A frosted rose

A Chilly Glimpse of Winter

Posted on by Ann Mackay

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We had our first glimpse of winter this week, with a frost over most of the garden. There had been a dusting of frost over house rooftops and cars before that, but this was the first real cold of the year.

I’m always hoping that there will still be a few flowers around when the frosts arrive. There’s often a few lingering roses and, when frosted, these make likely subjects for a wintry photograph. The rose here is ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, although these flowers look more magenta than the usual dark purple. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s due to the effects of early morning light, or it might be because the petals are frozen. Whatever the reason, they look much lighter than they usually do. (However, you can see a slight trace of the darker colour on some of the petals in the photo below.)

At the start of winter there are not many flowers remaining in the garden. At the moment there are these roses, a couple of flowering shrubs, and here and there a flower or two still clinging onto the smaller plants. At the sunnier end of the garden, the few bumblebees that are still active are making good use of the yellow flowers of the mahonia bush. Nearer the house, the scented pink flowers of Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ should be with us right through until early spring.

Photography in the garden can be very limited at this time of year, so if there’s a frosty morning I like to make the most of it and get outside before it melts. While the gardener in me worries about the effects of frost on plants that aren’t entirely hardy, my creative side is delighted to find something to photograph. I often have mixed feelings when things turn icy! ❄

Frosted roses and buds
Only a slight trace of the usual dark purple is visible on the petals of this frosted flower of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’.
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Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

14 thoughts on “A Chilly Glimpse of Winter”

  1. It’s nice that various stages of the flower still were present; those frosted buds are especially appealing. I like the glittery background, too. Is that light hitting other frosted plants? As long as winter’s going to show up, I hope you get some frost that lingers for a while!

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    1. Yes, there would have been a mix of frost and melted drops on the plants behind (which are mostly a mix of now-bare shrubs against a dark fence). I’ll be waiting to see if any of those rose buds manage to open…seems very likely because the frost didn’t last for long. It looks like it may be fairly mild for the next couple of weeks but January can bring lots of frost…brrr!

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    1. I’m tempted to grow more annuals that can last ’til late (cosmos for instance) just so that I can photograph them if they get frosted. And more interesting seed heads would be good too… 🙂

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  3. I’m with you in seeing magenta rather than blue or even purple in the opening photo. And speaking of photos, you make a good point about frost on flowers lending itself to embellishing them, especially with many other things looking grim at this time of year.

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    1. Hehe, I think the ‘blue’ in the name is a bit of a marketing ploy because they usually are a lovely dusky purple. I think I need to grow more plants that would cheer up the garden in winter and distract from the drabness of a grey and rainy day. (I’m good at finding excuses for buying plants! 😆)

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  5. I always think there’s something poignantly beautiful about frosted roses ~ I’d just chosen a photo of one in our garden to head my latest post when I saw yours! That colour is delicious! 😊

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    1. I’ve just seen your beautiful rose and I agree about the poignant feel. (For me there’s probably a nostalgia for soft summer evenings, my favourite time to just wander in the garden and enjoy the flowers.) The colour is a bit of a surprise because it’s so much lighter than usual. I’ll be interested to see if the remaining buds are darker when/if they open.

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      1. Mmm, those soft summer evenings wandering through the garden! I think partly for me too it’s because my birthday is looming and I’ve always fancied one in early June instead like our younger daughter, all honeysuckle and roses, rather than the gloom of early December. Might have to try a half-birthday for a change! 😂🌹🌹🌹

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