Say it With Flowers (and Fruit and Veges)

The storms of the past couple of weeks mostly blew over us, so there's no damage in our little garden. In fact, it seems to have relished the cold and wet, and looked more than pleased with itself this morning, with its flowers, greenery, and promising buds.

The back door Daphne is that pineapple-mango smelling one... a deep whiff of the tropics is such a tonic on a cold winter day.

At the very top of the garden, the jasmine is putting out another amazing smell. Much sweeter and, well, more floral than the Daphne, but equally uplifting. There are winter cheers out too, in Margaret's garden. They seem to fit right in the middle of the scent spectrum -- a perfect fruit and flower blend. Do winter flowers  make much more of an effort with their scent than the summer flowers? Or are our winter noses more sensitive, more eager for the smell of something blooming?

Last summer's sweet peas are getting a great head start... a meter tall already. I'm hopeful of an early spring bouquet from these guys. They're all over the garden, so maybe we're in for a sweet pea glut.

These were a  bit of a surprise... mountain paw paws. They have been flowering for the past year, but they've never set fruit before. Now that they're above the fence level and getting some sun, they are making real live paw paws. Will they ripen? My guess is Yes.

Those cute furry looking sticks are really lethally thorny raspberry canes. The cute green leaves seem to be growing out from underneath the parent plant. It must put out root suckers, as there are quite a few baby plants popping up along the top garden.

Fennel loves the rain and cold, and it seems to particularly love the top terrace. Any day now we'll be tucking into a shaved fennel salad with dinner.

Chicory, beets and spinach. All loving the cool weather, growing slowly but surely toward the dinner table.