Freeze frames
With family in town through the weekend I didn’t have time to post many morning-after-freeze images. These were all taken early Saturday morning, after our first hard freeze. The ‘Twinkle Pink’ cuphea looked nearly untouched, with just a slight droop to its leaves but its many blossoms unbrowned.
The ‘Radrazz’ roses right next to the cuphea were spent though.
Sweet potato vine is done for, a mushy mess. The pineapple sage behind it is curled and withered, although it will come back in the spring.
But most of the garden is still green: bamboo muhly grass, agave, yucca, acacia, palm, live oaks, a few boxwoods at the entries to my pond circle—even the St. Augustine grass where it was protected by overhanging trees (though the grass will be replaced with gravel paths soon).
On the frosty morning after, the greenery still catches the light.
And the queen, the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia), still reigns over the sparkly scene.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
So, basically, nothing really turned to mush.
Not much, Chuck. The sweet potato vine, above, and black-eyed Susan vine (not pictured) are icky and mushy. Some of the flowering plants are frost-browned, like the roses and pineapple sage. But my point was that most of the plants in my new-baby garden are evergreen and unfazed by one hard freeze. —Pam
Pam, I’m glad the new baby came through relatively unscathed. I’m looking forward to the changes I’ll see next spring as a result of the freeze. I’m hoping this is only the first of several. We need a good hard winter!
Not too hard though! I have more tender plants than I used to, and I’d like to see them survive. 😉 —Pam
It’s silly, but when I visit your blog, I’m always surprised by how many favorite plants we have in common, even though I know our climates are similar in many ways. We’re just entering an extreme cold spell here as well, and communities as close as a few miles away reported a slight dusting of snow last night. Some are enjoying the rarity, but I admit I’m happy to enjoy a true spring, summer and fall and just read about winter. My neighbor’s ornamental pear tree is currently putting on an amazing fall show outside my bedroom window and I’m in no hurry for it to end!
Hi, Susan. It’s true that we can enjoy many of the same plants. But we do get more extreme weather here in central Texas—hotter summers and more frequent freezes perhaps. Our brutal summers ensure that I appreciate winter, brief as it is. I envy you your mild San Francisco summers. —Pam
We had our first snow yesterday. I always enjoy that. It is finally cold enough that every annual is now mush. I hate that but it is part of gardening. I am always amazed how the agaves with their thick leaves stand up to the freezes. The aloes I had forgotten outside are a big puddle.
Some agaves are quite cold tolerant. Others are not. I protected my tender Agave desmettianas, but if we get a few days of sub-freezing weather I’d probably lose them. Some of my aloes are more cold-hardy than others also. Sorry you lost some of yours. —Pam
Still looks pretty good, Pam! Those agaves are tough, aren’t they?
The toughest plants I know. What else can you leave bare-root for weeks (months?) at a time and not water in the summer, and it still looks incredibly beautiful? —Pam
Hi Pam, thank goodness most things are unhurt by the freeze. Our Twinkle Pink is much more torched, but we hope for a return next spring. So glad the Queen still reigns supreme over the new baby garden. We wondered if you got measurable snow?
Frances
Nope, we hardly even got any snowflakes, and nothing stuck. Houston, three hours to the east, got a lot more than we did. —Pam
A little dip into winter will not dethrone your queen.
No, indeed. She’s a tough old thing. —Pam
Morning Pam, The Whale’s Tongue agave with your Bottle tree is one of my favorite combos…So glad she survived the deep freeze. Rudbeckia triloba is still blooming~but, the 19 degree temps forecast will put an end to it. it’s a wonderful flowering plant. Your plans to replace the grass with gravel sounds wonderful….I would love to do that, but think the leaves (at C&L) would make it a maintenance nightmare. Gail
We get a lot of leaves too, Gail, but mainly in the spring when the live oaks drop last year’s leaves. I’m planning to blow them when that happens. I’m looking forward to not having to water my paths anymore. 😉 —Pam
The freeze looks like it wasn’t so bad. We haven’t even had much damage up here in NC either. Beautiful pictures. I wish I was looking at sunlight like that today — but more rain is on the way!
It really wasn’t, Sweet Bay. The surprise for us was that we got a hard freeze for our first one. As freeze averages go, this one was right on time. But usually we get several light freezes first and hard freezes a little later in the season. As for rainy and dreary, it’s that here too. I can’t mind it too much though, as we still really need the rainfall. —Pam
Looks like your baby garden came through with flying colors. I think we might have gotten a little colder, down here in Wimberley Valley. One agave, I didn’t think to cover, is looking a little sad, but maybe not doomed. I guess I’ll have to wait until spring, to see what else doesn’t come back.
Glad the queen is still on her throne.
I bet you did get colder, Linda. I took my visiting family to Wimberley on Saturday, and everything was pretty frost-burned. Such a cute town though. We had a good time. —Pam
I’ll bet your Live Oaks’ propensity to hang onto their leaves provides great protection for your garden. I like trees to drop them and be done with it already, but in a climate where you don’t usually get snow, the lingering leaves are an asset. I said goodbye to my flowers yesterday, a half a foot of snow is heading my way.
Yes, the leafy trees do help hold onto warmth, MMD. Hope you’re staying warm up there! —Pam
Pretty good! I’m always amazed how the plants survive. We had frost last night, and I covered a few things, but it turned out not as bad as I’d feared. Hope it will stay that way, some of my natives from the Channel Islands don’t like frost.
We’re having another hard freeze tonight, TM. Hope you’re faring a little warmer in your garden. —Pam
I love the delicate pink of your Cuphea. We have also been touched by frost and it is amazing how it can make even boring plants and weeds look beautiful.
That’s true, Noelle. Hmm, does it seem like everyone is having a colder than normal winter, or is this normal? —Pam