It was so cold today, the secateurs were like ice cubes in my hands. Likewise, it was not comfortable holding the spade. However, I was pleased to get a few small jobs out of the way in the garden this morning.
Over the summer, the apple tree had grown closer to the shed, which meant stooping to get to the bins, which I keep out of view behind it. Not ideal, but then cutting off branches with new buds forming was also less than ideal. Still, pruning does mean I will get more branches and more buds in the future.
It’s still too early to say if the rat has moved to pastures new but I decided to spread out the compost I put down over the latest hugel bed. On Monday, it had seemed quite thick but now it’s more like a thick sprinkling. At least it will feed the soil somewhat, especially important after losing the bokashi solids inside the bed to hungry vermin.
One thing is for certain, fennel will be on the menu for me next year. It has already started to regrow after being cut down in the autumn. And I could still have nasturtiums if I wanted… They are starting to look quite bedraggled but last night’s snow showers and winds didn’t kill them off.
Growing out of chaos 
It’s finally getting cold here too, Helen. I’m glad you braved the elements to get a few things done. I hope you have a good pair of winter gardening gloves. It’s hard to get our fingers working when they’re cold.
I should have worn gloves, but I’m not really a fan of them!
What are your temperatures at the moment? Ours go up and down – 11 one day, 5 the next.
Well done for braving the cold. I don’t like gloves, either
It was a beautiful day, though 😊
Thank You for sharing Helen blessing to you and your family
Thank you, Linda. Same for you. I hope you are keeping warm in this cold weather.
Fennel is amazingly tough! Mine is regrowing already too. I have so many seedlings coming up all over the place and I thought I had collected all the seeds!
I imagine I will have lots of seedlings this next year, as I was late in collecting some seeds.
On the other side of the garden I’ve got a patch of fennel which grows later and doesn’t flower. Not sure how much longer it will last but it certainly is amazingly tough!
Nasturtium battles on doesn’t it? 🙂
Indeed!