On Monday we had the first frost of the year. Up until then, the weather had been mild and wet, so it felt as if it had come suddenly. There were still a few flowers in the garden, lasting much later than you might expect. And, of course, they were caught by the frost.
As you may imagine, this meant that I had a busy morning padding about the frozen garden with camera in hand.
Now that the plants are beginning to die back for winter, there’s not much left to photograph, so the intricate effects of frost give an opportunity that’s too good to miss. I took as many photographs as I could before the sun melted it all away. (And there will be more in later posts…)
The echinacea flower (PowWow White) was frozen through, and this has enhanced the green tinge to the ends of the petals. The emerging flowers start off pale green, with a vivid green cone, gradually maturing to a white flower with a golden-yellow cone.
This colour-change makes for more photographic potential. The plant is a new addition to the garden and I’m looking forward to following its progress with my camera during the next year.
The passionflower is ‘Constance Elliot’, which I wrote about here. It was planted just last year and has flowered well during the late summer. The bud seems to have escaped any serious damage from the frost and the plant’s leaves are still firm and healthy-looking, so I reckon it hasn’t come to any harm. Even so, as it gets colder, I’ll protect the base of the plant with either mulch or frost-fleece.
If the winter gets really cold, I may also put fleece around the penstemons. I’ve lost a few of these in cold winters, but some varieties have gone on for years – especially ‘Garnet’, which seems to be hardier than most. (Pictured is ‘Raven’, which came through last year’s fairly mild winter easily. I hope it turns out to be thoroughly hardy too.)
The rose below is a tough old girl who doesn’t let anything bother her…’Zephirine Drouhin’, a rose that is both delightfully scented and thornless. This is probably my favourite plant in the whole garden. I’m glad that she doesn’t mind the frost!
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Delighted to see the frost-laden flowers, Ann!
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Thank you Indira! I was glad to see the frost in my garden – a chance to take some photos. 🙂
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Looks like two different parts of nature are trying to give each other a challenge of survival .Of course,snow is the winner over delicate flowers,but I loved ‘rose is a tough old girl who doesn’t let anything bother her’.
Your photographs are amazing 😊😊
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Thank you, Deeksha, your comment made me smile! The rose was in the garden when we arrived years ago and can surprise me with flowers late in the year. In the summer the perfume is lovely to be near… 🙂
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I think frosted grasses and flowers are beautiful, and it’s a sight I don’t often get to see. It’s great to be able to see yours — they’re quite striking — especially that echinacea.
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We don’t get a lot of frost – global warming maybe – but I try to make the most of it when we do. And I always hope that there will still be a few flowers and seed-heads around to get frosted…great for photos! 🙂
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Hi, Ann. That is some impressive frosting on your flowers. Although it will hasten their demise, for the moment it is adding beauty.
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Thanks Steve! They did look lovely for a little while. 🙂
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Frosted flowers are lovely. Good job.
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Thank you Flower! I felt lucky to have the frost to create interesting effects for me. 🙂
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Wow! They look wonderful! Like with sugar 🙂
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Thanks Petra – I’m glad you like them! 🙂
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Beautiful images. The frost is always interesting in the Fall but it is sad to lose the flowers . Glad most of yours come back.
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Thanks Syd, glad you like them! 🙂 I find that the garden looks quite sad when the leaves have all fallen – it just seems so bare! There’s a winter-flowering viburnum and winter jasmine, so there will be a few little flowers. But I’ll be very glad when spring comes!
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Hi Anne – Right now I am sticking to my inside violets that like the low south sun in the winter. They go crazy. Have to wait until Spring for my yard. Lucky you have some white winter flowers.
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It’s great to have flowers inside at this time of year. I have some cyclamen plants, so they’ll likely be my next photographic project… 🙂
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Hope the frost didn’t kill anything of. Your tough old rose is a beauty.
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Looks like the frost hasn’t done any harm – even the passionflower bud looks surprisingly OK. (Doubt it will open though!) The echinacea flowers have had it – but the plant will be fine. 🙂
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Frozen flowers are amazing. I love that you dedicated a whole post to this. Gorgeous pics, as per usual.
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Thank you Shelly! Nature has kindly provided some more frost this morning, so there will be more of the frozen garden…brrr! 🙂
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I love the affect that the frost makes! All the colors truly sparkle, tho I assume the flowers don’t survive the cold in the end.
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Most don’t but sometimes some carry on (depending how much frost they’ve had) though maybe a bit battered. The echinacea and the roses were completely destroyed once they thawed out – so it was a very brief glory! 🙂
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Very much worth capturing these beautiful photos.
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Thank you! I’m very happy to know that you liked them! 🙂
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