101. A Winter Garden
The hard frost and snow is very early this year courtesy of the “Troll of Trondheim”. There was a mad rush to get my proteas and scented geraniums covered in time.
The protea air-pots are lined up against the south facing wall and covered in a winter blanket comprising two layers of horticultural fleece. This arrangement protects the young cordon fruit trees as well. There are really strong steel plant wires running along that wall so I use an army of coloured clothes pegs to attach the blanket to one of them, and secure it at the bottom using old pipes and pieces of wood. In really strong winds I will need to weigh it down with large bricks and stones. The fleece is light and water permeable so is fairly low maintenance. This arrangement worked really well last year - I uncovered the proteas in March to find half of the plants in full flower.
I have been on the move a lot recently so the raised beds have not been emptied out for the winter yet. The last of the summer’s crops have all gone to seed and are now covered in a dusting of white frost. The pots of scented geraniums have been stored underneath the circular glass table and draped with yet more horticultural fleece. The geraniums are usually surprisingly hardy but this cold spell might be a challenge.
The rest of the garden is covered in frost. The japonica flowers are surrounded by ice, the rose hips are frosted and the tree ivy has turned almost completely white. The cordyline has silvered edges and all the long grasses in the wild section have turned silver. AND this winter the bark of my three year old silver birch trees is finally turning silver for the first time. They are beautiful.
