Spoke Too Soon..
So, just as I write about milder winters and pushing the zone boundaries.. this happens.
Frosty Rose ‘Desdemona’
Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea ‘Transparent’
Less so after frost..
Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Black Beauty’
..less black
Frosty Phlomis russeliana
Before the frost, Rose ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ and Imperata cylindrica
Lady Em has had a difficult year.
She was moved later than was good for her, into the new terraces, and promptly dropped all her leaves. The leaves grew back, there were even sporadic blooms, only for her to get felled again by blackspot. And yet still she soldiers on. I’m hoping her persistence, plus a little rest over the winter, will bring her back firing on all cylinders again next year.
But it was the grass behind Lady Em I was most interested in for the purposes of this shot. I bought it as Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’. Up until now it’s shown not the slightest hint of red and after extensive research I concluded that I’d been sold a dud. All summer long it had a far greater resemblance to the straight species, staying resolutely green and becoming invasive, another well known trait. It was destined for a place in the Compost Heap For Very Bad Things in an out of the way corner of the wood. Despite my best intentions this job, like so many others this year, never got anywhere near the top of the to do list. And now.. well. Could I put up with its shortcomings for this gorgeous autumn display?
Hedychium spicatum, ornamental ginger
Ahhhh, seeds. How I love them.
And if it was ever in any doubt, yes, I succumbed. The Pope is indeed a Catholic. I really did have every intention of restricting it this year. To just my 20-packet allocation of Hardy Plant Society seeds. Halfway down the seedlist I stopped and conducted a tally of the entries thus far earmarked for acquisition. Twenty eight. Ah. When I joined the HPS last year I added Mike to my ticket as well, for an extra couple of quid. Not because he’d walked the Road to Damascus, elevated himself from the ranks of the ungardeners and seen the light. No. I’d done it in the hope that I could cajole him into accompanying me to the monthly events. Maybe doing some of the driving and helping me to carry away the spoils from the attendant plant sales. But that was last year, this is this and all the meetings were cancelled. Worry ye not. Because as a joint member he gets a 20-packet seed allocation too..
There is no hope for me. There really isn’t. Just for the sake of the exercise I had a count up of the spare spaces for new seed pots across the three cold frames and the greenhouse bench. About 15. If I really push it. Hello windowsills.
Rhododendron luteum
Added to the garden for the fragrant yellow spring blooms, it sports vibrant autumn foliage as well.
Hesperantha coccinea ‘Major’
Still pumping out the blooms, whatever the weather.
And what weather we’ve had.
Mike’s masterful alpine trough rain shelter has re-emerged from the shed. Fitted out with its optional gale protection upgrade.
We were relaxing in the sitting room on one particularly stormy night recently when there was an almighty thump from somewhere outside. A beech tree in the wood had basically broken into two about ten feet up from the ground. The upper part of the beech fell onto an oak and lodged itself in the canopy, but not before snapping off a main branch from the oak which in its turn also fell, partially blocking the drive. We can get a chainsaw to the lower reaches of the carnage. The rest will have to wait until we can get the tree fellas back in.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Mary Christian’
I don’t generally have a lot of success with heucheras but this one’s done OK.
‘Peach Flambé’. With an extra sugar glazing courtesy of this morning’s frost.
This isn’t a garden that gets put to bed for winter. It would be rude not to take advantage of any warmer and (praise be) dry days, there’s certainly no shortage of jobs to be done. But it also pays to have inclement weather projects lined up, ‘cos I think I’m going to be needing them more and more.
Perhaps the sitting room will finally get finished this winter?
We can always hope.
