Splashes of Colour

What a difference a month makes. A look back to my post of October 28 shows the garden still full of foliage and flowers. But the last couple of weeks has brought days of frost followed by strong winds and rain, leaving few signs of colour anywhere. The Enkianthus that I was admiring in the previous post has reacted by dropping most of its leaves, and those that remain have turned brown. At least the withering rosehips on climbing 'Lykkefund' are still red,

... and the last leaves on another rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia, still glow brightly.

 Leaves that have already fallen are making a pretty pattern at its base, but it won't be long before they are all bleached of colour.

However, there is one solitary star at this time of the year, flowering when nothing else does. The aptly named Mahonia 'Winter Sun' is gearing up for its shining performance at the very darkest time of the year.

Although still quite small it is starting to fill its corner. As it grows, I'll remove some of the lower leaves to show the cinnamon bark of the stems and thin the flower clusters so that they stand apart.