
Jack Frost partied hard overnight. Evidence of his overnight visit was everywhere following a relatively mild Christmas and start to the New Year.

The local livestock were sheltering against a hedge. The country lane was quiet. Most humans, other than dog-walkers, were staying in the warm. The peculiar antics of a botanist with a camera proved the subject of much bovine curiosity and puzzlement.


It was interesting to note how frost emphasises the margins of grass leaf blades.

The frost highlights the positions of stinging hairs on nettles, Urtica dioica.


© Karen Andrews
Other types of frosted vegetation:



Winter Heliotrope, Petasites fragrans, had featured in the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt just a few days earlier. Now, many of the flowers were curling over to protecting themselves from the cold.
Frosted Winter Heliotrope © Karen Andrews Frost highlights leaf margin © Karen Andrews
Frozen Winter Heliotrope, Petasites fragrans © Karen Andrews

It was particularly interesting to note how daisies were behaving in the frost, given the previous blog on the Daisy as a weather barometer and clock.
Plant blindness seems to reach its peak in the winter. A botanical walk in the frosty countryside demonstrated how much there is to see if you look more closely and pay attention to plant structures.
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Karen does not seek or receive any commercial interest or advantage from this blog. She is not promoting any business venture. She simply loves to share fascinating facts about plants. These pages illustrate her love of plants, botany, biodiversity, gardens and creative expression. There is always so much to learn about plant diversity. This blog is designed as a showcase for photography, commentary on plants and wildlife, gardens and other places visited, horticulture and related topics. Viewpoints are her own, not those of her employer.
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