Wintery weather has arrived

It was lucky I took a photo of that Lime tree in full leaf on Friday, because Saturday morning dawned bright and frosty, and no sooner had the sun hit the frosted tree than it literally 'snowed' down leaves for hours afterwards. So that was the end of most of the remaining leaves on the trees round here and now only leaves are left on oak trees, many of which stay on the trees all winter. I have never figured that out because some lose their leaves in autumn and some don't until the spring, just as the new leaves are budding up, yet they are all our Common Oak (Quercus robur). If anyone knows the answer, please let me know!

'That' Lime (Tilia) tree again just as the sun was hitting the tree tops.
Just a tad different from the photo on my previous post!

And so I braved the cold to get a few pictures of the garden looking all sparkly and pretty.

Seedheads of Spirea japonica 'Goldflame' with leaves of Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in the background.

Garlic Chive (Allium tuberosum) seedhead.

These are Oregano leaves looking like they've been dipped in sugar.

I seem be to drawn to this Lime tree.....

..... and the same tree again looking in the other direction.
Sadly green plastic water butts are not very photogenic, but I'm not getting rid of it!

I still have roses flowering up against the side of the house,
although nearly all the leaves have gone.

The previous day I went out a bit later and took some pictures as the sun was hitting the garden. You have to be quick as the frost melts pretty fast - but quick is not a problem as my hands get so cold I can't stay out for very long, which is rather frustrating.

I was surprised to see how many webs were still on the Verbena bonariensis!

This is the time of year that my wiggly Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta')
comes to life, once the leaves have dropped and the
pretty canes and catkins are fully visible.

A view up the garden showing the seedheads on the Goldenrod (Solidago)
still looking decorative, but on the right the late flower bud
on my young Yucca is never going to open!

In my recent post about autumn colours I mentioned my spindly ornamental cherry that I think is a Higan Cherry (Prunus subhirtella) - well once the pretty leaves had dropped I noticed the smattering of blossom on it. This is a common occurrence and whilst it's not something that you'd notice from afar as the blooms are few and far between, just to have some new flowers right in the middle of winter is something to cherish! Only a very few are low enough down to photograph - just like the beautiful leaf colour that was right at the top of the tree, so are the blossoms! 

Melted frost on Prunus subhirtella blossom.

The photo below shows how few flowers there are, and I wanted to show this picture of blue sky because (1) milder grey gloom is coming back tomorrow, and (2) it's a reminder of how the lime tree on the right (yet another one!) is growing into it, so some pruning of the lime will be necessary this winter. When trees are small we are desperate for them to grow, but when they get to a reasonable size, we want them to stop! Yet another winter job to do. :-)

I'll try to remember this colour sky!