Bygone begonias...

A heavier frost last night transformed my begonias into withered brown lumps. Such an eye-blast of colour all Summer, quite vulgar really but extravegant enough to be a marvel. I cut both down to an inch above the corm and they had yet one more lovely surprise – the cut stems have a wide core of shining pink, like Turkish delight sliced up. I will leave the earth around the roots to dry off and then put them in a paper bag. Other than the begonias and the other coleus, nothing else seems to have suffered. Another lovely day, I raked a large sack-full of leaves.

The winter birds are beginning to emerge – a Stellar’s Jay, black with burnished blue back and crest erect, looking very cocky pecking up berberis berries and flying off to the heavily berried mountain ash.

Photos: The red begonias in all their glory yesterday; Hosta Francis Williams; Plumbago.