Austin winter weather: Chili today, hot tamale!
Austin’s winter weather is like the punchline of the old joke: Chili today, hot tamale (chilly today, hot tomorrow). Or, in this case, the reverse. It was warm on Sunday and Monday, with highs in the upper 70s (25 C). But during the wee hours this morning, a blue norther roared in, dropping temps to freezing. Ice is now slicking the back steps, and it’s only getting colder. I can’t quite believe it, but we’re expecting a repeat of last winter’s devastating lows in the mid-teens—devastating to our marginally hardy plants, that is.
Like this Aloe striata (pictured at top), bravely but foolishly sending up a bloom stalk just in time for Old Man Winter to zap it. Of course, it’s not the plant’s fault but the gardener’s for pushing her zone yet again. I can hardly bear to think about the Mexican weeping bamboo I replaced after last winter and can only hope the new one is well established and strong enough to weather the cold snap.
The bulbine and Aloe saponaria (the green plants in the foreground) are sure to suffer as well, although most of it survived last winter’s plunge into the teens. The natives and other well-adapted plants should be just fine, and I’m not worrying about them for a minute.
Ah well. Forget the weather. Check out this sculptural cedar (juniper) skeleton, which lies like driftwood in my hillside garden by the miscanthus grass. Isn’t it great? Bob of Gardening at Draco gave it to me at our January garden-blogger get-together. I love it! Thanks, Bob.
All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I hope your marginal plants survive the lows. The lows are swooping back in here too. Brrrr…. Don’t gardeners know just the right thing to give other gardeners.
Yuck. We took a turn too, but not nearly this drastic…good luck!
I hear there is some serious snow in Texas…..hmmm Hope all comes out better on the otherside of this weather.
At least you don’t push 3 or 4 zones like many do in Abq…just 3-4 zones colder, not warmer. You may be surprised what comes out on the positive side, anyway!
What a winter we’ve all had~I love your sculptural cedar and like you prefer to focus on the beauty that’s in the garden instead of the mushed plants! Some days it’s easier then others! gail
This really is a zapper of a front isn’t it?! I hope your Mexican bamboo makes it too…fingers crossed. My pineapple sage couldn’t withstand this latest blast of arctic air…the pond is frozen and we’ve been experiencing rolling black outs since 5 this morning…I much prefer the 90 degree temps to this!
Pam, I just ran outside in the chill to cover a blooming Aloe I’d missed yesterday. The rest of them will have to tough it out. Three more nights like last night and who knows what our gardens will look like?
judy collins has a song with the phrase “blue norther” in it and it’s the only time i’ve ever heard it til your blog. Hope you get a reprieve soon; this is one monster storm.
It must be specific to those regions with a particular winter weather pattern, Linda. I grew up hearing about “blue northers” from my Oklahoma grandparents. Growing up in S.C. I never heard the phrase, but here in Texas it’s used to refer to the abrupt switch from warm, southerly winds that give us our mild winter temps to the fierce, cold north wind that suddenly drops temps by 30 or 40 degrees. Believe me, “blue norther” accurately describes what it feels like as it blows in, dropping us from near 80 to 30 or 40F. —Pam
But our aloes do bloom in winter. Just, the aloes live in the valleys and the snow stays on the mountain-tops.
Pam, I didn’t realize you also snagged one of those great cedar stumps. They are fabulous, aren’t they, for putting some structure in a wild place. Yours looks good in those grasses. Right now mine is in a barren spot in the new sun bed, which will be covered in gomphrena and other natives in the spring and summer. Fun to play with!