Freezing cold air temperatures here along with beautiful, sunny, blue, cloudless skies. The frozen woodchip paths crunch underfoot as I survey different parts of the garden, early January afternoon. Perfect weather for tackling one or two winter jobs. Although the red stemmed Swiss Chard and Spinach beet lines have slowed down, I'm still harvesting. Snow forecast soon, so armed with a brand new gift of secateurs, I decide to cut them back a bit and compost some of the more weather-damaged leaves. Remaining leeks stand strong in what was orginally their summer residence bed. Lines of verdant-cream winter sculptures poke through freezing air, still good to harvest when the soil's not too frozen. Can just about lift three or four this afternoon, carefully, using a garden fork first, followed by a hand fork. Get thee to the compost bays unwanted foliage! Can't beat a warming, home made leek and potato soup for lunch or early supper in January! Robust, vitamin-packed herbs in contrasting shades of silver-grey to deep green, line the path towards the compost bays, continuing to defy hard seasonal frosts. Some, I'm discovering, (especially from the Sage family), have an amazing toleration for very low temperatures. Harvested a few sprigs of remaining Parsley, (Petroselinum crispum), to sprinkle later onto today's late lunch soup. Just as I was finishing composting the remaining leaves, a fiery-breasted robin, perching on the edge of a deep red chard stem came to visit, beginning a winter serenade, a tuneful outro from this familiar gardener's companion. Another productive and enjoyable afternoon in the January garden.
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