First snow of the year – No Gardening this week!

We’ve had the first snow of the year. I did hear someone mention snow last week, but I didn’t realise it was for our area. We don’t really get very much these days, and when we do it doesn’t normally last that long.

There’s certainly no physical gardening gone on this week! The snow came on Monday night and there’s still a little around where the sun hasn’t reached.

As I’ve said before, I absolutely love the snow but… I want the snow on a Friday night when I’m home for the weekend. It’s not much to ask, is it?

It is a shame we can’t get exactly the right weather at the right time. Wouldn’t that be just fantastic! Lovely sunshine in the daytime, rain at night, snow on Christmas Eve…

Anyway despite the snow coming at a very inconvenient time, it still made me feel five years old again. It’s just so magical!

Snow Hides the Imperfections

All imperfections are hidden away under the white fluffy blanket. The table and chairs that I didn’t get around to sanding last year, now look in perfect condition.

On the table my collection of small branches that fall from the walnut tree, all highlighted in white.

Don’t Forget the Birds

All the dead plants in the pond that I haven’t yet had the time to cut back and pull out, no longer look scruffy, but quite architectural.

There were loads of bird footprints around the pond, so I found a brick and broke some of the ice up to allow them to have a drink.

Not forgetting to top up the bird feeders, hanging from the old conifer trunk. Now adorned with bright yellow flowers on the winter Jasmine that’s climbing up it.

They don’t half get through the seed with conditions like this.

There were bird prints all over the garden, which always makes us feel happy in the knowledge that we have created a garden that they want to spend time in.

Flowers with hats on!

The seed heads of the Achillea, Rudbeckia and Sedums, left for the birds, now look like they’ve got little white hats on.

Everything just looks so pretty! I love how the snow sits on all those individual leaves of the bamboo. And the little yew tree, looks like a little belated Christmas tree.

Under that extra layer of snow on the dolly tubs lies gravel and compost with sleeping tulip bulbs snuggled in the middle, just waiting to wake up and burst through in the spring.

Big swollen buds on the rhododendrons are getting ready to open in a few short months.

The golden grass of ‘Karl Foerster’, still stands erect, despite the wind rain and now snow. It will stand there until we cut it down at the first sight of new growth.

The White Garden

Well what can I say, the white garden is, very white! The hellebores were already flowering before the snow and the snowdrops aren’t too far off. The shrubs, look like they are covered in white blooms.

Snow in the Kitchen Garden

There’s really very little food growing at the moment, just a few brassicas. Calvolo Nero (Italian Kale) always looks incredibly architectural.

Sadly the Brussels sprouts haven’t come to much, but I’m still hopeful that once the weather picks up they might spring into life.

January is the time to chop the raspberry canes to the ground, but they can wait until it’s a bit warmer.

The broad beans sown in late autumn are having a challenging time of it. They were frozen solid back in mid-December and now weighed down with snow. They always seem to bounce back though, it’s incredible quite how hardy they are!

So the only gardening that’s gone on is planning and window shopping. This has led to one of the online garden shops now having seven items in my basket, mainly seeds, but I need to have a good look through what I already have before pressing that checkout button!

Stay safe & warm, & happy gardening.