Winter Garden Challenges

While I am enjoying the relative warmth of the Bay Area in California, the Mister is reporting on the state of some of the plants in our yard following the unprecedented longterm, overnight freezes in central Florida. We had over 10 days in a row where temps dropped below freezing, all the way to 14 one night. After a day or two with slightly higher temps, we'd dip back to frigid again. It has been a terrible winter that has taken a toll on our sub-tropical plantings.

We brought some plants into the garage. Others we covered.

Covering the plants didn't seem to make a difference.

It was just too cold for too many nights.

This is one of two large Staghorn Ferns that apparently have turned brown.

We have two pygmy date palms that exhibit very little green.

The pot in the background used to have several  lovely, full, 

succulents. This is one of the 'shoulda-woulda-coulda' plants

that we could have wrestled inside.

This is what remains of my Chinese Hat plants that

I bragged about previously. 

This bank used to be covered with ferns and variegated liriope.

The perennials and cordyline were hit hard.

The Mister received an email from a gardening group that did offer this suggestion:

"Give your plants 2-3 months before calling time of death."

Hopefully many of the plants will come back from the roots. 

It may take time for our garden areas to look full and vibrant again.

And for those plants that don't regrow, we can follow the advice of the same email:

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!"

We will find a hardier plant that will be able to thrive in our climate gone awry!

Maybe we should replant with plants similar to the 

"Butcher's Block Plasticus" planted below....

The cold seemed to have no impact on this plant!

(This is an old pitchfork I found on the property.  I thought it would be cute to 

'plant' it in the garden with a vine growing up the handle. But, I didn't want

a vine that would grow out of scale and obscure the antique.

I bought a plastic garland, "planting" it in my garden

and entwining it around the pitch fork!)

So, we can celebrate one green thing in the garden!