in my garden this month I’m loving the frost tinged Cavolo Nero and Kale. The chilly mornings may make trips into the garden increasingly brief, but when the sun eventually makes an appearance the smoky blue sky is beautiful.
in my garden….
Colour may be increasingly sparse but the chicory and trusty Chard are doing their bit to add vibrant life to the garden with their ruby reds and magenta hues. The beetroot leaves are almost two-tone in their silvery green and purple loveliness; tasty and nutritious to eat too, definitely not to be discarded when you roast the roots.
Away from the garden it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and maybe that explains why I’m drawn to all these silvers and reds. There’ll soon be a temptation to head a field or so away from the garden in search of this:
How exciting! In the meantime, there are still a few jobs to be done in the garden. Muntjacs are regular visitors at the moment and pheasants are often hanging around, so there are lots of things to be protected. There’s food for everyone, but I’d like a little bit left for us.
I’ve been mulching , covering any bare earth with anything I can get my hands on; using ash from the wood-burner and compost from one of the three bays. The asparagus bed that I started from seed this year has been the most cosseted; I spread the rich compost/feed from the worm café thinly around the plants before mulching with regular compost. Hope they survive their first winter.
in my garden….
…..I’m enjoying the views over the garden fence. Ruby has a good vantage point from her treehouse, but every morning when I come down to our kitchen I love admiring the Oak tree in the field next to us. The leaves are now turning from mellow yellow to russet and beyond it the lazy December sun rises above the Cotswold hills. I’ll never tire of this view, it’s wonderful from the hammock in the summer but on a chilly winter morning it never fails to lift my spirits.
in my garden….
…. the harvest is increasingly centred around root veg – parsnips, turnips, carrots and swede are just the thing for a warming stew, slow-cooked on the wood-burning stove after a few hours outside, The Mother Hubbards are being enjoyed too and I’m very grateful for the hardy herbs including thyme, rosemary and sage which are still plentiful.
While I soak fruit for the Christmas pudding and buy in lots of chocolate for decadent festive treats, it’s lovely to savour simple, wholesome food from the garden too.
Joining in once again with Lizzie Moult’s lovely Garden Share Collective and looking forward to seeing the enticing exotic produce and sunnier scenes from around the world.
Andrea – how very different our seasons are – I am enjoying some rare chill here, as we have just had a wooly (but fairly tame – all wind, water and thunder, thank goodness) storm and the wind is still whistling.
I love the treehouse – and in a way we have similarities in our gardens, as we are heading into Summer here, and the heat can be too much for a great deal of new production – it is planning for the next season.
Thank you for the tour – I love it.
Thanks lots for visiting Jeanie, I love seeing the sunnier goings on in your garden too and enjoying the differences. The treehouse was made by Guy this year, it still needs sides but has been enjoyed lots this summer. Was lovely to see Ruby and a friend up there in wellies this weekend too – they managed to get a pram up there in fact!
That’s an early December you have there!
It all looks beautiful regardless – almost like Spring 😉
I know, December did arrive in the blog a little early! It doesn’t feel like Spring but I know what you mean with some of the colours.
I do love the tree house and the view you can enjoy each morning. Having lots of hardy herbs is always good too and I am feeling guilty about neglecting the vegetables this winter. Must try harder next spring!
Thanks Laura and I love the treehouse too, enjoyed having snacks up there with Ruby in the summer holidays and I was often invited up there for mint tea (lukewarm, of dubious merit!). I’m increasingly glad of the view over the fence as the colour in my own garden declines – must think more about winter colour and structure next year!
That’s a beautiful view you have to greet you each morning – definitely worth getting up for! Have you had the lovely orange and yellow sunrises we’ve seen here some mornings?
I love the sunrise picture on your blog but yes, we’ve been having some gorgeous ones here too. Then really gorgeous vivid pink sunsets from the front window.
Oh! It’s only the first day of Summer here, but you remind me how much I love winter!
I love all of the seasons too, definitely something lovely about the cosiness of winter, especially as it’s still a novelty at the moment – by February I’m normally dreaming of warmer climes! But the first day of summer is so exciting!
Andrea, what a glorious time of year in your garden! Love all the colours of your leafy greens – hardly seems fair to call them greens, does it?
Good to see your herbs doing so well as the weather cools down..
Thanks Celia but have to admit to keeping quiet about the dying basil on the windowsill! It’s lovely though how the woodier herbs that remain plentiful as the temperature drops are perfect with robust, winter comfort food though isn’t it.
I had such a lump in my throat reading your post! The photos made me feel so homesick! There’s something so evocative about a bare wintry tree in a green field…. I could almost smell the frost. It’s the complete opposite here in NZ! I’m just about to make my christmas mincemeat…..well you can take the girl out of England etc etc…..
I do love our seasons – mind you by February I may not be quite so positive about the charms of an English winter!
I would never of thought that the sage would stay alive in the cold, it loves the heat at my place and lack of water. Hope your asparagus survives the winter. I am thinking to plant some from seed in the New Year.
I think the sage does well as it’s up against the sunniest wall of the house, it benefits from the warmth from the house and is also planted in pretty rubbish soil which it seems to flourish in
Funny though how it can thrives in such different climates isn’t it.
You have such a romantic looking garden! Are you still lifting your beetroot? Mine stayed the size of marbles for weeks so I pulled the last few up and composted them. Thank goodness for root veg and herbs at this time of year.
Yes, still lifting the beetroot, loving them raw and shredded in wintry salads with lots of lime and chilli at the moment. But I do keep feeling shoddy when people ask me how I’m storing them. Think I’d better just eat lots and also preserve some in case they perish.
I think I’m still struck by your view from over the fence. What a stunning view it is!
I know, it’s better than the view of the garden at the moment! I’m sure I’ll never tire of it.
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