The weekend of 14 – 16 January brought the coldest weather of the winter, so far, quite a shock to the system given the weather pattern this winter. Walking over ground set solid by the frost; the herbaceous plants that had not been cut back really came into their own. With the amount of moisture in the air it was a true white frost; foliage was covered in crystallised ice.

The evergreen carpet of Bergenia cordifolia leaves became translucent with the strong low sun shining through.

Seed heads of Iris bulleyana and the remnants of the bullet hard seed in the pods stood proud at the edge of the border and the mass of Astilbe koreana was a treat with the sun reflecting off the stems.

Bergenia cordifolia

Iris bulleyana

Astilbe koreana