An early taste of winter
Friday, December 2, 2016
Suddenly after the most perfect October that could be imagined,
a sharp taste of winter arrived with the turning of the calendar.
Proper frosts, not the"chilly nights" that some annoying
forecasters predict on the TV, usually accompanied by a grimacing
of the face. But you learn to read the weather signals in your own
area and it doesn't take a genius to conclude that, if there is a
large High Pressure system centred to the north east of the UK,
cloudless skies, no wind and a location in the middle of Wales in a
sheltered valley, there is going to be a damaging frost.
The Paddock Garden a week later
The great late colour show comes abruptly to an end and the
stench of dead and dying foliage is evident all over the gardens
the following morning.
The last remains of impatiens tinctoria which will die back to a huge tuber
to overwinter.
Most hydrangeas are highly susceptible to frost
although the spent flower bracts make a strutural statement for
several months and are particularly attractive when coated in hoar
frost.
The final act just before the first proper frost arrives
is to pick a bunch of the last flowers in bloom in the
gardens.
A new phase of the gardening year begins, with the opportunity
at last to cut back the borders, a final mow of the lawns and
preparing all the heaters in the protected areas. Sad as it is to
see the end to all the colours we have enjoyed for so long, it is a
part of the rhythm of garden life and another range of tasks to
occupy the dark days (and nights in my sad case!).
Weather
After the great deluge of 2015 which started at the beginning of
November and lasted for at least a part of the following 77days, it
was good to have a wide variety of conditions to enjoy and
some good dry spells to offset periods of heavy rain. The first
"named" storm of the winter (why do they do this?) largely passed
us by for a change, apart from some heavy rain. Sharp frosts at the
beginning and end of the month. Rain on 12 days. Low
temperatures throughout with a min of -9C on 30th and 11 other days
with a min below zero. Only 3 days above 10C max 12.4 on 14th.
The early arrival of frosts always brings to mind the old
country lore saying that "Ice in November to hold a duck the rest
of the winter will be slush and muck" Who knows if it will come
true or not, but after a series of mild winters it would be good to
have a "traditional" winter for a change, especially if it
means that we won't have "back and forward weather" in April and
May which always damages early growth and sets back the advent of
summer. Then right at the end of the month we did have ice on the
pond (but not enough to hold a duck!) and some seriously low
temperatures for late November and glorious "great to be alive"
days, especially as one of them was my birthday! More of this
would be welcome.
The Paddock Pond on 29th with the first ice. Note too
the electric fence to keep the otters at bay.
On the Carmarthenshire Fans 8 miles away, the
first snow
Garden update
Although growth has slowed down over much of the garden and
cutting back and leaf blowing have become the main tasks, there
were still a few brave flowering plants carrying on and some late
leaf colour to enjoy.
Saxifraga cortusifolia with lovely dark and veined
leaves and pale pink flowers with greatly elongated lower
petals
A taste of summer - a late sown eschsholzia. I
always make 2 sowings directly into module trays, one to plant out
in late May and another to plant out in July
Nearby in very well drained soil and full sun is
the perennial iberis "Betty Swainson"which often flowers well
into December in all but the coldest weather.
Physocarpus "Darts Gold" and an unknown
liquidambar
Fatsia japonica flowering well before the severe
frosts arrived which decimated the flowers. A large and impressive
plant for shade.
Occasionally there are unexpected, pleasing surprises, and if
the lawns have had a winter feed, green grass to lift the spirits
amongst all the gloom and decay.
Nipponanthemum nipponicum, a chrysanthemum
relative, is a succulent leaved, hardy sub shrub. This is the first
time it has had a flower in the 7 years we have had the
plant!
The mother plant however in Chelsea Physic Garden,
shown here, flowering profusely in late autumn and probably
into winter in a choice location in the middle of London. I am
sucker for something different however challenging it may
be!
Chelsea Physic Garden is a wonderful historic
garden in a sheltered location. Well laid out in botanic garden
fashion, full of interest and enchantment - we loved
it!
Vegetables especially brassicas, and root crops now in store,
provide freshness to the dinner plate. Brussels sprouts are a
stalwart and if early and late varieties are planted, a long season
of picking is assured, from late September to late January if the
weather isn't too severe. Plenty of new recipes to try out too!
The alien vegetable with grotesque swollen stems.
Celeriac is now very fashionable and readily available. It is easy
grow too provided it is sown in heat in the first couple of weeks
of February, pricked out and potted into 7 or 9cm pots, then
planted out when all risk of frost has passed
Carrot "Purple Haze" is as attractive as it is
tasty and cropped brilliantly with plenty to store.
Talking of recipes a new one for me was roasted kale (revered as
a superfood but cheap as chips!) which can for my taste become
rather boring after a while. It is however transformed when
chopped into small pieces, very lightly coated with olive oil to
which sugar has been added, and salt and pepper, then roasted on a
shallow tray for 4-5minutes at 180C. The nearest thing to deep
fried Chinese "seaweed" we have ever tasted. It doesn't look or
smell that great, but crunchy sweetness it is. Give it a try and
play around with the quantaties to suit your indivdual tastes. I
think you will agree it is incredibly moreish!