This post made me literally LOL! I love that you know yourself so well! Every year, I vow to limit my purchases to plants I can plant the day (or at least the weekend) I purchase them. I vow to not buy anymore seeds until I plant the ones I already have that include “vintage” seeds that are far too old to possibly sprout, but I cannot make myself either toss them or at least give them a chance by actually planting them! I love that you utilized your husband to buy more seeds! I live in the lower south of the States, so we have summers that are humid and brutally hot, especially to one who already has her own “personal summers” (hot flashes). It is 55F the day after Thanksgiving and I think that is the perfect temperature to garden! Fall and winter have become my favorite seasons. Our high temp today will be almost 70F. Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the laughs!
Sounds like you have the perfect gardening conditions at the moment. Enjoy.
You’re not the only one with vintage seeds. I blame the seed manufacturers who sometimes put far more than one person can ever use in a packet. I try them once the following season and if no show out they go.
I didn’t know about the extra seed allowance from the Hardy Plant Society when I joined, it was a very welcome bonus!
I love your posts, they always make me smile, in a good way, and your photos are excellent. Love the iced Peach Flambé – good enough to eat – and the Imperata cylindrica. I have one of those and read that it can take a while to settle. How long is a while? Mine has been in the same spot for two years and barely grows more than half a dozen blades. I think maybe it needs removing next spring and given a bigger place in which to spread. I must say it looks good in your garden.
Thanks Jude.
How long is a while is a good question. I’ve had this one two years. It was green last year too, but then it did have some red tints so I decided to give it another go this year and hope it would fulfill its promise. I’m no nearer a decision! Of the true red specimens I have I can vouch for the fact it spreads, not as vigorously as the green one seems to do, but if happy I’m sure it will do well for you.
Hi Jessica – I love the trough covering! I have many troughs and haven’t covered them but that’s a great idea. I would love to see the trough up close sometime and see what you have planted in it.
The trough has been rather neglected, another job on my list for next year, but it does contain a couple of nice saxifrages. I will post some pics of it in spring. We get such heavy winter rainfall here that even though it contains a gritty mix it still gets very wet without a cover.
A lovely reminder of how the frost highlights the texture of the seedheads. A coating of wet mist does nothing to revive the claggy brown mess of my garden after a month of rain. I think I’ll take your advice and buy some more seeds! Great post, it made me smile.
I think I’d probably be spending the whole winter in your lovely polytunnel if I had a chance. Plenty of room for more seeds in there!
I love the sugar frosted coating on your Peach Flambé Heuchera – for those that look, as you have done, there are always compensations to be found in the garden whatever the weather.
I didn’t expect the frost quite so early I must admit. I really do hope we’re not in for a hard winter. But better bright and crisp than grey and soggy. And there are compensations to be found everywhere, not least all the buds fattening up ready for spring.
The way frost creates hitherto unnoticed patterns in a garden is something that lifts the spirits in winter a little, I feel, and your photos highlight that aspect. Your post made me smile, as always. I’m entranced by ‘Plum Pudding’ and its accompanying decorations. I recently bought a couple of Heucheras having fallen in love with the idea of clustering some of those gorgeous colours together, and I’m hoping I can nurse them through the summer as it isn’t very shady in my garden.
In the years I’ve been trying, and mostly failing, with heucheras I’ve experimented with them in many different areas of the garden. Strangely, although the recommendation is usually for a partially shaded location, the ones that have survived have all been in sun. Albeit ‘sun’ here is a different concept compared to NSW.
No animals furred or feathered?!
Plenty of them around. I did take some bird shots, we’ve just brought the feeders back into use, but the little buggers wouldn’t sit still long enough. I got a nice willow tit but chopped off its tail. Metaphorically speaking. I shall keep trying.
Given that it will be 32 degrees celcius here today and I am frantically trying to keep water up to things, frost sounds almost wonderful. It all looks so green and atmospheric. The garden will keep you going in lockdown – but am so glad for you that you had all that work on the house finished last year. Imagine having started in Feb this year? Horrors. Sam in Brisbane
I think about that every day. If the pandemic had arrived a year earlier we could have come to a grinding halt with acrow props holding the ceiling up. It doesn’t bear thinking about. As it is we’ve stopped the garden hard landscaping but we can work around that. The garden has been my lifeline this year.
