The Common Cold

For most gardeners, cold is a common occurrence in winter.  Each gardener's preparation for this common occurrence, however, is individual and specific to their own garden.

I am preparing for the freeze that is expected to hit tonight.  I've put the thick, fluffy comforter on my bed.  I have extra blankets just in case.  My wardrobe has changed.  Instead of short sleeved t-shirts, the turtlenecks have made an appearance, along with scarves, gloves, and winter jackets.  

Even if cold is common in winter, can you tell I don't like it?

I'd much rather stay warm by a cozy fire, drinking hot cocoa instead of being outside, with a red nose and numb toes.  Thankfully, in my garden, there is not too much preparation to be done. 

Some gardeners dig up their tender bulbs and tropical plants, storing them for winter.  Their gardens look amazing, but that is just not something I want to do.   

A couple of years ago we had a very hard winter.  So many gardeners in this area lost a number of plants.  Even I lost a few.  Lesson learned - if you want tropical plants in your garden, and you are not in a tropical area, you will have to do a lot more preparation for winter.  Being the lazy me that I am, I opted out of growing tropicals that won't live through our winters.

There are some tender plants, however, I have not planted out in the garden, but potted as annuals.  These will die in a freeze.  But that's o.k.  They were purchased with the expectation that they would only last through the summer.  I didn't spend much money and them, and I understood that this was money that was being spent for a short-lived decoration.  They were the equivalent of a pumpkin pie - sweet, but seasonal and temporary.

I do have an orange tree that was a gift, and I plan to bring it inside on freezing nights.  Since it was a gift, and since I think growing oranges would be fun, I give it special treatment.  Right now, it's small, so it's in a small pot, and no trouble to carry in and out of the house.

The only other plants I plan to baby in winter are the ones I have planted in the vegetable garden.  I have a long, heavy cloth that I use to cover the raised vegetable beds on the nights that call for it.  I hate the cold (have I told you that?), and but fresh food is worth it.  On those nights, I put on my coat, winter boots, heavy socks, warm gloves, and wool hat over my regular clothes in order to trudge outside and cover the vegetable bed.  

You're right - I don't really need all those layers.  But, did I mention how much I hate the cold?

How you prepare for a freeze may be completely different than how I prepare for one.  And even if you live in Texas, you may be thinking that all this talk about winter preparation and turtlenecks is a little overkill.  You'd be right.  The freeze will probably only last a few minutes.  In fact, it may not even actually freeze!

I just love Texas winters!