Had enough winter .. ready for summer

Grrrrrrr and Brrrrrrrr. This is ridiculous, at least in Summerville. I am sick to death of being cold and having to wear a coat in the house!!! I find myself just standing around in the greenhouse just so I can sweat a little.

X

Off to a cold start to winter this year. Hopefully it doesn't drag out till April again.

Did you notice how pretty the deciduous trees were this year? We normally never have pretty fall color but this unusually cold year the trees were gorgeous.

That cold snap actually produced color this year. LOL. I've never really seen a fall look in the low country. At least not that I remember.

X, I'm with you. Too much freezing and frosting for me.
I have my solstice countdown going. At least then the days will start to get longer instead of shorter!

I read somewhere that the colder temps in combination with some good rains created the extra color this year.
Deb

The really sad thing about all this is that the borderline zone 8 hardys may not have made it with the continuing temps in the 20's. Luckily I've got spares in the greenhouse.

X

I actually have a Brugmansias still standing with no damage, no idea how that happen. I have another Brugmansias about 7-8 ft away from the first one and its completely frost bitten. Still have a couple of hibiscus alive too. Odd how some places are a little more protected than others.

My geraniums, Pelargonium x hortorum, are next to a brick wall and are still blooming and look great in spite of all the 20 degree nights .. those are a real surprise .. It looks like they may make it through the winter. All my brugs and gingers are down to the ground .. I'm sure they will come back up in the Spring as usual though I do have spares in the gh just in case. There are even some elephant ears still hanging around next to the house. I'm sure it's the brick walls that keep them going.

X

Well, for a little beauty of autumn, here's a late photo of the maple in my Asheville yard taken Fri. 11/28 just as the sun was rising.

Have to say fall is pretty and I like the cool weather after the summer but winter goes on for too long. Up in the mountians when the leaves change color is really nice.

Winter can drag on, certainly, and we may be in for a hard one this year, but I try to find beauty in every season. The garden needs its rest (and I most assuredly need mine), so there is a purpose to be served by even winter's drabness and long sleep. Just think how glorious the spring will be!

Hemophobic-
That early morning picture of your tree is breathtakig. Don't you just want to frame it ?
Lynda

That is beautiful! Looks like it's on fire.

X

Thanks, Linda and Xeramtheum. It was as you say, like it was on fire with the sun rising behind it. Maybe I'll take your suggestion and frame it.

I sure would. It's a wonderful shot!
This morning I found a sturdy little Stella D'oro actually blooming. Guess "she" is ready for spring, too.
These guys were blooming in the frosty air, also.
I brought a few in to cheer me up.
Deb

Debin: How lovely! Are those osteospermums? And what is the little purple flower in amongst them? Quite charming.

Yes, osteos and a little alyssum. Hardy little things, aren't they. :)

Quite hardy, apparently, if you've had the same temps we've been having lately.

Here it is Dec. 10 and currently it is 61! I just winter-sowed some seeds yesterday before the rains came and now we're having a heat wave. Oh, well, guess we'll see how they fare. I think it's supposed to start getting colder tonight or tomorrow, heavy rains and thunderstorms predicted for today and tonight.

How is everyone else doing?

This message was edited Dec 10, 2008 11:05 AM

65 here at 7:45 a.m. and the humidity is 98%.
It is downright soupy outside but this is more like our normal weather for this time of year. I was hoping the cold weather had discouraged the sand gnats and the skeeters but no luck, they are ferocious once again.

Sorry for you, Ardesia. Those sand gnats can be vicious, not to mention the skeeters! Stay dry.

LOL, you too.

I actually was sweating yesterday .. I love this weather!!!!!

X

Should be pretty good til the weekend from what I'm seeing of the forecast.
So nice to not have to turn on the heat for a couple of days!

And maybe be back out in the yard without freezing or sweating.

Well my balloon just burst! The stinkhorns are out in force; they love this warm moist weather.

I have stinkhorns appearing here and there too. Nice rotting corpse smell.

Yuk! I'll take my skeeters!

LOL. Ardesia! (and Core). We only have a few that I've spotted here. Not enough to cause distress. Got any Febreeze?? ;->

Seriously though, wouldn't you rather have stinkhorns than frost and ice?
Deb

Gosh .. I'm feeling left out .. none here that I know of.

X

Count your blessings. LOL

Here is a cool site about stinkhorns (warning, some of the photos are positively p0rn*graphic!)

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/stinkhorn_fame.html

Those are really cool! I really do feel left out!

X

Wow! This is incredible! I just captured this picture. It's snowing in southern Louisiana & Mississippi! Earlier it was snowing in Austin TX.

Wow, that is a weird looking radar shot. I heard it snowed in Houston yesterday, too.

This one is even weirder I just captured. I'm sure that's some kind of radar artifact .. maybe not. Still snowing too!

The kids saw frost one morning and got all excited, would imagine snow would freak them out. LOL. They've never seen real snow, not even a flake. They've never seen a mountain either in real life.

So, Core, how long have you been living in SC? SC has some mountains in the upland and NC mountains up around Boone/Blowing Rock get snow regularly in the winter. Come on up and show those kids both snow and mountains!

Hey Ya'll
What in the world is a stinkhorn ? Plant or animal ? I know it just takes us newbee gardeners to give you guys a good chuckle.I wish I had been interested in gardning when I was much younger. [ too busy raising kids, and moving all over the country with a military man] I have discovered how much it means to me now. If everybody did it, we woildn't have to worry about pills for anxiety or depression.Just go out there and lose yourself in nature. My mother-in-law visited me about 10 years ago and bought me 7 rose bushes to go on a fence line.That was my first experience with plants. Theres no way you can let plants die that your MIL buys. [ you know the rest ] It got me hooked. LOL.

LOL. Lynda, it's a mushroom sort of thingy. There are several kinds. They look kind of alien.
Here's a link to a photo of one variety that's the kind I see most often. I find it under pine mulch.

http://www.pbase.com/image/23867740
Deb