There are always flowers

       for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse.

Hi everyone, hope some of you have had the chance to try the soup recipe from the last post.

It is officially winter now and the weather has finally realised what season it is, though it isn't as cold here as it usually is in June. I accidently let the fire go out last night (ie. I fell asleep watching TV and it was out when I woke up) and normally I would relight it before I go to bed but I didn't bother last night, and the house wasn't that cold this morning (normally it would be freezing this time of year). Anyway I have lit it now and that will make sure things stay nice & cosy.

The garden always knows what season it is, even if there are a few plants that are a bit confused by the warmer weather. We have been getting the usual morning fogs that are associated with our area at this time of year, but they have been leading into glorious sunny afternoons just right for gardening. Normally I don't spend a lot of time in the garden in the colder months except to do the essential pruning of roses and dead heading of some of the perennials.
Our garden is geared towards spring, that is when it is at its spectacular best and it is open to the public for the annual Garden Getabout. For that reason I probably don't appreciate the beauty of the winter garden as much as I should, until last week. I was out planting a few things that I had bought, when it dawned on me that there were quite a lot of plants that are flowering or having their moment of glory while they don't have to compete with the spring 'show offs'. So I out with the camera and decided I would take you on a garden walk.

The abutilons or Chinese lanterns are really full of flowers and doing their best to attract my attention.

Some of the camellias are just starting to burst into flower and they will do their best to provide some winter cheer right through to spring.

 Winter seems to be the season for these natives to shine.

And sometimes you just have to look a little closer to see some little pretties, a few of which are taking advantage of the warmer weather to have their last hoorah before the frosts come.

There's no ignoring all the yellow in the garden. It's very cheery and seems to be the dominant colour, particularly the daisies.

I love the cotoneasters for the their red berries and the rosellas they attract.

The last of the roses before the frosts, and they have to be pruned in a month or so.
And even if there weren't any flowers I certainly couldn't ignore this.

 A beautiful sunset viewed through the branches of the Gleditsia or as my daughter once called it, the 'spooky' tree.

So really there is a lot to appreciate in the winter garden. I might do this as a regular monthly post. What do you think? Would you like to see what's happening in the garden on a regular basis? It's something for me to think about.
On the crafty side of life there hasn't been a lot happening (well not by my standards) but I have cracked out the crochet hook and wool. Some of the ladies at the craft group I coordinated want to learn how to crochet, specifically a traditional granny square. I've been crochet for over 40 years and have never made a traditional granny square rug so I thought I'd start one as a sample.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes so until next time

TOODLES