Cold Weather

In the cold and fog, we still have to carry on working: planting the new roses, clearing weeds, taking out old annuals to make way for new plants. Finally we thought we had planted all the thousands of bulbs that we'd ordered this year, only for a hugely heavy box to arrive yesterday - so heavy I can only move it with a wheelbarrow - which turned out to be full of the lily bulbs that I'd thought were going to be delivered in the spring. Muck has been going thickly onto the ground over recent plantings of peonies and foxtail lilies. In the polytunnel seeds are sprouting and sweet peas are ready to be pinched out. In spite of the cold and the damp, it is very beautiful in the garden at this time of year, especially to appreciators of wild, rugged beauty who like to see the raw bones of the garden laid almost bare: muffled home to many winter creatures and solid backdrop for rising plumes of soft grey smoke from winter bonfires.