The winter rose

Winter is well and truly here at Mount Dandenong, but despite the cold days and wet, drizzly nights, one plant in particular chooses this time of the year to shine – the one and only Winter Rose – Helleborus. These are a few examples of the varieties currently flowering in the garden at Greatrakes (along with a couple of other early season arrivals).

Also making a show during the cold weather are these beautiful little crocus bulbs:

Winter Wonderland

For the first time in the almost 4 years that we have lived here at Greatrakes, we have had snowfalls heavy enough to settle on the ground, not just once, but two days in a row.

Snow started falling in the early hours of Saturday morning and when I woke up around 5:30 am it was quite heavy – there was a covering of around 5 mm of snow on the bluestones along the edge of the front porch. By 7:30 am the sun had risen and the garden was white with a fresh dusting. Sadly over the next hour the snow turned to drizzle and by lunchtime it was all gone.

Then on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, a fresh wave of snow showers hit, and by sunrise the garden was once again white, however this time it kept snowing, and by 9:00 am there were actually some quite heavy snow showers.

This meant that the snow lasted well into the day, with the drizzle not taking over until well after 10:00 am, and patches of snow still visible in the more sheltered areas of the garden well into the afternoon.

Heide thought it was fabulous stuff, but Reinhardt was completely ambivalent about the whole experience, preferring instead to bury himself in among the cushions on the couch.

Reinhardt is not a big fan of the white stuff.