At last, winter has arrived in Devon, we have been having frosty nights and icy mornings. Nowhere near as bad as some parts of the country, but at least it feels as it should at this time of year , instead of the very mild weather that we have been having. An added bonus is the clear sky in the morning which quite often means a beautiful sun rise.
It only takes a few minutes to see something different, can you make out the frost on the grass?
Only a couple more minutes and there is our first proper frost for all to see, fantastic!
Sunrise doesn’t last long does it, only another couple of minutes and it was almost gone, beautiful while it lasted though.
At last, I have some leaves decorated with frost, Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens now has silver stripes down the side.
A frosted Chestnut leaf that has managed to escape being swept up and bagged to try and eradicate the leaf miner moth that lives inside it.
A few more leaves looking rather pretty with their added sparkle.
Definitely a frosted lawn, not to be walked on when it is like this, otherwise you leave footprints where the grass has died!
Why am I so excited by a bit of frost? Just after Christmas I sowed my Meconopsis seeds that I have kept in the fridge since last summer and they need a period of freezing temperatures to get them ready to start growing. They originate in Tibet, in the Himalayas, so are used to temperatures a lot colder than we ever have, I just hope that this period of sub zero temperatures is cold enough for them. I will leave them out a bit longer, for another couple of weeks, then bring them into the conservatory, which is kept frost free, they should then sprout about 3 weeks later. That is the plan anyway and it has worked in previous years. I was thinking that I might have to put the seed trays in the freezer if the mild weather had continued, so thank goodness we have had our frosts at last!
keep warm Pauline, I was wondering if you had snow, sunrises don’t last long but they are beautiful while they are there and aren’t we lucky to live where they are so beautiful, love yours through the trees, Frances
It’s worth getting up early just to see them isn’t it Frances, a few moments of magic!!
We had snow yesterday which looked very pretty but then it turned to rain so its all gone now. I know its better for the garden that we have some cold weather but I’m getting impatient for spring now. It’s been very cold here over the last week, down to minus 9 one night and we’re running out of wood so I’m hoping there isn’t too much cold weather ahead.
Just a few snowflakes yesterday WW, then back to being much warmer again. Minus 9 is seriously cold, hope it gets a bit warmer for you soon.
beautiful sunrise, shame the snow didn’t come to much, boys were hoping for school to be shut tomorrow!
I think we got away very lightly Rachael, compared to the rest of the country, I know children love it, but then motorists hate it, can’t please everyone unfortunately. The sunrise was a bonus!
Wonderful skies at this time of year. Glad you had your camera to hand, Pauline.
The sunrises have been really stunning lately Janet, lucky the camera was by the back door as it was over so quickly, blink and you almost miss it!
Absolutely fabulous sunrise Pauline. The sky to me took on the hues of a bottle of Zinfandel wine. You are so right the oak leaves took on a special lustre with their coating of early morning frost. Where did you acquire your Meconopsis seeds? Did you have to have them brought in or does your local nursery carry them? Love all the photographs.
Thanks Tim, I think sunrises are always special. My very first Meconopsis seeds, M.betonicifolia, came from The Metis Garden in Canada, when we were over there a few years ago, some of these are the granchildren! Later I bought 1 plant of Meconopsis Lingholm and saved my own seed, these are also the granchildren of that plant. I think they would maybe like your new border at the bottom of your garden! Seed has to be fresh and kept at the right temperature (cool) otherwise it is dead, sometimes what you buy in a garden centre has been stored at too high a temperature unfortunately. Best to buy one plant and save your own seed!!
What a lovely post – and, even though it was comparatively brief, I’m envious of your frost. We’ve barely had any, and I’m already fretting about my fruit trees.
(Great shots, btw – very impressive!)
Thanks for stopping by Kate, lovely to hear from someone new! Hope you soon have a touch of frost, I think all gardens need a bit in the winter, not too much though!! Hopefully all our fruit trees will be ok and flower well in the spring, frost or not!
I am very happy for you, you had your frost at last! 🙂
You really kept those trays in your fridge for so long? I love meconopsis but I never try to cultivate them in none of my gardens, I just don’t have soil and weather conditions. I hope to see some beautiful blue poppy in your garden soon though!
Dear Alberto, no,no,no, just the meconopsis seeds in an envelope!!! Thankfully we have the soil that they like and I keep them as cool as possible by growing them in the shade, hopefully I will have some photos to show you April/May. I believe Italy has had a lot of snow, how are you coping, hope your garden is ok!
dear Pauline, lovely lovely shots for two reasons: firstly, we don’t usually get frost and ice (specially not in summer) and secondly, even if we do, I am usually tucked up in bed lazily. So I specially appreciate your efforts. cheers, catmint
I’m an early bird Catmint, and find the early morning is sometimes the best part of the day! Our frost didn’t last very long, back to warm and wet now, just hope the Meconopsis seeds have been frosted enough!