"Polar Vortex"--Part 2

The plan is executed.  While moving plants, I realized that I needed to do a couple more things to get ready for the freeze.  I emptied any container holding water (I keep dishes with water in them for the birds) and I topped off both of my bird feeders--they will need extra fuel to keep warm.   When the temperature begins to drop, I'll also allow my outside faucets to drip a little to help keep the pipes from freezing.

Now we wait . . . it is hard to believe there is a terrible freeze on its way since it is currently 59 degrees in my backyard--the warmest it has been in days!

There is an orange tree under those blankets.

Preparing for the "Polar Vortex"

Like everyone else around the USA, I've been watching the news of the approaching winter freeze with morbid fascination.  How cold will it really get?  What kind of wind chills will we experience?  How is this all going to affect my life?    I read one weather essay that has even named this event a "Polar Vortex."  I'm not sure what that means but it certainly sounds ominous.

Along with these questions, I'm also pondering the best way (if any) that I can protect my plants from these sap-freezing temperatures.   Today is the day to execute the plan.

First on my mind, are the plants that are in the ground.   Since they are already well-watered and I mulched thoroughly before winter arrived, I know I have done all that can be done to help them.  I know I will lose some of my semi-tropicals that were high risk to plant in my backyard.  Some of my hardier plants and shrubs will experience foliage damage, but with well-mulched and watered root systems, they will survive the cold.

Then, I have to consider my cold frame.  With blankets, it can hold a temperature about 12 degrees above the outside air temperature.   With lows predicted in the single digits,  I can expect cold frame temperatures to end up around 20 degrees, which is no where near warm enough for the plants in there.  This afternoon, I'll be moving all those plants into the house for a few days. 

I also have large container plants wintering in my garage.   I've never actually placed a thermometer in the garage so I don't really know how much warmer it is than the typical outdoor temperature.  Although warmer than the cold frame, I don't have any confidence that the temperature will be able to stay above freezing for the duration of this polar experience.  They will be coming into the house too.

However, there is  no possible way that I can move our beloved potted satsuma orange tree into the house from the garage.  It is too tall, wide, and heavy for us to move completely indoors.  Although it is supposed to be hardy into the mid-twenties, I'm concerned that the garage may drop below that temperature before this freeze comes to an end.  This afternoon I plan to make a tent for the tree, wrapping it in the blankets that I normally use on the cold frame. 

Stay warm!  Good luck to all of us!

New Year's Resolution

I'm not very good with house plants.  My usual method of care is to leave them outside all summer, bring them in when it gets too cold outside for them, and then hope they survive until next spring.   The problem is me; I just forget to water them until I notice that they are gasping for a tiny drop of water. 

So, in honor of a new year, I am committing to monitor and water my house plants on a regular basis.   I've chosen Sunday mornings to check the moisture level of all of my plants and give them a nice drink of refreshing water whenever they need it.

A few years back, I bought this little gadget at a yard sale for 50 cents.  I can stick it down into the soil of a container and measure the moisture content of the soil.  This takes all the mystery away from whether a plant needs to be watered and even gives me an idea of how much water I need to apply.  This year I will actually use it!

Happy New Year to my poor plants.  I hope your plants will be happy this year too.

My Christmas flowers

My husband's grandmother had a huge Christmas cactus that bloomed profusely and right on time every Christmas.  I tried to grow one and sometimes got a few scraggly blooms, but never at Christmas time.   Then I tried poinsettias.  I would carefully choose a plant that looked healthy with lots of brightly colored bracts.   Within days of bringing it home, the bracts and leaves would begin falling off so that by Christmas time, I basically had stems with a random leaf attached here and there.

Then a friend brought me a small bromelid one summer.  She told me to keep water in the center of the leaves and let it grow.  Without fail at Christmastime, this bromelid produces this amazing flower show. 

During the summer, I keep my pot outdoors in the shade, only watering it during dry spells.  When the nighttime temps drop below 40 degrees, I set it on a table near a window and wait for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all of you.  May this time be precious and filled with joy for you and yours. 

Aahhh . . . the fragrance of frazier fir

While my gardens are resting (or drowning) this winter, I enjoy bringing the fragrance of living things indoors at Christmas time by purchasing a cut Christmas tree.   My favorite is always a frazier fir.  Not only does it have that perfect Christmas tree look, the fragrance of fir fills my entire house.    I put baskets of the trimmings from the tree all through the house, mixed with pine cones, and holly.  I wondered what an entire forest of frazier fir must smell like.

Fire ants for Christmas

This past summer I came up with a clever idea for some Christmas gifts using succulents in creative containers.   They were looking pretty good by late fall.  I made the decision to put them in the cold frame until it was time to give them away because the cold frame mimics desert conditions (very hot during the day/cool at night).  This week,  I decided to get them out to do whatever pruning needed to be done to get them ready for gifting.  They looked wonderful until I picked them up.  Suddenly, my hands were covered in fire ants!  The ants had decided my cold frame would be a perfect wintering place too.  Even though I fed those pesky critters an excellent pesticide, I can't risk giving any of my friends or family fire ants for Christmas.  Time to go shopping for some traditional gifts.

Meet my new assistant

Emily had the audacity to move herself and her two horses to Tennessee so she could attend graduate school.  This was a terrible tragedy for me, because without her horses, how could I possibly properly fertilize my gardens, not to mention, that I was seriously attached to Magic and Cheyenne.

With Bob's approval, I realized it was time for me to fulfill my own dream of owning a horse of my own.  Emily helped me find the perfect horse for me (and my gardens).

Meet Lily!  She is a McCurdy Plantation Horse, a breed that is unique to the state of Alabama.  McCurdy's were bred to be smooth-gaited (no bouncing), intelligent and calm, and sturdy enough to ride all day long.  Lily is eight years old (young adult), technically her coloring is considered gray, but she is obviously white.  She loves treats and being petted.


I'm looking forward to many adventures with Lily in the years to come.  

In the meantime, Lily and I will spend the quiet gardening months of winter getting to know each other.