First frost, and what survived it

The forecast said three degrees. The thermometer on the shed said minus one at seven in the morning, and the lawn was white and crunchy all the way to the gate.

The nasturtiums went first. By lunchtime they had collapsed into a heap that looked like wet tissue paper. The dahlias are blackened at the top but the stems are still firm, so they can stay until the weekend and then the tubers come up and go into the cellar in a crate of dry compost.

The kale, on the other hand, is better for it. Everyone says frost sweetens brassicas and I never quite believed it, but the leaves I picked this evening were noticeably less bitter than last week's.

Still standing

Leeks, parsnips, the kale, chard (sulking), the rosemary by the wall, and a single defiant calendula that I am not going to touch.

Next year

Sow the second batch of beans a fortnight earlier. They were just starting to crop properly when the cold came.