Sunshine is welcome at any time of the year but especially so during the frequently dull and damp days of January. Whenever we experience a sharp frost the up side is that the clear skies can be a precursor to a clear and sunny, if nippy, morning. When this happens the low sunshine and clear air combine with the frost coated grasses to provide some beautiful, if transient, moments which are always warmly welcome.
The frosted foliage of Poa labillardierei in the Dry Meadow lights up with the first rays of the low morning sun.
Stately trees and shrubs provide the perfect tranquil backdrop (above), to the illuminated panicum, miscanthus, pampas and molinia.
Morning sunshine bouncing off the tall orange stems of a bamboo (above), at the bottom of the Bark Circle borders.
Looking across from the Dry Meadow to the edge of the Decennium and Long Walk (above).
Two specimen Miscanthus Malepartus catch the very first rays of morning sunshine (above).
A hazy screen of Calamagrostis Karl Foerster gathering the suns rays in the Decennium border (above).
The varied planting of grasses, perennials and woody plants in the Long Walk light up in the clear sunshine (above).
Libertia grandiflora (above), is a great evergreen that also offers welcome spikes of delicate white flowers in early summer. Its green iris like foliage is used in effective contrast to the soft foliage of the poas in the Dry Meadow where its ice coated leaves sparkle in the early morning sunshine.