Awoke to the first frost of the winter this morning. The forecast yesterday had predicted 6 degrees which we had experienced on a couple of nights quite early in the autumn and so my plans for protecting more vulnerable subjects were well under way. Last night, feeling that it might well drop lower than forecasted, I hastily draped some fleece protection over my most prized plants, including a Lemon Tree left with me by a friend who returns to the UK in the winter. On rising I could feel it was by far the coldest morning this autumn and the thermometer - 0 degrees - and the solid ground confirmed this.
My day will be spent organising my overwintering area now. I do not like to do it too early as I believe it beneficial to try to accustom plants to lower temperatures. I but did lift several things several weeks ago and potted them up to ensure they were settled before further protection was needed. Now they must go into winter quarters.
