Brrr!

Brrr! We're thinking spring but Mother Nature appears to have other ideas! We are under a frost warning while neighbors to our north and west are under a freeze warning. If you've had a case of spring fever and have planted some tender annuals it's a good idea to cover or bring them in tonight and keep an eye on the extended forecast. Today, I  visited with some of our gardening friends who are under a freeze warning and are concerned about their tender perennials. Here's how we do it...Flower Farm style! It's impossible for us to cover everything. We monitor the temperatures during the night. It's a long night but worth the sacrifice. Just before the outside temperature reaches the freezing mark, we mist the gardens with water. The water forms a layer of ice on the foliage which will protect the plant from freezing temperatures. I have 'not so fond' memories of us walking around the gardens at 1:00 in the morning with a flashlight in one hand and a hose in the other. We saved everything! In the meantime, our tender plants are staying safe and warm in the greenhouse including this show stopper... Dalechampia dioscoreifolia aka Bow Tie Vine.