Jack Frost has arrived with a vengance.  He ran around on the back lawn and left white, stiff grass, and he ran around on the front lawn and left icy drifts.  It's the third day in a row we have had a big one.

Luckily I remembered to cover the lemon trees in their pots, and as my Mother in Law pointed out, it is time I pulled them in under the veranda to save them from the worst of the weather.  It's just I am not good at remember to water them, and they risk drying out.

Somehow the big lemon tree in the garden, which is now covered with small, green lemons awaiting ripening, has survived frosts, snow, and goodness knows how many hailstorms.  It just keeps on flowering, fruiting and being a darling.  Maybe it is a different, more hardy variety, who knows?

I have garlic ready to go in, and some sweet peas, which I am ashamed to say I did not grow from seed myself.

There's only a few things left in the garden now from summer...I have perpetual spinach, carrots, potatoes and parsley and that's about it.

On the weekend we had a morning of lovely sunny weather and I dug over part of the garden which really needed an overhaul.  It looks ready to plant winter veges into.  I put in a row of broadbeans and contemplated where to plant my garlic.  Traditionally garlic is planted on the shortest day, which is coming up.  You can try planting the garlic that you buy to eat, but often it has been treated with chemicals to stop them sprouting while on the shop shelf, and you can have a lot of difficulty getting a good crop.  I do buy my garlic for planting from a garden centre and it is much more successful.

On another note, I finished my teatowel quilt! yay  I am really pleased with it, a lot of recycled materials and a nice easy pattern resulting in a good effect.