It finally happened this past weekend. Our first killing frost arrived after a very warm and lovely Thanksgiving Day. All of the remaining zinnias and cosmos are now gone until next summer. They stayed with us a good long time, and I had even seen a couple of gulf frittilaries still around last week. I covered the basil hoping to save it for a week or two more, but it succumbed to the cold temperatures even under plastic. The sage and tarragon, which are tender perennials, made it through for now, and I was happy to be able to use them in my soup stock this week. We have a delicious batch of turkey vegetable soup to enjoy on these cold evenings.
Our lettuce is looking great, and sure did taste good in the turkey sandwiches over the weekend.
The pineapple sage is still blooming in the planter next to the driveway. I am surprised that it didn't freeze out. I think all the cement block and the cement of the driveway probably absorbs the heat from the sun and then keeps the plants warmer through the night. The knockout roses are still blooming away as well, and the lavender is still blooming. We also have some fall blooms on the dianthus along the rock garden path that have made it through.
On Sunday afternoon Allen chopped up leaves with the mower and I have used them as mulch to cover over the lantana I cut back that afternoon. We still have a lot of leaves that will fall off the oak tree and I will let him mulch some onto the lawn, but I really need them out in the back garden to help reestablish the top soil that was lost from the storm.
I cut back and pulled out what I could of the swamp sunflower stalks and started the general cleanup of the garden behind the fence at the end of the driveway. I am thinking that I am also going to severely prune the confederate jasmine that is getting too close to the climbing roses. The fence needs to have waterproofing put on , and that vine is just way too overgrown. I had to cut back some of it over the weekend just to be able to clean up the end of the driveway. I always feel so mean when I severely prune plants. I end up talking to the plants and telling them I am sorry. I do not apologize to privet, although I should. It is not the privet's fault that some well meaning person brought it here where it doesn't belong. It is so horribly invasive.
I have moved some hellibores (lenten roses) to put under the oak tree next to the Christmas ferns, and will keep moving a few plants in there whenever I get a chance. I had to move the hellibores quickly so that they wouldn't get water seal on them when Allen worked on the fence. They were right up next to it and there would have been no way to avoid getting that toxic stuff on the plants. He has been very careful about using tarps to protect the plants and the soil.
We had a lovely rain and some thunderstorm early this morning and then it remained cloudy all day so that the rain could soak in to the soil and not evaporate right away. It has been so very dry here for the last few weeks and rain really beats watering for the good health of the plants. There is no more rain expected in the forecast for the next several days and it is supposed to be near 70 again over the weekend. I hope we get into our more normal winter weather pattern soon. I should probably be careful what I wish for!
If you like to look at plant catalogs as part of your winter entertainment, and create your wish list for the spring check out the Gardens Alive! catalog. It is filled with great organic plants and fertilizers and pest control products. www.gardensalive.com. I love their little lady bug logo. I still like to have catalogs I can hold in my hand and look through. They do send them out if you don't want to just shop online. The phone number if you want to order one that way is: 513.354.1482. Enjoy!
Happy gardening , Gma Susie
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