picked this week

some last minute brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner - got a bit worried with the constant frost - thought it wasn't going to be possible to pick any!

snowdrops and blackbirds.

mild again today and noticed that the blackbirds have been going round the garden turning over leaf rubbish but also lifting snowdrop bulbs, so I've been out re-planting them

after the frost

the snow has melted away at last. have had over a week with daytime temperatures barely above freezing - today is mild by comparison and sunny.
taken the cloche back off of the broad beans - the stems of some look completely rotted through from the frost and only likely to survive by shooting from the bottom of the stem.
also opened up the front of the sten house - all the plants in there should be frost hardy, just thought last week's super cold spell might have been too much for them - all of these look ok, brought the hyacinth bulbs inside just before Christmas as I thought they'd had enough of a cold snap to start them growing.
peas, leeks and brassicas that were looking very bad during the frost have now picked up again.

christmas

christmas! whoo!

midwinter garden

we've had several days of hard frost with some days not above freezing at all, followed by some snow.


the over-wintering peas are still standing - just.

have had to re-cover the broad beans with the cloche



















the leeks and broccoli are bent over by the cold
even the brussels sprouts look under the weather

picked this week

nothing picked from the garden this week. have lifted the second piece of ginger - this is better grown than the first but both have new bulbs that are bigger than the originals.

snow

two days of hard frost, now some snow, at last. the broad beans are not looking very good at the moment, really bent over with the cold. after the earlier frosts, we'd covered them with a cloche but took this off last week. leeks and peas are also bedraggled but not as badly.

snow

a very cold day with some snow - first at lunch, which melted, and again about 3-4 in the afternoon -now have slight covering on pavements though not on grass.

picked this week

surprisingly busy week. have lifted the last potatoes growing under a cloche -there aren't many and they aren't very big but considering they grew from just the sprutting bits they're not so bad. lifted a very small red cabbage and was surprised that it filled a jar for pickle, but it did. have started picking and freezing brussels sprouts ready for Christmas day. managed to get some rocket for sandwiches - can't get any spinach as it is on a greenhouse shelf and the Christmas tree is in the way.

potatoes

been lifting some bits and bobs from the veg patch today - the potatoes from under the cloche as their tops had been frosted off, some very small beetroot and a small red cabbage

december flowers

winter jasmine

an extremely late antirrhinum

rosemary

picked this week

Errr, nothing.

frost

a cold night at last. bird's water frozen this morning. nasturtiums totally wilted - pulled out their remains. peas and small cabbages standing well but the broad beans look flattened by the cold - hopefully they'll pick up but meanwhile have put a cloche over them.