Rambling Russells : Floral Favourites Nov 2016

The month began with the sighting of a Red Admiral butterfly at Caerlaverock - not our garden I know but worth a mention!

The gardening month began dry with many leaves still on the trees in all their glorious colours - the rich red of the acer, reds and golds on azalea bushes, green and yellow on fruit trees and dark reds and oranges on the berberis hedge. Those that have fallen are crisp and dry as they pile-up against gates, fences and other plants making colourful "litter"

Some plants have still been flowering - we have picked scented roses as they open and brought them indoors to have a spectacular late show! Wild orange poppies and calendulas have been abundant in the mild weather bringing a lovely burst of colour in the garden.

Himalayan honeysuckle and sedum have been looking spectacular and even the heads of the hydrangea are pretty as they fade.

Despite looking good at the beginning of the month we then had our first frosts at the end of the first week - and plants and flowers suddenly looked dead and dying. The days were still, however, beautifully sunny. Love days like that when the air is crisp and fresh. The conservatory roof looked spectacular on one particular morning - remember the days before central heating when the windows were frosted in the mornings? Well our glass roof in the conservatory looked like that on the outside! Lovely feathery fronds of frost.

Then on the 8th we had the first snow too! The rain turned to snow in the evening leaving a good covering everywhere - but by the morning there was hardly any left.

More severe frosts followed during the rest of the month but a combination of frosts, high winds and late sunshine made for an interesting mixture of weather for November and the opportunity for some "frosty" photos.