Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Gardening is not for Sissies in Florida

The Freeze Hit Me Twice !
A Cautionary Tale about Gardening
In the spirit of Outdoor Wednesday, I am wallowing in my distress over my frozen burned up yard. I did not cover as some of my friends did because the stuff at Lowes was too expensive and I did not want to have to wash every sheet in my house. My male friends used their sheets because they knew their wives would wash them!! So, for the sake of minimal laundry, I gambled that it would not really get that cold in my little, beloved yard. I mean, afterall, it has been 3-4 years since it has been cold and with all the talk about global warming.... well... he who hesitates is lost, and yes I am crying over spilled milk!!
This is a collage of before and after pictures of my backyard in sunny Florida. (I love this website, Picnik, for fun and easy picture editing).

I did not cover my hybiscus on the far left or my bouganvilla standard in the center. Nor did I cover the podocarpus on the far right.


Here is a tip, do not lay new St. Augustine in the Fall because it will look like this IF it freezes.



In an earlier post I showed this view of my spathyphillums, ginger, and crotons....before they were burned up! What is it they say about pride going before a fall???


This is one of my Traveller Palms. It will look like this until the middle of summer. I am growing to like khaki. It is Florida's new green.
Happy Wednesday!






3 comments:

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Kim, it got our bouganvilla, and it was GORGEOUS just days ago. Sigh. Looks like you got hit hard. Our front yard looks like yours, but our back yard is still green. It's like the front one had no protection and got burned ot a crisp. The good news is... there is green popping its head out. I bet yours does, too, and fall is the time to plant sod. Or so I've been told. That's because it is dormant in cold weather. We can always hope, can't we? My banana tree is dead, too, and it actually had a huge bunch of bananas this year. Alas...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Tardevil said...

I'm so sorry. I'm familiar with that brown...could be my yard anytime of the year! ;O)

The Bliss Journey said...

Wow, I'm so sorry that it damaged your plants. It got pretty cold here but everything survived, I brought the orchids in the house because I didn't think they would like the cold and I put them back on the lanai tonight. I hope your plants green up for you soon.
Kathleen