and the helpful man in Stamford Hill Computers is trying to find a mother board, interesting term, but she won’t be arriving for some time. It took me a while to find my password, which I don’t need on the computer, and I don’t much like writing on this phone. I was planning to write all kinds of things during these dark days but – I wonder if I can find some photos?

Here is Salvia rutilans on December 27th. The first real frost came on the 30th, so now it’s just hanging on. Like a lot of other things. The greenhouse is full of refugees, my beautiful big echium has a fleece over it, other plants are crowded together near the shelter of the house. The artifice, the unnaturalness of a garden with many tender plants is revealed.

Here is a plectranthus I brought in from the cold a few weeks ago. It’s very tender. But bring it inside and it quickly begins to flower, even with very little light.

There’s one still outside in a pot too big to easily move; it’s dead.

More tomorrow, it’s late, and this is a slow business, on my phone.

Just saying hello really