Foggy November, frosty December

Woodpigeons in the fog

True to form, November slid downhill from mild and wet to chilly, foggy and damp.  The last days of the month were marked by dismal, dank fog, with the sun occasionally peeking through but to no great effect.  The pigeons gathered high in the trees to enjoy what little sun there was, and the sparrows, dunnocks and robins enjoyed the fatballs and crumbs put out for them; Lefty became a regular on the patio for breakfast.   Then one day into December, officially winter, the temperatures dropped, the weather came from the east and north and overnight minus temperatures (and not much more by day) became the norm.  Clear, sunny weather but feeling cold.  The berries on the rowan and holly trees were eaten weeks ago, so the cotoneaster berries and cooking apples – the eaters were boxed up for safety some time back – have been the main attraction for birds in search of food.  Fieldfares and a host of blackbirds flocked to the apple tree and to a pile of partly-damaged apples left out on the terrace up by the house, with occasional forays by robins, tits and chaffinches (there aren’t many cooking apples left on the tree now, although I have a few in store).  A female blackcap was feeding on the apple tree a couple of weeks ago, though I haven’t seen her since; blackcaps have been noted staying the winter in the UK in recent years instead of migrating to Iberia, and it was a bit late for this one to be on passage unless she was heading for the south coast.  I hope she stays here over winter.

Diners on the terrace

At least there have been no further avian flu casualties as far as I’ve seen.

I haven’t yet finished weeding the veg patch so no compost has been spread on the beds yet; as a result no garlic or beans have been planted / sown, though there will still be time for that when the freeze lets up.  The tulip bulbs are also still waiting to be planted, though the saved sweet pea seeds have been sown and are germinating on an indoor windowsill. 

There are still a few last flowers blooming in the garden, though they won’t last long in the frost.  Fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’ was in flower until the past few days, and one last ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ rose is holding on, battered but unbowed; and I picked the last nerine stem for a vase the other day.  There are winter flowers too: Rosemary ‘Miss Jessop’s Upright’ is providing some colour in the front garden, along with Mahonia ‘Winter Sun’ and the winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum).

Rosemary 'Miss Jessop's Upright'

Jasminum nudiflorum

Fuchsia 'Hawkshead' - before the frost

Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll' - hanging on in there