The April Freeze of 2007!

Posted on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 10:48

Wow, oh wow has the weather been "unseasonably cold" for the past couple of weeks. I know this is not news to anyone. It’s just that I have never seen this bad of freeze damage. Not only were many of the garden plants hurt by it, but so were the trees! Look at our normally beautiful Sugar Maple tree!

All of the leaves were killed by the many nights of freezing temperatures. When the wind blows, the leaves rustle like they do in the fall.

Nature is a funny thing though. There is a peach tree about fifty feet from our maple and it still has about half of it's blooms!

Unfortunately, this peach blossom is the exception to the rule. Many of our so-called hardy perennials were damaged. Look at the frost damage on these hostas and day Lilies:

And now for the dead plants that really sadden me; my poor baby broccoli and lettuce plants:

Actually, I think the lettuce may survive. Ma and I took a walk around the yard tonight and that is the kind of thing we found ourselves saying over and over. "That plant isn't too bad", and "That may make it" were the best we could come up with.

The plants that faired the best were ones that had a bit of protection from an overhead tree or roof overhang. The plants around and slightly under Mary and Laura's treehouse did well. For instance, here's some Easter Lilies and Live Forever:

The other thing that the cold has temporarily put a stop to is the reconstruction of our deck.

We'll just call that the "before" picture. I like to stay positive.

I will end on a positive note as well. These phlox seemed to sustain absolutely no damage.

Just like the peach blossoms, I can't explain it. They are right out in the open like everything else. That's just the way the Lord works I guess. As for the rest of the spring, I hope He allows the weather to be better. In the garden as in life, it is okay to lose some once in a while. It just makes our successes all the sweeter. You cannot have the mountaintops without the valleys.

Here's wishing you all a mountaintop growing season!

-Pa

Thanks for sharing!

Posted by rellamom on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 11:34 - Link

Beautiful post! Thank you for sharing!

The phlox is lovely! -- And the blossom photo is beautiful, too!

Carrie