It has certainly been cold for the time of the year last week. A lot of sun, but also strong winds and low temperatures and a good night frost. The plants now hide a little and wait for warmer weather. In 1955 the well-known ‘Flipje, Fruitbaasje van Tiel’ was also worried. This little fruit man with the name ‘Flipje’ on his hat was the recognisable logo for the Tiel jam factory. There are 46 original books of the adventures of Flipje made.

The correspondents describe the situation in their own way:

Dekema State: The Stinzenplants suffer from the icy cold, and let their heads hang. A few flowers open up at times when the sun is shining on them.

Hackfort reports: Everything is in rest in anticipation of better times when they can flourish abundantly.

Martenatuin also hopes for better times: A bit of winter is fun, but this cold does not make our stinzen plants look good. Hope it’s better next week.

Martenastate describes the situation in this way: Where last week the white fields of the Snowdrops were to be seen, they are hardly visible this week because of the frost. The flowers lie flat on the earth. The Crocuses have not developed further during the past week.

Philippusfenne warns: As we expect, the at other estates will be similar: plants are flat on the ground and it is miserable sight. Aconites, Snowdrops, Snowflakes and Crocuses make themselves as small as possible and lie down on the ground, the color has disappeared from the garden, I advise nobody to come and see us this weekend.

Pastorietuin Easterein articulates it this way: The Dutch crocus, Crocus vernus, does not yet display its vivid colours. Only the deep blue specimens and a single white one can be seen at -8 degrees centigrade. The Snowflake, Leucojum vernum, hardly rises above the ground, after a week of heavy frost.

The frost, however, also has a positive side, especially for those terrains that are located on clay soil. If this type of soil freezes thoroughly it is beneficial for the structure of the soil, and a good soil structure is very important for the flourishing of the Stinzenflora. When the water present in dense clay clumps freezes, it expands causing the soil particles to be pushed apart, so the soil will get a better more loose structure.

In addition to frost, a healthy and active soil life is of great importance to create and maintain a good soil structure. We should feed the soil life by ensuring that there is sufficient dead organic degradable material available. Fallen leaves can take care of that. But if this is removed or if it blows away, then it is good to occasionally bring compost or Bokashi on the ground. When making Bokashi, the dead organic material is fermented instead of composted. In composting, sufficient oxygen is important during the process; with fermentation it is the intention to prevent oxygen to enter the pile. The advantage of Bokashi over compost is that more organic degradable material remains, leading to more food for the soil organisms. At Martenastate, a trial will be done this year with soil improvement, using Bokashi.  Later on bulbs of Stinzenplants will be planted in these spots. We will keep you informed of this type of development on this website. If we receive information about other areas, we will also publish it on this website.

Another advantage of the cold period is that it is favourable for plants that produce seed that can only germinate when there has been a cold period. As far as the Winter Aconites are concerned, the risk of the cold period is that virtually no pollination has taken place before the plants have finished flowering. That would mean that they will not or hardly spread this year through seed. Fortunately they can also propagate through their rhizomes, but this is a fairly local process. As mentioned earlier Snowdrops have adapted because they can also spread pollen by the wind and thus make pollination without insects as intermediaries possible.

There is a beautiful photo in which the photographer Heather Angel, whom we discovered via Twitter, shows what can happen when a snowdrop is brought into vibration (she used a tuning fork to do this). When the seeds are ripe, animals such as ants, birds etc. can help to spread those seeds. Seed can also be spread by mowing, if this is done after  the seed has had the opportunity to ripen. It is advantageous to leave the clippings for a few days to dry, after which the ripe seed can be spread more easily. Bulbs also multiply by forming new bulbs around the old bulb. In a year, one bulb can form four new ones. The newly formed bulbs are initially small, but after a few years they grow into bulbs that will produce flowers. In this way, very dense clumbs of bulbs can be formed. These can be excavated during and after flowering and planted in places where you would like to see them. If the conditions are optimal, the propagation can go very fast. If the conditions are suboptimal or less suitable, the plants will not spread and can even disappear completely. The best effect is, if the plants are not present in clumps while covering a large surface area. It is interesting to observe how the plants grow in the field and what kind of effect this gives. Regular viewing in different areas is very worthwhile because every terrain with Stinzenplants has its own character.

Flowering: start full peak decreasing
Present: here and there regular massive

Stinzenflora-monitor Calendar 2018 week 9. Scroll horizontally to view all plants. Learn more about a terrain or stinzenplant? Click on the name in the table.

Events *:

The participants in the Stinzenflora-monitor organize various activities during the Stinzenflora season.
The events that are now known are listed below.
‘Open gardens’ with private garden owners are often mentioned shortly before in this calendar and on the websites of the participants. Opening up depends on the flowering of the Stinzenplants and the weather.
For possibilities of (group) visits you can contact the relevant participant.

