew!!
Our weather can range from force 6+ gales to the hot sunshine of a 25-28% summer. It can be raining 20 miles inland and be brilliant sunshine here on the coast. So I will now try an give you my picture.



Spring Spring is a lovely time in Blackpool it is cool and because of its position on the coast can be very windy especially if the winds are blowing from the north, infact they can be quite bitter and along with the frost, which unlike 5 miles inland were it can be -5 and more, can still be a hidden danger to any plants that are not fully hardy. It would be a fool of a plants-person that took the risk of putting out the bedding plants before the end of June (but they do), but saying that a good gardener can by a look at the weather maps take a risk (wow I do not believe I have just said that).


Summer What a time of the year the garden is starting to bloom and the winds are getting warmer, because remember we are on the coast and the winds are still a problem right into June especially if the temps are low, they will burn any early hanging baskets right out, and as my Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) tells me when it starts to turn bright crimson by mid June, mind it does pick up as the winds warm. Into July and things are starting to pick up, this year we have had some mean rain fall especially in late June and into early July, mind July is not normally a bad month and along with August can be very warm with an average temp of about 22% although in the back garden it can be up to 30% as it is so sheltered. Going on into Sep and Oct it can still be very nice.



Autumn Time to start the tidy up and watch for the first frost that could be due about November, most bedding is past its best and its really a case of getting ready for winter, temps in November and into December are starting to drop really fast and although not often SNOW could fall. I have known snow as early as November the fifth (that's when us English burn a stuft dummy of a guy who nearly did us all a favour)(sorry Mr PM). Temps are about 5-6% possible lower, but we do hold up on the coast.



Winter Well it can vary from the mild, with temps around 0% to just below, to the savage temps to a not to distance year of -10%, but they are not the norm, around -5% is common during the later parts of winter in Jan, February, and some of our worst snow falls are possibly going to happen during these two months. During a Feb not too long ago it snowed for nearly two days, must of been a record for Blackpool, it was 3-4 foot deep, plants your on your own!! Saying all that we do not do to bad.

Well I hope that gives you a picture of the conditions and location of good old Blacpool:

My soil conditions are a low pH plenty of shredded Horse manure and Mushroom Compost, with a mixture of peat and top soil, just brilliant. I feed the soil in the spring with growmore granules and feed the growing plants every week through spring with a balanced feed and then with a high potash feed during the flowering period. I think it works.
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Tuesday, April 21, 1998