What's looking good?
Harder to find candidates now that the frosts have arrived but
there are as always a few hardy souls doing their best to put on a
show however small.
Roses are generally robust and some will flower well
into December if the weather is kind. The best we have here is r.
"Bonica" which is rarely without flowers. Look at all those buds in
late November.
Lettuce outdoors in late November is some
achievement but needs substantial fleece protection on colder
nights
Miscanthus seedheads and spent flowers of hydrangea
paniculata "Limelight" make a charming and long lived
combination.
However the polytunnels are the place to be when it is cold or
raining, with a host of plants to keep the spirits up. Worth all
the cost of heating them when necessary to keep temperatures above
2C. In really cold spells this may need to be augmented by
horticultural fleece over the more susceptible plants.
Rather late for lilies to flower, but cold stored bulbs
from H. W Hyde the lily specialists, planted in pots in early
August putting on a tremendous, highly scented show.
Lilium "Kushi Maya" is recent introduction,
the result of a cross between species L. nepalense and a white
l.oriental hybrid. 5 afeet tall and happy in sun or part shade it
will normally flower in August.
Another rare and unusual gem from Chelsea Physic
Garden is fuchsia denticulata
And one of my oldest tender plants is justicia
carnea. a tender perennial/shrub which is the easiest thing from
cuttings.
The parent of this salvia relative came to me in 1997
and countless generations later (another easy peasy plant from
cuttings) plectranthus zuluensis continues to delight
everyone who sees it with wave upon wave of flowers almost
year round if kept under heated cover in winter and cut back
after flowering. Plectranthus is a surprisingly large genus of
plants from South Africa but I find many of them difficult to
flower other than this old friend
Wildlife and countryside
After the excitement of bird life last month, it is trees
that take centre stage with wonderful late autumn colour on our
native trees with beech, wych elm, field maple and oak to the
forefront.
Wych elm with it's golden yellow foliage shines
like a beacon in the company of another native trees
Oak woodland our view due north is a feature of
eastern Carmarthenshire and this year it took on such intense
colours
And driving from Stow on the Wold to Tewkesbury
there were long avenues of beech for many miles.
It always about this time of year when otters start to
make an appearance in the Paddock Pond as young adults look for new
territory. We often lose a few fish before we realise it so I have
taken the precaution of setting the electric fence to keep them at
bay. It is only a deterent and one zap on the wire ensures they
will look for rich pickings elsewhere in the River Ydw at the
bottom of the garden.
In the Paddock pond and the nearby Koi pond, fish were
seen through a veil of autumn
Two golden rudd swimming amongst the autumn leaves
reflected in the Paddock Pond
The sheep continue to graze safely in all the surrounding
fields, almost all of the ewes in lamb, and the rams like all men,
are taking things easy after all their exertions! Cattle in these
parts have the refuge of barns in which to spend the winter and a
lot more work for my neighbours.
Visits
Not usually a time of year we associate with garden visiting,
but many public and National Trust gardens are open year round,
attracting visitors with events such as Christmas fairs to keep the
revenue coming in. Light shows are a growing phenomenum and a
spectacular way to showcase the gardens and buildings.
One of the best in the UK must be at Waddesdon Manor in
Buckinghamshire
Interior decorations were highly original and
varied
A Christmas tree fashioned from books!
A novel use for a billiard table
Lord Rothscild's private dining room with an amazing
modern "chandelier" fashioned from broken china!
The wine cellars at Waddesdon hold some very old, rare
and expensive wines presided over appropriately by
Bacchus!
And some very famous people are represented by
specially signed bottles
The light show in the gardens was breathtaking
especially here with a foreground of large tree ferns protected for
winter - more aliens!
An ever changing colour pallette is projected onto
the house throughout the evning
The pink shade seemed totally unnatural
-
until walking back to the car we looked back to
see a totally natural pink sky at dusk
Finally and on a sad note, I was deeply moved by the death of
Leonard Cohen a few weeks ago. For nearly 50 years he had a been a
companion and inspiration throughout my adult life. Alongside a
wide range of classical music and radio3, I listened to him
regularly on long shifts in the polytunnels. Posing questions on
every aspect of the human condition and forcing the listener to
reflect upon what he had to say, his poems and songs feature
generosity, compassion, vulnerability, forgiveness, love,
life and death. He published 14 CD's, the last of which was
fittingly published just before his death aged 82. It was a great
thrill to see him perform live in Cardiff on 2 occasions when he
was well into his 70's. He put on a masterclass of how to deliver a
concert, respecting his audience, the singers and musicians. Encore
after encore followed, even at the age of 78 - what a man and what
a memory.
It is difficult to choose one of all his many song to pay him a
sad farewell, but one that comes nearest for me is"Alexandra
Leaving." Enter "leonard cohen singing alexandra leaving"
into your search engine to listen to the song. Sorry but
I couldn't get any of the direct links to work. If you have
never heard it you are in for a treat - but keep the Kleenex handy!
As always the meaning is for you to unravel.