Keep cool. Frantic watering or not I’d still swop you Brisbane for an English winter!
Frost provides very pretty special effects for photographic purposes but I suspect that isn’t worth it if it hangs around more than a nanosecond and brings your garden season to an abrupt halt. I only occasionally got frost in my former garden (perhaps 5 times within 20 years) and it’s never happened in my current location. I understand going seed-crazy as I’ve suffered from that ailment for several years now myself but at least it appears you actually plant all or most of your seeds – I can’t make the same claim. Beautiful fabric – what are you going to do with it?
Quite a few plants looked miserable once the frost had thawed but that happens every year and usually they return again in spring. I shall be keeping a close eye on the temperatures from now on. It was only a couple of degrees below zero this time. If it gets really cold I shall have to be out there with the fleece or even digging things up!
The fabric is for two roman blinds and a curtain for the door out to the garden. Nothing is simple in an old building. It’s taken us all day today just trying to work out the least worst option for fixing up rails when nothing is square. Walls, window recesses, ceiling, floor.. all slope out of true.
Gosh that was a hard frost! Only mild ones here so far. It’s good to have reasons to get out in the garden over winter in my point of view, although it seems ages since we have had weather that has completely prevented it. Is your alpine trough a ‘real’ one, or handmade? That’s a great contraption for keeping the rain off. Shame abot your trees – although I rather wish a few branches would fall off our neighbour’s very large beech tree…
I suspect the trough is manufactured, I’ve had it so long I can’t remember. One advantage of our damp climate though, it doesn’t take long for any container to ‘weather’. The trough was covered with moss and lichen within a year of us arriving here. So much moss that I’ve had to gently remove some or it would take over!
I hope the frost has subsided by now, however I do envy you the photo opportunities – not much, though. 🙂
You must be very close to the coast, how lovely is that. I’m sure the lady chauffeur could be prevailed upon to drive inland if frosty photographic opportunities were needed. And in the meantime she can grow things I wouldn’t dare to try!
What a wonderful post! You’re photos are absolutely stunning. What camera do you have? I just can’t take photos like this. Since we moved into retirement housing we no longer have a garden 🙁 But we can plant pots in the communal garden, so that’s a little plus. We too have had a good few frosty mornings, how I love frosty mornings ( although I have Reynaud’s and my fingers suffer from going out ) Best, Jane
Thanks Jane. I have just recently acquired a new bridge camera, a Canon Powershot. It serves my purposes in that I can wander around the garden with most of what I need, macro/long zoom, without having to drag around different lenses or other equipment. I’m very much still learning though. It would help enormously if I read the manual, one winter’s day I will get round to it!
I feel the cold as well and rarely stay out long. But frosty days usually mean sunshine and I can’t get enough of that, especially in winter.
Beautiful photos. It certainly was a pretty frost – we had a bit of mist but not a bad day in the end. Amazing to see colour still appearing in the garden even now. The kaffirs are always dependable for their colours – even if they are a bit of a pain to keep in control! Apparently flowers of sulphur spread at the base of roses is supposed to keep the blackspot away – smells a bit at first too! Not done it myself though. My Zepherine Drouhin was always in trouble but being at the front door, not a pong for welcoming people!
Is your camellia a bit early? A friend in Sussex has daffodils out already! I love the pennisetum and such a happy sight to see the seedlings popping up. Lovely update thank you.
I’m amazed how quickly the kaffirs spread. I put a very weak looking shoot in a nursery bed a couple of years ago and this summer took out five pot fulls of the stuff! It’s made a lovely clump up on the bank and will no doubt look properly mature by this time next year.
I thought the camellia is early too. I’ve seen it in bloom in late December but not before that as a rule. Does this mean a long winter? I’d settle for getting it all over and done with and having an early spring. I have daffodils sprouting. No blooms yet though.
