No no no no no!

Yikes! I want global warming back!

The world is white out here in Hillsborough
Not windy tho.

Supposed to go to 20 tomorrow evening.

brrrrrrrr

but very pretty day for the Christmas tree purchase!

Yep, we're expecting freezing temps (in the twenties) here every night for the next week. I can hardly believe it.

Grrrr ... I really, REALLY hate this. So many of my gingers, especially the costus are marginal zone 8 .. the teens are really going to push their limits .. I'm thinking I need to go to lowes tomorrow and buy some of that lousy top soil to dump on top of them.

I admit - with the holidays, taking two college classes this semester, working a lot of overtime, and the usual drill of wife- and motherhood, I have been VERY delinquent in my tending to the yard this fall. Just yesterday, I managed to get a lot of my potted tropicals I keep on the deck moved into the greenhouse. As I closed the doors to the GH, content with what I'd gotten done in the first half of the day (cleaning out the GH from the clutter and some weeds), the snow began a moment later. I don't think I'm going to bubble wrap it this winter, as it's in a sunnier spot than the one I had last year, and I have my new one on the ground now (vs. the deck with my smaller one last year, so air won't get in from underneath as easily). Also, I have mulch in there under the shelves and between the walkway pavers. I took the shelves out, allowing me to line the sides with plants, and build up the mulch around the pots a bit to help provide some extra warmth/insulation. We'll see how this works out this winter.

2ltr soda bottles painted black and filled with water is great for passive solar heating .. I put them underneath my extra tropicals and they keep the soil temperature a little bit warmer than everything else. They collect heat in the daytime and release it at night.

Thx for the reminder, X. I had some passive heat bottles in the GH last year. I need to dust them off, fill them up and disperse them throughout the GH again. Alas, I have 8 projects to complete today for my classes that are due (1 today) and (7 tomorrow). I decided this coming spring to take the semester off, as I don't feel a proper balance in my life with so much on my plate, and I've had no time for my mental health checks, which comprise time spent in my yard & GH just tinkering and maintaining things.

I do have a large water tub (used for cattle) in the GH, filled with water for my water plants. I might be putting my two goldfish in there as well this year, as I'm hoping to redo my pond next spring. I found that doing this last year gave my water plants one heck of a jump start for the spring when they went in the outdoor ponds.

Xerantheum---You ought to think about using compost from the Bee's Ferry Landfill as winter mulch. It's WAY cheaper than buying bags of stuff at the big box stores---$10/ton, and they load it for you (if you have a pick-up), or $2.00/for a 50 lb bag. They've done a pretty good job at cleaning up that composting operation. I've found that the compost is far more effective as a cold barrier than top soil (much looser, more air pockets), and you don't have to remove it in the spring. It just decomposes into the soil. Makes your weeds real happy...

I've actually used some of that before .. the thing is .. it's too far to go and my car won't hold enough to make it worth my while.

I just checked the 10 day again .. the teens are gone and now it's in the lower 20's for the lows .. that's so much better!

I'm glad I'm not the only one grumbling about this cold snap, argh. What happened to our "mild winter" they forecast?

I hate cold weather... I'm ready for spring already.

Did you hear about poor England? It's covered in snow! Even in London!

I guess that's a sign it could be worse for us. I just hope they don't lower the temps any further.. they've been dropping them like a rock.

I just frantically wrapped 9 out of zone palms this afternoon with xmas lights and frost cloth. Didn't finish until it was dark! Note to self - never buy another zone 9 palm. It's already 32f in my backyard - just hoping for upper teens rather than mid teens the next few mornings. I'm also ready for spring, but I haven't forgotten how miserably hot last summer was. I'd rather deal with occasional frigid outbreaks than unbearable heat indices exceeding 100f - 110f every day for 3 solid months. Maybe Ronald Reagan was right when he quipped that had the pilgrims landed on the west coast, the east coast would have never been settled:-)

This message was edited Dec 6, 2010 8:28 PM

Yep. It's the icky time of year!!!!
I got all my hibiscus in the greenhouse, citrus in the sunroom and everyone else covered yesterday. We have a small propane heater in the greenhouse that seems to be doing the trick. I caulked around the roof of the greenhouse today and when it warms up to above 50 and I have some time, i need to caulk around the base.
Next we need to get some big batteries to run the heater off of the solar panels.
Barb

Now they're calling for the teens again next week. It's not even winter yet... ugh. Now watch, it'll be 70F on Christmas day, mark my words. Crazy weather.

Tonight I saw a possum and beetle outside .. Hey! I'll take anything above 65 degrees on Christmas .. calling for teens here too.

We have a possum (Pepe) who chows on cat food as soon as it gets dark outside. We noticed that when temps were in the mid and low teens, he didn't come out to dine. Never thought it could get too cold here for a possum to grab a free meal!

LOL. In the teens here too.

Those guys can really stink! You definitely want to stay up wind from them. Last year a toddler fell into a large bucket and couldn't get out - his mother was going ape and wouldn't let me near the bucket .. next morning mom was gone and I gently dumped baby over the fence.

I feel like that should be saying, LOL... "If it's too cold for a possum to grab a free meal, it's pretty darn cold outside."

They are very unique animals. I remember coming across a mama with babies once and then all the babies just up and disappeared. At the time I didn't realize possums were marsupials, so I was quite perplexed at them vanishing before my eyes.

LOL. Vanishing possums, that's cute.

Well it finally warmed up enough for me to get some bulbs I received in trade in the ground - they had been languishing in my cold utility room for about a month (stays about 40 in there in the winter). My fingers were frozen by the time I finished .. I planted, Ground Orchid, Bletilla striata, Bellwort Uvularia, Red Spider Lily - Lycoris radiata, Spring Star Flower Ipheion uniflorum and put some Crocus and Hyacinth's in the window boxes. The Snow Bells, Leucojum aestivum that are already in the ground are starting to come up.

At least now I can go into my utility room and not have naked bulbs screaming at me to be planted.

I hate it when my naked bulbs scream at me. ;)
Over the summer, I had two pots on a table next to our pond that had purple shamrocks in them. Now the shamrocks have died down and I just noticed three tulip bulbs coming up in one pot. Don't remember planting them in there. Hhmm....
It's 5:15AM and 53F. Been a while since it was that warm, anytime of day!
Barb

Lol .. I always have surprise plants I thought I'd lost coming up in Spring. I received the following this morning - It's so appropriate:

Perks of reaching 50 or being over 60 and heading towards 70!

* Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

* In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

* No one expects you to run--anywhere.

* People call at 9 pm and ask, did I wake you?

* People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

* There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

* Things you buy now won't wear out.

* You can eat supper at 4 pm.

* You get into heated arguments about pension plans.

* You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

* You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.

* You sing along with elevator music.

* Your eyes won't get much worse.

* Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

* Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.

* Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

* Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.

*You can't remember who sent you this list...

X

LOL, I can associate with most of them. :-)

While shopping in Charleston today the sweet young checkout clerk at EarthFare innocently asked if I was over 60 yet. I about rolled on the floor laughing and was thanking her at the same time for thinking I could possibly be under 60. She was too cute and I got a 5% discount for being older than dirt.