Hi again. Do you remember my last post here? I decided to reactivate my blog in English. Once a week you will find here some interesting (I hope) information about my garden and evergreen broadleaf plants. We still have winter in the central part of Poland. -3 at night, +2 during the day. But some heavy frost is coming to my area from "lovely" Russia. Anything they bring is so nice...
Nothing has changed in my garden since last Sunday so i think it's a good time to present you some information about the climate that we have here in Poland.
Poland has a moderate climate with both maritime and continental elements. This is due to humid Atlantic air which collides over its territory with dry air from the Eurasian interior. As a result, the weather tends to be capricious and the seasons may look quite different in consecutive years. This is particularly true for winters, which are either wet, of the oceanic type, or - less often - sunny, of the continental type. Generally, in north and west Poland the climate is predominantly maritime, with gentle, humid winters and cool, rainy summers, while the eastern part of the country has distinctly continental climate with harsh winters and hotter, drier summers.
Winters in my area can be snowy and cold. Sometimes temperature at night drops below -20 C.
There are also some frost free periods when temperature even at night does not drop below 0 C.
Generally, Poland receives all kinds of air masses typical of the northern hemisphere. This results in a variable climate and considerable problems with weather forecasting. Poland's climate is also characterized by substantial weather changes in consecutive years, caused by disturbances in the pattern of main air masses coming to the country. Summer may be hot and dry a few times in a row and then it becomes cool and wet. This phenomenon tends to happen in several-year cycles.
Summers can be very hot. Sometimes temperature reaches more than +38 C (in shady places). It can be much warmer in the sunshine.
Poland's climate is also strongly influenced by the lowland topography of this part of Europe, stretching from France to Ukraine. Not stopped by any natural barriers, air masses move quickly from the Atlantic or North Sea. Another factor is the country's location, far from vast water bodies (the Atlantic Ocean) and close to extensive land areas (Eurasia). The Baltic Sea is a major contributor to the climate of north Poland while the southern part of the country is also affected by the Black Sea.
We have four seasons in Poland. Spring arrives in March, bringing mainly sunny days after a period of alternating wintertime and springtime conditions. Summer, which extends from June to September, is generally more humid than winter. July is statistically considered to be the most humid month of the year. Showers and thunderstorms alternate with dry sunny weather that is generated when southern winds prevail. Early autumn is generally sunny and warm before a period of rainy, colder weather in November begins the transition into winter. Winter, which may last from one to three months, brings frequent snowstorms but relatively low total precipitation.
USDA zones map shows the hardiness zones in Europe. Zones 6 and 7 are most famous for Central Europe (Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia...).
All the pictures were taken by myself in my garden.
