Seasonal snow

It was reported today that Britain had its second warmest year in 2007 since records began (the warmest was 2006).

Today, however, was decidedly cold, though the snow did not lie until much after lunchtime.

As the other photo shows, I have been doing some cutting and coppicing. The rush, like a spiny green and white sea urchin, is soft-rush, Juncus effusus, and seems a very strong plant, so I am sure it will survive. Elsewhere in the picture you can see sallow stumps where I have started a small coppice.

Iced smooth tare, Vicia tetrasperma

One of the newest arrivals in the windowbox is a plant of what is almost certainly smooth tare, a mini-vetch. It appeared in the autumn and has been growing steadily since.

For the last few days the weather has been very cold and frosty and the soil in the windowbox will, by now, be frozen right through. This makes it a much harsher microclimate than the garden round about where the roots of many plants will be below the level that frost can penetrate.

We will see what survives (the previous two winters have not been as cold as this).