January 5th and it is the Lisavenko Siberian variety Klaudia again being the first to break bud. This has become the norm at Devereux farm although last year it was ten days later. It does not seem to affect the plant. We have had a few frosts in the past ten days, but only down to -3 deg C, with daytime temperatures up to 14 deg. It will have to be seen whether these new leaves will be damaged by frost as the month progresses.
Although temperatures have been mild rain has not. This weekend saw another 37mm, so the ground is very soft, but every cloud has a silver lining – it makes weeding easy.
Happy New Year