When will this winter end? At least March has started settled and suddenly the mornings are much lighter. One of the better things to come from these extended periods of snow and frost is the added dimension it gives to the plant form. The frosted beauty on the common green leaf and deciduous branch networks means the later appearance of the spring bulbs is not too depressing. Who could fail to be impressed by the sight of massed Silver Birch, Betula pendula covered in frozen ice crystals glinting in the sun?

Cotoneaster cashmiriensis was collected in North West India. Found colonising a large boulder by the Ravi River at 2286metres in the Western Himalayas. A prostrate habit which can mound in a garden situation with more fertile soil. Growing in the rock garden and covering a good square metre. A few of the sub globose red berries remain attached.

Cotoneaster cashmiriensis

Cotoneaster cashmiriensis