This month has produced rain, sunshine and wonderful autumn colours, as well as fog, a flurry of snow and the first frost.

The dates of the first frost have been very consistent over the past four years, falling almost exactly on the same date during the middle of November.

So it’s goodbye to the nerines, dahlias, fuchsias and unfortunately the delightfully delicate starry flowers of Saxifraga fortunei ‘Rubrifolia’. I do wish they would flower a bit earlier.

But it is hello to the winter flowering Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ , Jasminum nudiflorum (winter jasmine), Viburnam bodnantense and V. Tinus, with plenty more to come such as mahonia and daphne, both deliciously scented.

Just when it appears to be the end of the year all these flowering shrubs burst forth and there is a realisation that it is in fact the beginning… As the beds are cleared of stubborn perennial weeds and blanketed with compost, there, just poking through the soil are the green noses of the snowdrops and daffodils.

And I really must get around to looking through the seed catalogues again!