With the start of November we are beginning to get more wintry weather. Two nights ago we had our first frost, and the temperature has remained around 5 deg C for several days.

Yet it's surprising to see the flowers that continue to bloom, seemingly oblivious of the falling temperatures. Many hydrangeas ( principally  H. macrophylla ) are still flowering, generally blue in this area with our rocky acid soil. There are fuchsias still covered in flowers and the odd rose still hanging on, too. And in the admittedly somewhat sheltered kitchen garden we have snapdragons ( Antirrhinum majus) and dahlias, chrysanthemums and gaillardias, all still producing flowers, seemingly unaffected by the cold. Not to mention the ubiquitous Verbena bonariensis - I'm betting on those to last the longest of all.

 

In this high rainfall area it is the greenery that is so striking. This region is characterized by traditional dry stone walls, criss-crossing the mountainsides, many standing 500 years and more. But in many places the oldest have become infiltrated and increasingly covered with mosses and lichens, ferns and stonecrop ( Sedum); unfortunately, in the end they may bring the walls down. But nowadays there is a renewed interest in renovating and rebuilding these ancient structures, and we can allow both stone and plant to live in harmony.

 

I must not forget to mention that the acid soil here provides ideal conditions for great numbers of rhododendrons to grow wild across the hills and in the woods and it is now that their season begins, the first petals starting to emerge from their swelling buds. Those here on the farm are a delicate shade of lilac.