Blooms in Winter

 Today has been the coldest day of winter with a south-westerly flow bringing snow showers to sea level and snow on the hills all around. With New Zealand being located where it is the southerly air flows come directly from Antarctica so they are our coldest winds. 

The temperature today got down to -1degree Celsius by late morning and we got a high of 3 degrees Celsius. Despite these cold temperatures these gorgeous flowers continue to stoically bloom in my garden. They are the Winter Rose (Helleborus orientalis) and when the garden is bereft of colour during the winter months these provide patches of beauty as they poke their flower heads up above the earth.

This year I have ended up with a lovely variety thanks to gifts of seedlings from my mother that have finally got established enough to flower. I braved the weather and went outside to pick a bunch. I enjoyed being in the cold weather, choosing which flowers to cut and coming back inside to the warmth. I then got the pleasure of selecting a vase to put them in and arranging them before taking some photos to capture their transient beauty forever.

Now I get to enjoy them over the next few days and all for no cost! The best kind of flowers!