winter garden July 2011

Middle of winter here in NZ... we had the shortest day a week or so ago, so we're heading towards spring now... Since there aren't any homes with furnaces (no natural gas pipelines), people make do with wood burning stoves, electric blankets, wall or plug in stand alone heaters ... and drinking lots of hot tea. I watched TV for a bit yesterday afternoon on my day off, had the fire going and a small heater pointed towards me... the dog layed down in front of the heater. I worried for 2 seconds her fur might catch fire, but she wasn't actually touching it. She wears a little coat, does it help? Here are a few shots of the plants in my yard which are still lovely and flowering. 2 more months of cool weather to go, but I'm ready for spring...