The hours I spent in the cold today making sure soil was wet and tender plants were covered in sheets and blankets — and all the hauling of container plants my family did — were worth it because:
- We love our plants. We do.
- The plants that survive will feed creatures to come and will make our yard a happy place come spring.
- The plants cost a lot at the nursery, and it would also cost a lot to replace them.
- It’s a good way to use all those old sheets we had.
- That was a lot of rocky soil we had to dig through to get those plants in the ground.
- The majority of the young plants are native, and if they can make it through this winter, they are more likely to make it later, too.
- If they make it and grow to be big and strong, someday I won’t have to take such precautions to protect them.
- Those that are having to brave the cold without a sheet to cover them — well, that which hurts us makes us stronger, right?
- If it doesn’t snow with this cold front, I can always hope for snow in a few days when we get to do this all over again.
- And someday when it’s warmer again and I don’t have to cover plants with sheets — I’ll like gardening again and be oh so grateful I spent all this time nurturing them.
You people with several months of snow should be grateful that you don’t have to go through plant protection again.. and again… and again… with ups and downs in temperature!
Meredith,
Sorry you have so much work to do when it snows. We get little snow and when we do get snow we tend to think of it as a blanket of protection for our plants. Ice on the other hand not the case.
I don’t cover plants for cold weather–we get just enough of it each year to make it not worthwhile. However, I do cover my freshly planted veggies to protect them from hailstorms, so in that sense, I know exactly how you feel. Hope everything survives.
I have so many young plants — many just planted within the past few weeks. I also have a couple of citrus trees in the ground, and they need special care. I’m probably being overcautious, I know. Part of it is that we have had mixed reports about whether to expect ice or snow or both. I guess I’m inclined to play it safe this winter. They’re just babies!
Meredith, …and you can’t leave the sheets on if the sun pops out or they over heat! I have sheets set aside especially for covering my plants! We can only do this for so long before winter arrives to stay in a zone 7 garden! I think that folks with snow cover that insulates their plants don’t know what exposed plants have to go through each winter!
gail