Last year I don't think we had a hard frost all winter so I was really glad last weekend when we woke up and everything was frozen solid. The ground was rock hard and you would have needed a drill to pick any of the leeks and parsnips that are still in the ground. Much to my delight this frosty spell was followed by snow a couple of days later! Snow that has actually stayed on the ground and I can't remember that happening for a long time.
In my day job I do a lot of work with older people and they often talk about the way that our weather has been changing - that we don't get the cold winters that we used to. Beyond a simple sense of nostalgia for icy winters gone by, these changes are really significant for gardeners. A keen frost will break your soil down brilliantly and kill any slug eggs that are near to the surface - we had more slugs than ever last summer and I'm convinced that was a result of a frost free winter followed by a warm and wet summer. Also, it's this kind of weather that will kill off any annual weeds that are left lurking and break down the starch in parsnips to make them sweet and tasty.
The changes in weather that we've been seeing sadly aren't mere coincidence and, in our globally warmed world, we're all going to have to start thinking of new ways of doing things as the weather gets hotter. Maybe I'll have to head further north so that I can still get my fix of this kind of magnificent winter weather?
What a stunning photo!
Posted by: Matron | December 22, 2008 at 08:17 AM
I see that it is a sedum now that you mention it. Similar flower to a heliotrope and with the frost it gives it a blueish hue.
My Sister had a heliotrope a few summers ago and it had flowers that smelled like cream soda. I wish I took a cutting from it now.
Posted by: Dan | December 09, 2008 at 12:33 AM
It's actually a Sedum Dan. I should probably have cut it back by now but it looks so great on my bleak, winter plot that I decided to leave it!
Posted by: Liz | December 08, 2008 at 09:22 AM
Yes! I am glad of a hard frost too! so many plants need these cold temperatures to get a proper dormancy and form buds for next year!
Posted by: Matron | December 07, 2008 at 08:43 AM
Let me guess, is the plant a heliotrope?
It will be interesting to see if the warming we have seen the last few years is just a natural cycle or if it is human influenced. Only time will tell I guess.
I also enjoy photography frost and we receive loads of it here in Southern Ontario, Canada.
Posted by: Dan | December 05, 2008 at 12:46 AM