Data: see ESTATES

For your agenda *:

Events March:

Pastorietuin Easterein. The open garden weekend 10-11 March is cancelled. The heavy frost has left its mark in the Pastorie Garden. A very exuberant bloom of the crocuses is much less than other years.
Normally, the flowering of the Snowdrops and the Tomasini’s Crocus is followed by the Dutch Crocus, but this year the Snowdrops and Tomasini’s Crocus have blossomed earlier and just a few of the Dutch Crocus and Snowflakes are in bloom, and on top of that they appear to flower much less rich this year. The opening garden weekend next Saturday and Sunday will therefore be canceled.

Hackfort Vorden. Sunday 11 March from 11.00 am – 4.00 pm Hackfort opens up the front yard of the castle. A tapestry of Dutch crocuses are a feast for the eye.   https://www.facebook.com/events/558332484528468/

Events April:

Dekema State Jelsum. Museum weekend 14 and 15 April. Spring Fair 28 April: with a Stinzenplants search map you make a tour during these events. For prices, opening times and activities see the website. www.dekemastate.nl

Martenastate Koarnjum. Freely accessible. (www.martenastate.nl) Activities in the context of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018: Grien Festival, start Easter Monday 2 April, will last until 15 April. And further: excursions and courses Nature Photography Stinzenflora. For dates, prices and registration see the website http://www.martenastate.nl and It Fryske Gea. http://www.itfryskegea.nl/eropuit

Schierstins Feanwâlden. Museum weekend 14 en 15 April. Tours in the garden and the building. For prices, opening times and activities see the website. www.schierstins.nl 

Stinze Stiens, Martenastate (Koarnjum), Dekema State (Jelsum).  7 April 2018 ‘StinzenFloraTour’ with the Frisian horse-drawn tram in a fully arranged experience package.
Program:
A warm welcome with coffee and ‘Frisian orange cake’ at Pakhûs SOLO in Stiens. Here begins the StinzenFloraTour with a ‘chat’ about the cultural-historical background of the Stinzenplants and information about the garden at the Doctors house designed by the 19th century garden architect Gerrit Vlaskamp, followed by a walk through the garden. The journey continues with the horse tram to the Martenastate estate in Koarnjum where a walk through the park,  richly filled with Stinzenflora, with an expert guide. At the Túnmanswente a Frysian lunch is ready. At Dekema State in Jelsum, a centuries-old ‘State’ with beautiful garden and forest, the garden manager will be the tour guide. Tea/coffee at the tea house in the end. The horse-drawn tram will take you back to the starting location in Stiens in the afternoon. Costs all included: € 49.50 per person.

Reservations are necessary and can be done up to April 4 via https://stinze-stiens.nl/agenda/

Announcements:

Tourist brochure ‘Stinzenflora in Friesland’: For everyone who wants to go out in the spring, a new handy brochure ‘Stinzenflora in Friesland’ is also available at the tourist centers and affiliated organizations (VVV’s and TIP’s). It was developed in cooperation of the participants in the Stinzenflora-monitor and the tourist organizations Uytland / Destination Noardwest and the regions De Greidhoeke and Noardlike Fryske Wâlden. The folder provides information in Dutch and English and shows which locations are real thriving hotspots in Friesland.

App Stinzenflora (only for Android): The organization Nature2U has independently developed an app (only for Android) with information about Stinzenflora. In this Stinzenflora app all Dutch Stinzenplants and companions are described with country of origin and details. The app is composed with Stinzenplant specialist Heilien Tonckens and nature photographer Wil Leurs, supplemented with some photos of waarneming.nl . The plants are easy to find with flower color and shape or for florists by family classifying. In addition, there are also overviews of the Stinzenflora of the Vecht region and Friesland.
More information via www.nature2U.nl

The Pastorietuin ‘De Weem’ in Warffum (Groningen) wrote a ‘blog’ on this website last year in the MANAGEMENT section. De Weem reports us: Snowdrops open garden: 10-11 March 12.00 – 5.00 pm., Free access. Address: Grietha and Mijnard Scheers, Pastorieweg 24, 9989 BM Warffum (province of Groningen). g.e.scheers@hetnet.nl. (+31 0595 42 23 63)

For centuries, many varieties of Stinzenplants have been growing in this garden of 7,000 square meters: Winter akonite, Snowdrop, Bulbous Corydalis, Bird in a Bush, Squills, various types of Lords-and-Ladies, Salomon’s seal, Wild tulip and Star-of-Bethlehem. Due to the massive growth of the Stinzenplants, only the shell paths are used.

* Subject to change. Always consult the websites of the participants for the latest information.

• Volgende: Stinzenflora-monitor 2018: Calendar week 10
• Vorige: Stinzenflora-monitor 2018: Calendar week 8