Last night, while I was enjoying some excellent food at a relatively posh Italian restaurant with friends, it started to snow. It is still snowing now; not much, but enough for the world outside my kitchen window to look like this:
If you look at the bottom of the large house on the left of the picture, maybe you can make out a row of shrubs forming a short hedge.
These are gorse, I think, and for the past few days they looked beautiful with their yellow flowers, creating a spec of colour while no other flowers were out just yet.
As you can see in the close-up (sorry about the somewhat blurred quality), the gorse is now covered in snow, and I'm afraid all the flowers will die.
But such is nature's way, and all I can do is wrap up warmly before I leave the house, and be glad about the heating system working so well in my comfortable flat.
Dear, it is not a gorse, it is a winter jasmine. It grows in our garden, too. It's coming from China. It has not much in common with the white, smelling jasmine in may, it doesn't smell at all. But it looks so pretty, when everything around is grey and brown, the sunny yellow blossoms make hope for the next spring.
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me, Mum! I did think that the time of year wasn't right for gorse, but could not think of any other shrub-like plant with tiny yellow floers.
DeleteHello Meike:
ReplyDeleteA winter wonderland indeed, the view from your window looks truly magical but, as you say, is best seen from the comfort of a centrally heated apartment! Here too in Budapest temperatures have plummeted and icy weather has gripped us for the past few weeks. However, little snow as yet, but February usually sees the worst of it here!!!
Stay warm and enjoy!
Hello Jane and Lance,
Deleteit is not as cold yet as I'm afraid it will get; at the moment, it is still comparatively mild at -2 Celsius. But I have to venture outside now to do my groceries shopping, my fridge and the breadbasket are as good as empty...
Lovely photos, Meike. It's always poignant to see an image of flowers with snow on them. We've had no snow here in Wales as yet this winter and the weather forecasters are playing "Will they, won't they?" about whether the snow forecast for England will reach so far west. We'll just have to wait and see....
ReplyDeleteThank you, Perpetua!
DeleteWhile I am not at all keen on snow, I keep telling myself, better now than later.
Snow does seem to have caught the plant by surprise, i hope it recovers and flowers again at the right time later.
ReplyDeleteSomehow the snow makes everything look prettier.
It does, doesn't it? Sadly, it soon turns into brown-grey sludge on the roads and pavements here in town.
DeleteWe have a little white again here too. I don't think I've ever seen a winter jasmine around here, our winter climate is probably on average a little too cold for them. (I looked it up and it seems it can be grown in some parts of southern Sweden though.)
ReplyDeleteHooray for padded winter coats and warmly lined wellies!
DeleteToday, I am being very lazy and not leaving the house at all.
Snow today, with 10cm forecast for Monday.
ReplyDeleteWhich I don't mind.
Just as long as it disappears by Tuesday when the novelty wears off and I need to get out
I have not looked at the forecast yet, but, like you, I only HAVE to leave the house again on Tuesday, since I am working from home tomorrow.
DeleteAll our snow has melted, but tomorrow it's back below freezing and who knows? We won't have anything blooming here until the spring witch hazel next month, and that's a tree......But I'll be in Florida for March!
ReplyDeleteKristi, that sounds great - I wouldn't mind going to Florida in March, either :-)
DeleteMy winter jasmine is flowering too, I grow it on a wall to make the stems stretch across the whole area.
ReplyDeleteIt is finally getting a bit colder here too, I can’t bear the slush and dismal grey of the winter we’ve had so far anymore.
Let’s hope we’ll get a few sunny and bright days, otherwise I might have to come and live in Germany again.
Good idea about your winter jasmine, Friko, and nice to know you have one as well!
DeleteYes, I really wish for all my friends and relatives in England for better weather this year.
Snow! It looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteIt broke a record for high temperature this weekend. It was 76 degrees yesterday, and about the same today. Who knows, it might be freezing next week!
I have photos of jasmine from Arabia Mountain, from March of this past year, it looks the same really, but it is called Carolina jasmine or jessamine here. Beautiful on top of ARABIA!!
Everything I have seen so far on top of Arabia Mountain is beautiful, Kay, including yourself, Richard and your son when you are walking there :-)
DeleteAnd of course you know what I like best about the jasmine - it is yellow :-D
How cozy to be snug in your house with the snow falling outside.
ReplyDeleteAnd the teakettle singing of course!
xx
julie
It was good to be in yesterday, Julie, and although my kettle does not sing, it was busy a few times during the day :-)
DeleteToday, though, I am expected at the customer's and have to leave the comfort of my warm flat. Let's hope my train connection works according to plan and I won't have to stand around at the station for more than a few minutes.
I do love your snowy winter photos from your window. I know it sounds silly when I'm basking in 32℃ but I'm beginning to miss it.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds silly indeed, Graham :-D
DeleteEnjoy those 32 Celsius for as long as you can!!!