It has been a terribly long wait since The Priory had snow enough to show and tell: a five-year wait. The Beast from the East didn't bring huge amounts of snow to my corner of Sussex; but if we were spared the havoc meted out to parts of the Kingdom, we had sufficient for me … Continue reading Waiting For Snow
Winter
January Ice
We've had no snowfall yet at The Priory but we have had plenty of the next best thing: hard frosts under bright, blue skies. On one of those sharp, sunny mornings last week, I grabbed my camera and strolled about the garden. Here are a handful of images which might show why The Priory is … Continue reading January Ice
A Frosty Pause
After my last doleful post, winter got her act together. For a couple of days last week the rain stopped, the skies cleared, temperatures plummeted, mud froze, and, at long last, it was shiveringly cold. Not on a Siberian or Alaskan scale but at -5°C, Sussex was cold. My first chore on arriving at work … Continue reading A Frosty Pause
A Winter’s Day
After a short Christmas break, I returned to a frozen Priory. Icy, sparkling, frosted, prickly. The valley softened by cloudy breath (if you'll allow me a little purple prose) and the ponds frozen hard. As I crunched about the grounds, I pictured a favourite childhood book - the marvelous Ladybird 'What to look for in … Continue reading A Winter’s Day
Still Here, Still Gardening
Or at least, I've been gardening as much as I possibly can. It is still very, very wet here in Sussex - I can't do as much as I'd like to do. Or need to do. When it has been dry enough, I've cut back various beds and mulched with my rather lovely, two-year old … Continue reading Still Here, Still Gardening
A Look Back At Winter
What a long and cold, tedious winter that was. Spring is arriving in The Priory gardens, but I thought I'd buck the seasonal blogging trend of crocuses and primulas and daffodils; and subject you, instead, for a little longer at least, to more snow and wintry scenes. Sorry. And then I promise, I will bid … Continue reading A Look Back At Winter
Wainwright’s Coast to Coast … In Winter
Only it wasn't winter. It was March, almost Easter, and a time, I'd supposed, for primrose lined paths, sparkling sunshine and hosts of daffodils. But in Northern England this year, March was decidedly still winter. Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk is an almost 200-mile path from St Bees on the Cumbrian coast to Robin Hood's … Continue reading Wainwright’s Coast to Coast … In Winter
The Anxious Gardener 