Down comes the jumble of tangled prunings - bit by bit, snip by snip.
My trusty pruning platform!
A little round-up of a satisfying day at this beginning of 2019, which I've mostly spent working in the garden until dark . Did you hear - I'm BACK IN THE GARDEN AGAIN!!! I am now able to wear my contact lenses for several hours at a time (rather than minutes) - they've been disallowed since three weeks before Christmas, due to an inflammatory eye condition, which means that I can now actually see what I am doing.
We are forecast much colder weather in the coming week, so I've been getting on with the pruning of a rampant 'Paul's Himalayan Musk' Rose, growing through an equally rampant Eleagnus. This long overdue job is hard work, but do-able by just setting realistic targets...not trying to do it all on one go, and taking it slowly, carefully and patiently. Standing back lots of times to see what shape is required...then taking of a little bit more...and a little bit more. We'll get there in the end.
I've also cleared a mountain of leaves from the (not so much at the moment) 'Mediterranean Terrace' and opened up the Summerhouse to get ready for Imbolc in just over a couple of weeks time. I sat in the summerhouse for fifteen minutes to just take in the peace of the winter garden and start to plan what I will do there in the months to come. That tiny little shack is such a refuge to me (and plenty of insects!) at all times of the year. I just love it there. If you come to visit, you will no doubt end up here with a cup of tea!

Japanese wind chimes and birdsong are all that I heard at the peaceful pond today.
Snowdrops are coming up *everywhere* - such a symbol of hope in the darkest days...the longer daylight IS returning - only minute by minute, but noticeable (to me, anyway!).
Snowdrops and periwinkle - who said there is no colour in the winter garden?

And above - another symbol of hope, if you are a gardener...six bags of gorgeous leaves, which (in two years time!) will be six bags of gorgeous, black leafmould.
The 'Grotty Potstand'
The pot stand top - with lovely wood underneath!
Indoors, I have 'A Project'…from the Secondhand Furniture barn in Wantage yesterday - a rather grotty pot-stand, over painted half a dozen times and with a filthy piece of vinyl flooring tacked to the top - but made of lovely pine, and I think will look very nice when stripped. Bought for a tenner (£10.00 uk pounds) - a bit stiff, I thought - but I wanted it, so made 'an investment'. Watch this space for progress.
Welcome back, friends, to another year in Autumn Cottage garden.
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