This Green And Pleasant Land.
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
United Kingdom
March 30, 2016 8:31am CST
Having arrived back in England from Spain yesterday, I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. It's Springtime!! Everything is so green and there are blooms and blossoms everywhere.
We do like to get away to sunnier climes in the winter, but English weather is actually not as bad as it's reputed to be.
People seem to have the perception that it rains all the time here, but in reality London has less rainfall than New York, Rome or Sydney. I think it seems to be greater because it's spread out over more days. It rains on an average of 140 days a year here, and rain in August is only a little less than we receive in January.
Our climate is equable, with average temperatures of 45F in January and 66F in July, so you see that we don't get extremes. We don't normally have to worry about drought, hurricanes or tornadoes.
So if you fancy visiting England don't let the thought of bad weather put you off. It really is a green and pleasant land.
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Photo - me working last summer in my garden which was full of vibrant colours because of our climate.
63 people like this
72 responses
. And anyway there are more days when it doesn't rain than when it does (except if you live in Manchester!)
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
30 Mar 16
Your garden is absolutely beautiful! It puts mine to shame. Hoping that my garden does better this year. I plan on putting in a lot of annuals this year. Started my zinnias yesterday.
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
31 Mar 16
@jaboUK we have quite a wait before we can plant anything without fear of frost.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Mar 16
@ElusiveButterfly The photo was taken in the summer - the garden is bare at the moment. My flowers are all annuals too, but I won't be planting anything for a few weeks yet.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 Mar 16
@ElusiveButterfly Yes - it's no good planting then losing everything to the frost.
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@allknowing (136446)
• India
31 Mar 16
Here I am, back just to look at your photo. You have been away for so long and your garden still looks so pretty and well maintained. Look at those flowers, vying with each other.
Just an observation though. My orthopedic doctor says never to bend like the way you have but to sit on a stool and do gardening. Are you OK with it?
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 Mar 16
@allknowing Sorry to mislead you Grace, but the photo was taken in the summer. I haven't even started planting yet. It will look like that again, but not just yet
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Yes I'm ok working like that though I do use a stool sometimes. My back is ok, but the hips aren't so good.
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Yes I'm ok working like that though I do use a stool sometimes. My back is ok, but the hips aren't so good.1 person likes this
@allknowing (136446)
• India
31 Mar 16
@jaboUK Just waiting to see your garden when it;s all done up again.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 Mar 16
@allknowing It will take a couple of months, maybe more.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16764)
• China
31 Mar 16
England seems to have a benign climate .Before now it came across as a foggy place to me .Maybe it is due to the novel ,Over here the name of this book was thrown into Chinese meaning.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16764)
• China
1 Apr 16
@jaboUK Sorry ,my response above was not the same as I wrote then .It should be :England seems to have a benign climate .Before now it came across as a foggy place to me .Maybe it is due to the novel ,Over here the name of this book was thrown into Chinese meaning.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
1 Apr 16
@changjiangzhibin89 Thank you for clarifying that - I knew you were referring to a book, but wasn't sure which one.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 Mar 16
@changjiangzhibin89 We do get fog, but not to any great extent.
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@rebelann (112879)
• El Paso, Texas
1 Apr 16
Wow, I had no idea the UK was so mild. I do know how green it is there, all the shows I've seen on BBC has the most beautiful green landscapes in them. I did think it rained a lot more there.
I love the photo of your garden, it's absolutely beautiful.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
30 Mar 16
Some of my ancestors came from there. You have lots of cloudy days. Here there are many sunny days. We do have drought, but it's a desert after all. I do really like your green (and your garden), but prefer sunshine.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace We do get sunshine - just not as much as you!
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@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
31 Mar 16
@jaboUK Of course you do, otherwise you would not have such lovely flowers. But I think you get as much as Seattle, where people suffer from SAD.
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
30 Mar 16
Oh Wow! Your garden is a florist's paradise. All those beautiful and colorful flowers are spread and distributed among each other beautifully. Did you deliberately planted them that way or they just took place on their own?
And cold weather or not, I wish to visit The British museum someday. That is on my one of the must visit places list.
And welcome back home!!
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Mar 16
@Daljinder Lol - no, the flowers don't just grow on their own! I plant them that way.
I hope you get to come here one day, there's lots more to see beside the British Museum.
Thanks for the welcome back.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Mar 16
@Daljinder I do spend a lot of time in the garden in the summer.
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@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
30 Mar 16
@jaboUK It would have taken time. I mean the lower level flowers are so evenly mixed up like a bouquet.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55607)
• Los Angeles, California
30 Mar 16
Wow, I love all those colors in your garden - spring has certainly sprung into action there! I wouldn't mind the rain - since we don't get much here anymore! With the drought, many have turned to drought tolerant plants and gravel gardens out here - not as much coloring as there used to be.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55607)
• Los Angeles, California
31 Mar 16
@jaboUK There used to be so much rain here when I was a kid - it's so different now. I guess we've learned to live with the changes as we are still here . . . but still some more rain would be nice.
I guess it would be best to go visit your place when it's summer 
!
!1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
Where we live in Canada, we are affects by the lakes. It keeps the temperatures more moderate in the winter, although we get more snow. The change of seasons keeps things interesting.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 Mar 16
@Morleyhunt I'd love to visit your country one day, especially the lakes.
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@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
@jaboUK my door is open. I'm sure I can even rustle up some accomodation.
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@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
2 Apr 16
oh My goodness, you have so beautiful flowers to show (off) my friend. I am so happy you post this colorful picture of your lawn. I would also prefer to see you upright and your face smiling with glee. Beautiful garden of flowers.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
2 Apr 16
@ridingbet Thank you Ingrid - I'm happy that you like my flowers. My daughter took this - I didn't know she was doing it.
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@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
2 Apr 16
and you can still bend that low with straight legs, my friend @jaboUK? I cannot do that if I exercise; I mean, I cannot bend over, I always flex my legs.
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