The weather in January continued to be warm. Some plants that would have succumbed to the slightest sign of frost (e.g. borage) were still alive in the middle of January. The reality that it was winter came only on the 24th, when we awoke to find a thick layer of snow over the garden. However, it had all disappeared by the afternoon and it continued to be warm for the rest of the month. The warm weather had the disadvantage that there were many more bugs about. They were busy munching their way through some of our plants, hence the tattered look in some of the photos. The warmth also necessitated us getting down to some of the jobs in the garden normally reserved for February and March – pruning the lilac and cutting down the raspberry canes being the most urgent. Not only the plants but the birds too thought the spring had arrived. The garden was full of the songs of thrushes and robins.
