After The Freezes, Snow, and Ice

This is what I found out in my garden today.

Sedum Autumn Joy

Prairie Phlox

Bluebonnet (& a bumper crop of WEEDS!)

Daylily

Garlic

you've got a dmail...

Glad to see signs of life. Today I was digging under my layers of leaves that I had heaped in the beds for the winter and I also found some living plants and perennials starting to come up. Yipee! But on a sadder note, I noticed that the beautiful flower buds on my viburnum (that I have watched develop all winter) didn't make it through that last batch of cold. I also found lots of evergreens with damaged leaves, but most everything looks alive.

My Bay Laurel is damaged and I hope it does recover, I have had it for about 20 years, it is very big and beautiful, it would be a shame to lose it.

stephanietx, your picture of the bluebonnets and "weeds" looks like it was taken of my flowerbed! That's exactly what mine look like. What is that little "frilly-leafed" plant?

I know what it is, but will let Stephanie answer the question since it was directed at her,
I will say one thing though, it is edible.
Josephine.

I *think* it's chickweed, but I'm not 100% certain. I know it grows by runners and is everywhere, even with THICK mulch!

If anyone wants to eat some, please feel free to come collect it from my gardens!

You were close Stephanie, it is Henbit, here is a link;
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/lamam.htm

Here is one of Chickweed which is also edible;
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/steme.htm

Josephine.

Oh wow, I just pulled several handfuls of henbit and put them in the compost bin. Should I go get them out for dinner?

(It's really good for the early bees, too.)

Well, I have never eaten them but I did taste a little piece of tender Henbit and it had a nice flavor.

Hmm, I have to try a taste. I didn't know it was edible! It is one of my favorite weeds, I think it's pretty.

I did more puttering around today. Not many signs of life. It's a hard call, I'm sure I've lost some plants. Others will take a little longer to rebound. Even the snow drops foliage has been burned down to the ground.

Hey stephanietx,

Those pics are wonderful! You should keep them in a file here at Dave's so people can use them to ID some of their plants when they don't remember what it is that they've planted. I've done that many times before. Even though I've used my plans, tags and maps, you always forget one or two now and then.

~ Robin

I also found signs of life under the piles of leaves.So nice to see green. Funny, I was also wondering if henbit was edible. That is very winter hardy!
Veronica Georgian Blue wasn't covered and do you see a little flower?

Glad you came to visit here Cocoa!
Here is another that sailed through unprotected
Mondarda Jacob Cline

This surprised me! Look how green!

Good ol' sedum! Well isn't it an alpine plant?

Thanks guys! That's my "edible landscaping" :)

LOL LOL LOL Hadn't thought of it that way!

Josephine, I knew it was one or the other, but couldn't remember which. Thanks for the id.

Hi Anna, happy to have the monarda pics. I can look for them now.

I tried the henbit, not bad! A little fuzzy, tasted a bit like a sweet parsley, not like chicken ;0)

If I have the right pic should be of Henbit and chickens the henbit is very prevalent here in SE Oklahoma not realy a nuisence as it dies off at the first hot day ..I would not eat it as it leaves a stinky odor on my hands when I pull it

Henbit is a pretty little weed. But thank goodness it's relatively easy to pull out, because it comes up everywhere in the spring (especially after a mild winter). Other than the Salvia greggiis, the only green in my flowerbed is coming from the Purple Pincushion (Scabiosa) and Rose Campion. Rose Campion seems to laugh hysterically at what we think of as "cold" weather. :-)

Great pictures, Stephanie. Spring is in the air (fingers crossed).

Carla

Does Rose Campion laugh in the heat too?

I've got widows tears everywhere (not blooming, but plenty of green). It didn't seem bothered by the cold.

Anna, I really neglected the garden last year and barely watered at all. The rose campion lived and reseeded. It might have been luck, but I think they're tough plants. The foliage remains pretty thru winter too.

Good to know. I had one that bloomed white and wasn't too sad when it died. Maybe the rose color is tougher...for sure it is prettier!

Anna, the Rose Campion is glorious during the spring, with long stalks full of vivid red blooms. Once the temps go above 80 it starts to fade. In the heat of summer I'll admit I spend extra time watering it to keep it alive. It needs lots of shade too.

Carla

Ahhh, your looks happy! I must remember water this year.

Didn't realize it needed shade. It is a beauty!

OK, who's got rose campion seeds to trade?? The ones I sowed never germinated. I just have to get some for my garden!

Here's what survived after the freeze:

poppies
columbine
orlaya gr.
bluebonnets
salad mix
snow peas

My poppies survived, but they got some freeze damage. Some of the lettuces survived, but some didn't.

I am really alarmed at how much new growth is already happening. My volunteer petunias have grown like mad after the freeze. At this rate, they will be blooming in a couple of weeks. Lots of my perennials are putting on very fast growth. I'm concerned about what will happen when we get more freezing weather, which I believe will happen. Maybe not as bad as last time but not good for all this tender growth.

And I'm seeing a little green grasshoppers too. All during the "big freeze" I kept saying, "Well, at least this will eliminate some of the bugs." Guess those little grasshoppers didn't get the memo !

Glenna

My Salvia Garanitica, Mealy Blue Sage, and Salvia Darcyi are all up, right on time. They were sproutlings last year when it snowed (March 12) so I think they'll be okay again if the temps go below freezing for a little while. Fingers crossed, of course. :-)

Carla

I was out working for a good while yesterday and there is a lot coming up in the garden. If I lost something major, I am not aware as yet.
One thing I was excited to see was my large Rue that is a host plant for the Black Swallowtail butterflies. It turned brown when it was freezing temps, but now putting out new growth!

These smaller plants just poking through are the Carolina Phlox, so glad to see they didn't sucumb to the freezing temps also.