CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS LEAD TO GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE.
Today was ultra gloomy, but with promise of good things to come. Now it is much milder again, the garden appeared to have forgotten the recent day of frost.
I made a start on the winter clearance. A couple of weeks ago, Aaron had extracted a clump of badly positioned bamboo from the Oval Bed. I stuffed this into orange bags in readiness for a trip to the dump.
Next was pruning roses. I had expected to be cutting them right down, but there were so many freshly burgeoning buds, that this became a dead-heading exercise, as in these Absolutely Fabulous and Love Knot.
Some actual blooms, like the white Kent and the red Deep Secret, had survived the freeze.
Elsewhere, Vibernum Bodnantense Dawn is in bloom,
and there are new buds on still blooming Clematis Star of India.
The Head Gardener prevented me from waxing lyrical about the seeds of the Japanese anemones ready to be spilled for germination, by pointing out that in this country they propagate by means of underground tendrils.
This evening we dined on chicken, tomato, and mozarella pasta bake with peas. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Via di Cavello chianti 2014.
Even in frosted hard gardens there is a hint at what’s to come. ?
Yep. Thanks, Ellen
My deep secret rose is in its first bloom of the season and yours is still going! It’s crazy!!
Innit? Pauline. Many thanks
Indeed a promise of what’s to come. Lovely.
Thank you very much, Miriam
After a cold rain today, your photographs were a bright spot. Thank you, Derrick!
Thanks a lot, Jill
I agree! Still gloomy here this morning, too.
Thanks, Merril
Beautiful!
Thanks a lot, Leslie
We have roses, too–they may make it awhile longer but it snowed a bit yesterday!
Thanks a lot, Cynthia
Stunning photos. Any rises in this neck of the woods are long gone. Already had 16″ of snow earlier this month. It’s gone but wintry again tonight. Dinner sounds great. I can almost taste it.
Thanks, Steve. I thought you must have had a lot of snow (from your delegated tasks comment)
Do you get much snow in your area? We average 95 inches (prix 200+cm)/year.
Most years we don’t get any
I love that Jackie knows how things propagate off the top of her head. No wonder she is the HEAD GARDENER. Now I want to eat chicken, tomato, and mozarella pasta bake with peas.
Thanks a lot for your continuing interest, Jodie
Lovely captures!
Thank you, Val
I was noticing last weekend how many roses were still blooming. It’s lovely to see as winter approaches. I’ll be cutting mine back in February, probably. It’s nice to see the garden gorgeous still, in its own end of season way!
Thanks very much, Lisa
Absolutely stunning.
Thank you, Vidisha
You’re most welcome. I hope you’ll read my work too sometime. I’d greatly appreciate it. x
Actually, I had read ‘To write love……..’ but forgotten to comment. Have done so now
Brilliant!!
Thank you, Sumith
It is crazy, but beautiful, Derrick. I particularly like the last photo with the seeds.
Many thanks, Merril. I’m pleased, because I had to work hard at that
Well done!
Wow how gorgeous! Amazing beauty
Many thanks, Lynn
You have a long autumn…thank you for sharing all this color
Thanks, Pleasant. It is an amazing year
Our autumn was longer than usual also. I live near Chicago and we just had our first snow
Holy guacamole! There is snow on the ground in Maine, and it is snowing today.
Amazing end to our year
That penultimate shot is my favourite
Thanks, Alex. I’m pleased, because I almost didn’t include that b one
The last click is amazingly beautiful… 🙂
Thanks a lot, Maniparna
Amazing how some plants resisted the frost partially and were able to showcase what is to come. I love the opening roses
Thanks for this full catch up Geetha. Much appreciated.
Welcome and thank You really. Your blog is one of the few that I really like visiting regularly. It always relaxes me
🙂
Those roses are beautiful, I could almost smell them fromhere.
Many thanks, Brian
I have missed a lot of posts, Derrick. This was one I thought I had seen and commented on. . . Beautiful roses with so much perseverance makes me happy and hopeful. 🙂
Many thanks, Robin
In my first comment I spoke of the cottony Japanese anemone with black specks which really do “appear to be seeds,” Derrick.
If it isn’t in the pending approval area of your blog, I must not have waited long enough for the comment to post. So sorry.