I think there is definitely something weird going on – a Canadian friend photographed salmon going upstream to spawn – that’s way too early even for that neck of the woods! But I’m sure we’ll be getting some snow this year, only a spit in November last year – before that we had between 3 to 7 inches – 3 where the wind blew it away, 7 in the drifts and 5 in the protected areas! I got my quilting ruler to check!
We were told to stock up every winter because sometimes they get snowed in for many days up here and we were well stocked up before the dreaded lockdown – still getting through some Christmas food! LOL! So it appears we missed it last winter.
We have just bought a (cheap and cheerful) small freezer to live in the garage. Do I trust Boris and his chums to get us through Brexit unscathed? Ho Ho. So we are stocking up now too. It will be a good back up for winter, further lockdowns or just more flexibility going forward. Don’t need any power cuts..
Peach Flambe looks amazing with its sugar ice coating.
It reminds me of Alchemilla mollis and the way raindrops can pick out the frilly edges of the leaves. Some plants give just as much when out of bloom as in it.
Ha Ha!! “Optional Gale Protection Upgrade” I love it! It’s fortunate that tree kept clear of greenhouses and the like. Partially blocking the drive is far better than it might have been. It looks like rot – was there any sign of it beforehand? We lost half of an elderly tree in our back garden, and although the tree guy neatened it, I suspect the rest is not long for this world either. As the roots hold the bank together I don’t like the thought of what removing it might entail.
When we moved here trees completely surrounded the house. Massive conifers, in some places planted a mere six foot from the house wall. Most of those are now gone and I feel a lot safer for it. I fear though we’ll see more changes in the wood in the years to come. There is a lot of Ash, with Ash dieback now becoming increasingly prevalent across the UK. It’s a good time to be a tree surgeon methinks.
It’s not easy removing trees. Some trees readily resprout, we’re forever battling regrowth on sycamores and the like, so it may be that the roots of yours will survive and carry on holding back the soil. It doesn’t work with conifers though and as ours were on the steepest part of the slope they would have been impossible to remove. We just left the rootballs in place, they have slowly rotted down over the years and I’ve replanted around them as they have. I’m hoping the new root growth will take over the stabilising role of the old.
Love reading your posts … from 41C here in northern NSW and just maybe a drop of rain next week. None since October. I forgot to cover my leafy greens this morning so I guess it’s Ta Ta veggies. Joy
Oh gosh that’s hot, your poor veggies!
It seems to have become a planet of extremes. I read this morning that Sydney has had its hottest November night on record. I’m just hoping and praying there is no return of the bush fires of last year. I watched from afar with horror as so many of the places I have visited and loved went up in flames. Absolutely devastating for property owners and the wildlife.
Keep cool and keep safe.
Lovely photos of your garden in frost. I always think there’s a real beauty in a frosty garden … yet, a few days later pretty flowers and shrubs are lying damaged beyond repair.
Good luck with falling trees and ongoing winter garden maintenance…I think finishing your sitting room project will be just the thing for the winter! Best wishes and think of us getting ready for a fire season.😒
Frost is a mixed blessing. But like fire in Australia many hardy plant seeds need it in order to germinate.
I have been thinking about the fire season and hope beyond hope that it is nowhere near as bad as last year. The weather in Sydney is already making headlines over here, it seems to be heating up already.
Take care.
Beautiful frosty shots! We’ll all be getting it soon methinks. Good luck with the sitting room.xxx
Sounds like it’s going to get colder again next weekend. Seems odd that we got it first this year. I hate winter. There aren’t too many compensations but I suppose frost twinkling in the sunshine is one of them.
