My first Winter in residence has seen pace slow down substantially. Whilst the cold weather was a little late in hitting, it ended up making its presence felt. I’ve noticed that in the country everything seems magnified. I’m not sure that’s because I now have time to notice small changes, that the changes are more extreme in the country or just that it’s all so new and fascinating to me.

Anyway, in Sydney I’d rarely notice changes overnight but here you can walk out one morning after a harsh frost and it looks like a blowtorch has scorched many of the plants. The garden has slowed down dramatically but there is also a beauty in the stark branches against a grey sky and a blazing wood fire on a cold night is hard to beat.

At the end of July, the days are not quite so long, we have had some lovely sunnier weather (along with much-needed rain) and already the garden is showing signs of new life, which is so exciting for me given most of the plants are new.