There has been a light frost every morning this week. I know this because when I get up, the first thing I do is open the inner shutters of the landing window and look out; mostly I see the vegetable garden but I can also see the solar panel (for hot water) on the shed roof and each morning there has been a little frost, not thick and not completely covering it. It has been cold and extremely windy all week with the wind coming from the north (Tramontana) or north-east (Grecale). These are both bitingly cold winds that clear the air and mean you can see for miles; they also mean you need a hat and warm clothes if you’re going to venture out. I like it that winds have names, makes them seem for friendly! Do the winds where you live have names in common use?But I digress, this morning we had the Full Monty! The panel was covered with thick white frost all over. I rushed to get outside and capture the beauty of the first real frost on the garden this year. I had already taken some shots of the slope last evening because the light was so beautiful so I can show you both to compare Wednesday at 5 and Thursday at 8.15 (that’s right I wasn’t up very early this morning!)
Looking up the slope, evening
Looking up the slope morning
Looking up the slope, evening
Looking up the slope morning
The usual view morning
The usual view, evening
Form is high-lighted by the frost
The ice crystals are large and ‘blobby’ which makes me think that the night was damp and the temperature dropped long into the night otherwise the crystals would have been more elegant.
Ice crystals on Cistus
Ice crystals on Cistus
ice crystals
ice crystals on Senicio
Ice crystals, Euphorbia myrsinites
All the fine hairs are covered with ice crystals
Ice crystals
Verbascum
Thyme looks as if it were variagated
Thyme looks as if it were variagated
Hemerocallis foliage
Hemerocallis foliage
Lavender
Ice crystals, Euphorbia myrsinites
Artemesia
The sun is shining now and the wind blowing hard again, not a day to be gardening, I feel more like baking; what do you like doing on days when you don’t want to garden?
Looking up the slope morning
We too have had quite a few light frosts but so far nothing as dramatic as yours.
No, we don’t name our winds but I could think of a few names for the north and east winds that sometimes come howling across the fields!
Like you, I turn to baking when its too cold to garden, usually something sweet and comforting!! I should catch up on the housework, maybe one day?
Housework will always be there whether you do it or not; much better to garden or bake.
Interesting to see your first real frost. We had our first real frost this morning too – but I didn’t run outside to look at the plants!
Ah! Amelia, I’ve found you out! You love the bees because they are only out in the sun.
Too true 🙂
The pictures of frost covered plants are beautiful but I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to lose a lot of them! Frost is very rare where I am and our nights haven’t dipped any where near that low yet. Still, the mornings are chilly by SoCal standards so I’m staying inside watching our Thanksgiving day parade coverage until it warms a bit. BTW, our winds also have a name – they’re called Santa Anas but they have a devilish, not positive, reputation.
It is most unusual to have such a heavy frost so early in the winter. The cold snap came from nowhere as we’d been having a very mild pleasant autumn up until a week ago. I hope there aren’t too many more.
It does all look lovely in the frost – I really like the effect on the Artemisia. I was also fascinated by the ice crystals we have had over the last few days. I love baking and making soup when it’s cold weather, but today I cut some fir tree branches for Advent decorations. 😀
I hope you’re going to show us your decorations.
Your slope pictures show such a rich tapestry of textures that are so enjoyable. We’ve had a couple of mild frosts. Love your icy photos. Susie
Thanks Susie and I forgot to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving
Ridiculous to be envious of your frosts, I am sure we will get some eventually, but I do love the way it transforms everything, even when the crystals are blobby! It was so mild here yesterday I only wore a coat to protect my clothes from the fence paint!
Being so close to the sea you’re unlikely to have many frosts. All this week has been bitterly cold, I’m spoilt- I don’t like it at all even though the sky is at least blue!
Hello Christina. The icy pictures are glorious, although the plants may not agree! I live not too far from Pauline, frosts here have been light so far. Your garden looks truly lovely, and you too have a slope! I shall be following with great interest.
Hi Jessica, my slope is not terraced like yours so it has a very different ‘feel’. I’ve been posting about it every week since June so you can see how it changes over the year; maybe I should do a summary soon.
Love the pictures of the ice crystals. We just had a bit of a thaw, it is now slightly above freezing with the sun out.
Lovely icy pictures. I love your garden on a slope. It does look like Paradise.
The only names I have for cold winds are rude ones. I hate gardening in the wind and I hate it when I can’t get out in the garden.
Winter. Bah!
Chloris
The wind is the weather I hate the most whether it is the biting wind of winter or the hot desicating wind of summer.
Your plants look like they are encrusted with jewels
I’ve never even thought much about the quality if my frosts! What an interesting idea. If I can convince myself to go outside and check the crystals, I would probably learn a lot….. Or I could make soup 😉
Beautiful pictures and I like the comparisons!
I should have shown some different crystals from another year so you could see the difference.
Isn’t it wonderful how the frost transforms everything into a magical fairyland? We should be getting a similar blast in the days ahead. I’ll try to adopt your positive attitude.
Cold and clear with blue skies is good, heavy grey skies – not so much! yes, it is magical when everything is silvery white and sparkling.
Gorgeous! I love macros of frost on plants. I never seem to get out in time to capture the morning frost, but occasionally we get amazing hoar frosts that hang on even in the middle of the day. I think we have names for some of our winds, but I can’t think of them right now. Lovely post.
Hi Christina, really lovely frost pictures, its still oddly mild here, is this early for your frosts? I like the idea of the comparisons too.
Hi Julie, yes as above it is early for us to have frosts like this.
Wow…beautiful photos. I am so glad I came across your post and will be back to visit. The frost pictures are amazing! We haven’t had those kind of temperatures yet but I think they are on their way. It does make good photography weather.
No frost today but we have a had a week of frosty mornings which is early for us here in Italy.
Hi, Christina, your crystalline photos are fabulous! And your slope is lovely in its jewels. I love the beauty of frost. We have had a couple of hard frosts, but I didn’t make it into the garden to take photos of it. I am definitely not an early morning person. When I can’t get outside, I like to read by the fire.
Only the first frost would tempt me out into the cold, maybe if we have a hoar frost I may be tempted again otherwise I prefer the warmth inside.
Hey Christina,
Just love your ice crystal plant studies. Wish we had such smooth transitions as winter sets in. We just have a deep freeze and then everything goes black. Enjoyed this very much,
Even this quite heavy frost doesn’t seem to have killed anything; I don’t have that many plants that turn black.