Fun stuff! That Camellia is beautiful, and I’m jealous because I’m too cold for them to survive the winter. I say that, and then I think about the climate change happening that might eventually make my winters much more mild. Currently, we’re experiencing dramatic swings like you are. Much of the time, the weather seems milder than “normal,” but then we have brutal cold snaps. Poor plants and poor people. Thanks for taking us along on your garden and sitting room adventures. 🙂
The unpredictability of our ‘new’ climate is probably the hardest thing to cope with. Poor plants indeed. I’m forever moving things around to try to give them conditions more to their liking. And then everything changes again the following year! I have no idea which way to go. I dread to think what will happen to our food chains in the years to come. Whole crop failures seem to be becoming a more regular occurrence.
Oh Jessica ….. your garden looks so beautiful with it’s frosty coat ….. who says gardens can’t look wonderful in the Winter ? ….. so magical.
….. and, my Desdemona has roses and so do my St Swithuns and Penny Lane. Roses have excelled themselves this year. Beautiful photographs of a beautiful garden, whatever the season. XXXX
Desdemona has to be my best performing rose. She’s usually the first into bloom and often the last to give up. And the scent!
I love your garden all rimed with frost, as long as it doesn’t make a habit of it frost is beautiful. You realise that the need to grow seeds is an incurable disease which can take over your life? And it can leave you with forests of plants you don’t need and have no room for.
I have totally succumbed to the seed sowing bug. Is there a vaccine? And would I have it if there was? Not that one, no. Six hedychium seedlings now. Every morning this week another one. If that’s not the best way to get through winter I don’t know what is.
Where I live I dream of getting a sugary frost like the one on your Heuchera. That kind of hoar frost is rare here. Usually we just get the killer kind or freezing rain. So I am just drooling over how beautiful your garden still is to my eyes.
It must be something to do with temperature vs. humidity because not all frosts look pretty like this. Sometimes we wake up to no white at all, just dead plants. We very rarely get a snow covering here anymore so the frosts can indeed be killing ones.
another inspiring post….as always! For me….it’s all that beauty you found to photograph. I think I’ll have a little walk around again in the garden and hope I spot a jewel or two. (Love the alpine shelter!!! Brilliant!)
There’s always a jewel. Even the little things, like new buds filling out, spark enough joy to keep me going through the winter.
Love the camellia and the fabric! I wish we could grow camellias here. Perhaps I need to try one in the greenhouse. I do have a greenhouse gardenia that limps along. Your seed story made me laugh. And it looks as if you’ve had a harder frost there than we’ve had. We are expecting snow this weekend, though, so I’m out to cover the strawberries.
We do sometimes get the weather that you’ve had a couple of days later and there is snow on the forecast. Probably for the north of England rather than the south, but you never know. What is for sure is more frost tonight. Oh my poor tender plants!
The frost zapped my cauliflowers, they may be called All Year Round but not if it’s frosty. Only one survives. The garlic is doing what it always does, looking healthy and growing well. It’s in pots this year to see if I can avoid the dreaded rust.
My peonie has never flowered so I went to the garden centre where they said I had planted it too deeply. Earlier, in the autumn I dug it up, put some compost under it and covered it with a plant pot. I know you are not supposed to disturb them but if it does not flower it’s for the chop, not enough space for things in a prime sheltered south facing spot that decide to behave like sulky teenagers.
The greenhouse has been tidied and cleaned out. It looks very nice, the overwintering plants look happy and I smile smugly when I look in, the trouble is that the mess has all been moved into the garage….
The peony should be OK, autumn is the best time to move them. I shifted a very large peony a couple of months ago and I really do want to keep it! It had over 20 flowers this year but with the re-landscaping of the terraces it had found itself in the wrong place. But you’re right, they do prefer not to be moved ideally so I fully expect mine to sulk next year, teenager or no. To be fair you should be patient with yours a couple more years..
WOW so much winter beauty in your garden Jessica. I love your rain shelter with optional gale protection upgrade:-) I need a Mike – my geraniums only have carrier bags over them!
He needs to start a production line. There are plenty of other places in the garden I could do with a ‘roof’. These last few days have been incredibly wet. And now it’s supposed to get colder. Like you I long for warmer climes in winter.