Garlic loves...snow...really?

When my garlic arrived very early in the morning in the post it felt like a sign (thank you lovely The Garlic farm!) then I looked outside. Snow...really?...did it have to be snow?! My free time ...I mean children, dog, work free time is barely in existence at the moment...my precious few hours to get to the allotment and it snows...of course it does...fine...I'll just get my gloves and hat, scarf...thermals.

 Anyway I went, yes it had snowed and yes it was stupidly, nose numbingly cold but the ground wasn't frozen yet and the sun actually came out, I can't say I was exactly basking in its warmth but it helped. I wittered about the broad bean plants I'd brought to plant out and the garlic I had...should I risk it? I decided that the weather will only get worst, my free time, the closer we creep to christmas even rarer, so I raked the snowy covering off the perfectly fine soil beneath and dug. It felt great to be planting things again...I love the anticipation of what will happen...moles, slugs, snails...frost, snow...or will it actually grow? We shall see...oh please let the elephant garlic grow...the cloves were massive...I'm guessing the plant ( fingers crossed) will be too.  There is a recipe (a nice simple one)...on the website that I bought the garlic from using elephant garlic to make crisps,  interesting idea:) It should keep a few blood suckers away...wonder if you eat them in the summer if it would keep the midges away? I feel an experiment coming on, I hate midges!...that is if it grows at all for me...

I really understand the idea of now being the beginning of the season rather than the end...even though things have definitely slowed down...the bindweed has gone to ground thankfully, though I know it's still there just waiting. The garlic and the beans are the first things I've planted for awhile and I was really happy with my fennel! I also bought some lovely garlic labels so have been able to mark the 4 different varieties properly in my quest to make sure that I label everything this year:) 

The whole time I was there I was under the close watch of a robin, he/she seemed very grateful for the bare ground I turned over and also for some strange reason my shed door being open. It kept flying inside I have no idea why perhaps to find somewhere slightly warmer...I had to double check when I locked up that it wasn't still in there.

So I had snow and a robin can't get much more seasonal than that!