Well, on the way out to walk the dog, I started lifting up some tubs and towels to let things have sun and see what survived. I’ll go out again later and see about the kohlrabi and one cabbage as the chef wants them for dinner. Any feedback on whether to trim back the damaged perennials (irises, garlic, rosemary) would be appreciated!
The saffron leaves seem intact. Strawberries with the saffron seem okay too! These were all under a towel and a tub. The cilantro was under a tub. It died. The leaves of cilantro in the cactus planter also died, but there appeared to be some live bright green at the base. We’ll see if it grows back. This native plant rosette (I think Gaillardia?) seems fine and i didn’t cover it or its neighbors at all. It had more snow on it during the coldest cold. The oregano in the herb bed by the plant window looks a little worse for the wear. It had two plastic tubs over it. Some leaves look damaged but some seem maybe okay. Both the front and backyard faucets and pipes seem to have survived!!! That’s a relief. I opened both slightly for a few minutes, just in case to clear any bits of ice out, but it was all liquid coming out that I could see or hear. Whew! Front yard strawberries seem overall okay on the northwest side. These had towels and tubs in the center, and just towels around the planter base. Even the un-toweled leaves seem okay so far. Other parts of the bed had an aluminum trash can lid and leaves over them. I’m feeling pretty optimistic. The irises by the mailbox got frozen. Anybody know if I should trim them back or just let them regrow on their own? Most of the rosemary is now a very dead looking brown-green, but at the base of at least one there is still life (the brighter green branches) so I hope they can all grow back. Presumably insulation from snow helped the base. Like the irises, the garlic is very unhappy. I hope they too will grow back from their roots.
The Peruvian ground cherry I had been nursing along with towels and tubs and a hot water bottle every night succumbed to freezing last night (it was 3°F outside this morning around 7:30am). I have lots of babies in the plant window though.
Strawberries and oregano are under the tubs. There is some sedum along one wall and those poor little standing cypress along the back wall. Foil and tissue under the regular foam cover, which is now covered by newspaper and cardboard, with a gallon jug of hot water sitting at the base. We’ll change out for new water before bed.
We woke up to a snowy world! Briar has seen snow before and enjoyed it but was hesitant at first this morning. She got over that soon enough and subsequently went insane with happy bouncing.
Briar examines the herb bed. Only seeds there except a single low growing oregano from Judy under the bucket. You can see the plant window in the background. Briar passes outdoor stratification native wildflower seeds in little pots. Heck of a cold stratification this time! The front yard raised beds with Salvia greggii in front. One of our four rosemaries. The garlic! Snow whiskers! You know it’s cold when your breath freezes on your snoot! Lots of little plants safely under the snow now. I feel a lot better about the impending -9°F etc coming up in the next few days now. Below: safety. Above: bouncies!!
