The past week has been chilly in my neck of the woods, but frost brings its own beauty to our gardens. It's an ephemeral beauty that melts with the rising sun...
The early bird... gets very cold trying to photograph flowers in the frost. The weather this past week has been chilly in my neck of the woods, but frost brings its own beauty to our gardens.
Frost is an ephemeral beauty that melts with the rising sun, but last week thick fog kept it away to provide a real bonus for anyone tempted outside.
The freezing fog provided a ready supply of moisture that crystalised into a jewelled coating over stems, leaves, buds and blooms. Anything bold enough to stand in its way got iced, including the frosted Corsican hellebore (Helleborus argutifolius) pictured.
Without a photograph you'd forget just how beautiful these ice sculptures really are, but perhaps that adds to their appeal. Like so many treasured moments our gardens they don't last for long; like blooms that open for just one day; scent filling the air; the antics of a bee quenching its thirst on a nectar-rich flower.
You just need to be there and treasure that moment. Sometimes others are around to share it, but usually I'm alone, savouring every second.
But that's where my camera comes in. Now it's a moment I can share.
I admire the hardiness of those garden plants that don't shut up shop for winter but still put on a show. Every garden needs them or we'd be left with a deciduous desert with little of interest until spring.
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