This time of year can be a real mixed bag when it comes to the weather. Winter is my favourite season, possibly because when I picture it, instinctively I think of a scene from a Christmas card – a cold crisp morning, a sprinkling of snow and a plump robin sitting on a post box. The reality is, however, that the weather we have during the winter is often windy, wet and a little wild. The shorter days and the weakening daylight start the change at the beginning of the season, and with this light, the garden takes on a beautiful golden colour and is still very much active. When the first period of cold weather arrives later in the season, the garden starts to shut down for winter. The golden colours in the early morning change to cooler blues and there is a beautiful stillness to everything.
Even though the frost marks the end of the gardening season, I enjoy spending time in my own garden when it is cold and crisp, with a cup of tea and planning ahead and making the most of the dryer weather. Garden birds tend to get busier when it’s cold, and the bird feeders are constantly busy and being refilled, as the birds try to fatten up for winter, and I will be keeping my eye out for that plump robin sitting on the postbox in the snow!
