Frosted seed heads and sparkling grasses

The allotment is not looking bare yet with seed heads and grasses still standing tall. There were some casualties when we had the heavy snowfall a week ago which broke stems and flattened grasses but most survived.

I never really understood why we gardeners often get the advice to cut everything down before winter for the so-called big autumn clean up. This does not really make sense to me as in doing so we deprive birds of an essential food source and insects and other invertebrates of a safe spot to hibernate. One of the best things we can do to help wildlife in our gardens is not being too tidy.

Also, leaving seed heads standing through winter will add another season of interest to our gardens. Seed heads look beautiful on a frosty morning and grasses light up like fireworks in low winter sunshine

Below are some pictures from my allotment, all taken in December this year:

Chinese feather grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is one of the best grasses for winter interest (below).

Aster x frikartii `Mönch` and Achnatherum calamagrostis (below)

Agastache foeniculum is silhouetted against the sun (below).

Seed head of Pennisetum alopecuroides (below).

Seed heads and grasses are glowing in the low winter sunshine (below).

Fluffy seed heads of Miscanthus sinensis (below).

My little allotment robin eyeing up the suet block (below).

Seed head of Eupatorium purpureum (below).

Festuca  glauca, Ameria maritima and Festuca amethystina growing on the sandy hill near the pond (below).

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) surrounded by grasses (below). 

The grass Anemanthele lessoniana has turned a wonderful orange-red colour (below).

 The pompom-like seed heads of Wild bergamot (below).

The last flower of Rudbeckia laciniata (below).

Teasel seed heads backlit by the low winter sun (below).

The allotment on a sunny December day (below).

More grasses with Calamagrostis brachytricha, Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' and Eragrostis elliottii (below).

This great tit is busy eating from a piece of suet block (below).
 

View from the front towards the middle of the allotment (below).

There is still some colour left on the allotment with red and green-coloured swiss chard (below).

The delicate seed heads of Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima, below).

Giant feathergrass (Stipa gigantea) glowing in the sunshine (below).

Winter rosette of Digitalis ferruginea (below).

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum, below).

Some Asters such as this Symphyotrichum novi-belgii (below) turn a beautiful orange-red colour in autumn. 

The robin following me around the allotment in hope for any worms I might bring to the soil surface (below).

The fluffy seed heads of Aster pyrenaeus `Lutetia` (below).

The little blue tit is getting a chance to eat some suet as the robin and great tits are busy elsewhere (below). 

Frosted Miscanthus sinensis seed heads (below). This grass comes into growth quite late in spring but once it gets going it is unstoppable and still looks good in winter (below).

A frosty morning on the allotment with Anemanthele lessoniana and Eragrostis elliottii in the foregound (below).

Frozen Rudbeckia laciniata flower (below).

Anemanthele lessoniana with its orange-red leaves always brings some colour to the winter garden (below).

Seed heads galore with Agastache foeniculum, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Echinacea purpurea, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii and Pennisetum alopecuroides (below).

Fragrant aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) starts flowering in early autumn and only stops after the first sharp frosts in November or December (below).

Some Miscanthus sinensis varieties have wonderful red autumn colour (below).

Frosted harebell flower (Campanula rotundifolia, below). Harebells are pretty little plants, flowering on and off for most of the year with a peak in early summer. They need some sunshine and do not like being over-shadowed by taller plants but are otherwise quite undemanding.

This will be my last blog post for 2017. I wish everyone a peaceful Christmas break (and hopefully some time for a bit of gardening) and a good start into 2018!

Snow, snow, glorious snow! (and a little robin)

The first snow this winter came quite as a surprise as there was no snow forecast for Wallingford until Saturday evening. When I opened the curtains on Sunday morning everything was white outside and it was snowing heavily. No surprise I ate my breakfast as quickly as possible and was soon off to the allotment to enjoy the snow before everyone else got out of bed.

On the allotment all was silent and white with the snow still coming down heavily. Only the birds were active in the snow searching for food. The suet block I put out for them was well in demand with blue and great tits and a little robin fighting over the food.

The robin is normally invisible in summer, looking after his own business, but as soon as it gets cold he is following me around everywhere on the allotment, waiting for me to disturb the soil and uncover some worms or larvae for him.
Below are some pictures of my allotment in the snow and the little robin.

Teasel seed heads look good even when covered in snow (below).

Here the robin is sheltering in a nearby shed on another plot (below).

The last of the Rudbeckia nitida flowers, now covered in snow (below).

As there was nothing else to do on the allotment apart from making sure the birds have enough food I thought it might be a funny idea to build a snow rat. I had built one several years ago but as we don`t get snow every winter I could not miss out on this opportunity. Here is the result (it is supposed to be a dumbo rat, not an elephant):

My next blog will be filled with frozen seed heads and sparkling grasses. Luckily I took lots of pictures on Saturday when it was very frosty and sunny as with all the wet snow lots of seed heads have broken and grasses are flat on the ground.