At last, just as we reach mid-January, a taste of winter in my Lewes garden here in Southern England. My roses, still merrily blooming, had the beautiful indignity of a glittering coating of frost this morning – the first frost of the winter and a good two months late in arriving.
My David Austin Roses, Falstaff (above) and Claire Austin (below) have never looked like this before in their petrified shimmer.
The pink roses have taken on the look of a delicious frozen dessert best served with a glass of Sicilian Marsala after a hearty dish of roast venison in front of a crackling log fire.
It is a long time since my garden has received a winter coating but last night the temperature dropped to a mere -3 Celsius (27 Fahrenheit) and we no longer looked stuck in some crazy trans-season which was neither one thing or the other.
The snowdrops look normal now gleaming in their natural environment and whispering to those summer party guests that it is well past their going home time.
