Garden Reports and Rejoicing – December 4
We’ve had such a mild fall that you can still find roses blooming in many Cape Cod gardens. The white Snow Princess alyssum flowers are brighter than the frost and I continue to harvest parsley and mint. Today the weather felt like Northern California.
I’m relieved to see that the temperatures are supposed to steadily get colder this week. Not that I don’t enjoy such balmy days, but it’s easier for the plants if they get acclimated to winter gradually. In the past we’ve had mild December weather that was followed by sudden cold in January, and many plants suffered. Such weather seems to be hardest on heath and heathers, butterfly bush and roses.
Humans are just along for the ride when it comes to fluctuations in weather and temperatures. In the past ten years I remember some Decembers that have been very cold and others that were mild. One year my husband and I left dozens of dahlia tubers in the garden shed at this time of year, assuming that they would be fine until we returned from out of town. It got down to twelve degrees and they all froze. Ouch.
In our gardens and in our lives a great deal is out of our control. We cope and hope. That knowledge aside, however, I think that we’re better off if we cultivate the qualities that Heather, Marcia and Regina suggested can lead to a green thumb. If we lean toward “sincere and sustained attention”, being “observant, caring and understanding” and “determined and patient” we’re more likely to grow what we’re after.
Frost has coated my still-blooming roses on several mornings but the plants continue to bloom.
