Flowers at winter solstice

After a cold weekend, the weather is warming up again! So much so that the forsythia is starting to flower. Flowering today - forsythia, jasmine, fuchsia, a bit of antirrhinum, very ratty nasturtiums and rosebuds.Going to try to find time for photos later and what else I can find.

picked this week- and last

We didn't get down to the allotment last week and didn't imagine there'd be that much to bring home this trip - but I was pleasantly surprised.



Green tomatoes from the greenhouse at home (I'm hoping they'll ripen indoors but I'm not really expecting them to) and a tiny aubergine from the polytunnel.







a few smallish leeks, but I'm concerned that any colder weather will freeze them






a pair of cabbages - these were all I really expected to find ready at the allotment











brussels sprouts and bits of broccoli - the sprouts won't keep till Christmas so I'll freeze them this weekend - it also makes for less fuss on Christmas Day.








parsnips and two not-very-round turnips















last week's pulling of garden beetroot. In previous years I'd have been very pleased with these but the earlier ones from the allotment were massive. We're now lifting the smaller ones from there too before frost destroys them











A little bit surprised at being able to put together a plate of salad at this time of year - spinach and Italian radish from the allotment, various lettuce, rocket, landcress leaves from the garden and greenhouse and tomatoes still ripening in the kitchen



Biggest surprise of all? There's been a couple of nights of sharp frosts, so never expected to find raspberries. I wish I'd grown autumn fruiting varieties before!

Frosts

There's been a couple of nights of white over frosts this weekend - and flowers are looking the worse for it. Nasturtiums and calendulas have been hit most. Still rather oddly have some antirrhinums flowering and the dark outdoor fuchsia. The weather is forecast to turn milder again for a while so they may survive till Christmas.

Snow!!

Our first snow fall of the winter - not much at all yet, a few drifting flakes, but it's much colder than last week.

picked this week

A quick trip to the allotment earlier this week gave me some raspberries for breakfast (ate them before I got round to photographing them), a lot of very dirty smallish beetroot and some strange shaped parsnips.

Managed to put together a plate of home grown salad - cabbage; baby lettuce, spinach, rocket etc; tomatoes ripening in the kitchen; one of my tiny red onions and home-grown, home-pickled red cabbage. Not bad for the time of year!

Starting to eat from the freezer now - french and runner beans mainly, though using summer fruit for jam.

December

Having a rather warmer start to December than last year so prowling round the garden with the camera to catch things still in flower.











































No flowers but both poppies and montbretia are sending up new shoots.









The only vaguely seasonal thing is the winter jasmine in flower.














There are even some peppers trying to grow and fruit in the cold frame!