And the snow came down...

Well my last blog was prophetic. The snow came with a vengeance. Here was my back garden a few days ago.

Most of the snow has gone, though it is still very icy here as we are quite high up and get the full benefit of the north wind!!!

It's amazing how plants can survive this. Where the snow has thawed, there is still greenery. The wallflowers are battered but recovering and will hopefully put on a good display next year.

A cold wind blows....

....And we shall have snow. Winter doesn't technically arrive in the UK until mid December. Here we are in mid November and already the forecasts are for heavy snow next week. It seems hard to believe. It wasn't long ago that I was bemoaning having to cut the grass and hedges because the mild October weather was providing ideal growing conditions.

I found a poem today by William Cullen Bryant that sums up my mood today at hearing we might have an early snowfall:

November

YET one smile more, departing, distant sun!

One mellow smile through the soft vapoury air,

Ere, o'er the frozen earth, the loud winds ran,

Or snows are sifted o'er the meadows bare.

One smile on the brown hills and naked trees,

And the dark rocks whose summer wreaths are cast,

And the blue Gentian flower, that, in the breeze,

Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last.

Yet a few sunny days, in which the bee

Shall murmur by the hedge that skim the way,

The cricket chirp upon the russet lea,

And man delight to linger in thy ray.

Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear

The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air.

William Cullen Bryant

Update

I wrote my last post many many months ago. Life was hectic and I had decided to put my blog on hold for a while. If truth be told, I thought I had hung up my blogging shoes forever. But I was surprised and moved to see regular statistics showing that my blog was still receiving visitors and comments.

My life and plans for the future have changed considerably since last year. The only thing that hasn't changed is my love of gardening which I continue to find therapeutic in these turbulent times. I am still gardening the same front and back gardens in a typical London street.

Looking back through the posts on my blog, I am inspired to start writing again. I can't promise daily blogs but will aim for weekly updates. I am also looking forward to catching up with all the blogs I used to enjoy reading. Don't look now....but I'm coming soon to a blog near you.

An exciting year ahead

I have thought long and hard about what to do with myself this year. I spent winter getting myself fit. I am now revitalised and ready for anything. It goes without saying that I will continue my gardening. The weather recently has just started to improve and I have spent a few hours tidying, pruning and planning for the season ahead.

But my big decision this year is to sign up for an Open University course. This decision has surprised me as I am already a busy person. The courses I am interested in are a Certificate in French and a computing course. I will probably do both. Whichever I decide to do first will mean at least 5 hours online each week. That means an hour each evening after work.

Something will have to go! Sadly I have decided not to write in this blog this year. My garden is small and any blogging here would be a repeat of last year! I had a great time last year and really enjoyed reading other gardeners' blogs. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and following my blog. Rest assured that I am still a dedicated gardener and always will be. Soon I will be a gardener who knows a bit more about French and computing! Au revoir.

Spring has sprung...almost

What a glorious spring day. These 2 photos show the same bunch of daffs. The snowy picture shows them 19 days ago and the sunny photo shows them this afternoon. They have survived weeks of frost, snow and ice. Isn't nature wonderful?

Today was "walking in the park" weather. Daughter and I went to Greenwich Park because she had to take some photos of crowd scenes for a school project. Everyone was out drinking in the good weather after a really terrible winter. It felt like we were all recharging our batteries.

The heathers were out in flower in the park. But the trees were bare and the bulbs are not yet flowering. I don't know what they use for manure, but the borders smelled far from fragrant! When we came home, I spread my compost over the vegetable patch. It smelt much better, richer and more earthy than whatever it is they use in the park. It has reminded me how much I enjoy being out in the garden. Here's to a better summer than last year!

As promised, here are a few of today's snow

pictures. They displayed in a different order to how I intended. The details are below with numbers corresponding to order. I'm fussing about nothing, as it is all pretty obvious!

2) My favourite shrub. A red cordyline in my front garden. Very hardy, so I have my fingers crossed that it will survive.

1) My back garden showing a bottle brush plant, a statue and fountain resembling someone in a sudsy shower, and a tiny bird bath looking more like a pint of frothy beer.

4) My bird feeder. Or non-feeder as I've never seen a bird using it.

3) Somewhere under this is a compost bin. It shows how much snow we've had so far and the same amount is forecast for this evening!

5) Daughter's snowman.

The snow is still falling thick and fast. At the moment, it is soft and powdery. Tomorrow, it is expected to turn to ice. Eek!

The lull before the storm

My British obsession with the weather continues! This is now the coldest winter for 13 years. The forecast predicts inches of snow in my part of the UK by early next week. Looking out at the garden, it is hard to believe. The sun is shining and the cats are rolling around on the patio. Small buds have bravely started to appear on my roses and the wallflowers are looking strong and healthy. BUT days of freezing weather means the ground is rock hard. If it snows now it will settle like a blanket. My new camera has a "snow" setting. It looks like I will have an opportunity to test that out soon. Watch this space for snow pictures next week!