For the past few days, we have been getting very cold weather. Down to 10 degrees at night and never above freezing during the day. I took my office cat, Molina, home with me because it's too cold for her to be outside at night. So she's enjoying the warm nights in my house with 12 other cats that I can't bear to pitch out into the cold.
The cold has brought some serendipitous treats though, like the ice sculpture that our fountain created. Quite lovely.
So what do you do when it gets this cold? If you are lucky enough to have some snow with it, don't worry too much, the snow will insulate the plants. If it's dry, and no snow, you can do several things. Throwing sheets over tender shrubs will help keep desiccating winds from drying them out and causing further damage. A product on the market called "Wilt-Pruf" helps by coating the plant with a waxy substance that preserves moisture, but it needs to be applied before the freeze. Here at the Village Green, we have a "Survival of the Fittest" philosophy. If we lose a plant to the cold, we replace it with something equally interesting, but a bit hardier.
8 comments:
12 cats in your house? I have 1 cat in my house, and she drives me nuts! This is the running, chasing, jumping, leaping from table to table champion of all cats, I do believe. I do love her to pieces, but she is very....very athletic.
There is a very good cover, called Cloud Cover, that reminds me of pellon, the interfacing material for sewing projects. It comes in big sheets, and I buy them by the dozen. One will last several years, and one will make as much as 12 degrees difference. When it is 25 degrees, that would be a lot of difference.
I am also one for survival of the fittest. I do get upset if I lose something, but usually when I buy, it is something that is pretty hardy.
That fountain looks pretty....and cold.
Your ice sculpture is beautiful!
Your cat is so cute, looks like one we used to have. Our neighbor cats have been living under our deck during the cold weather here. I'm not sure why the neighbors won't bring them in, but they have hidden out here.
I have a survival of the fittest policy here too. There are things I really hope make it, but I just don't have time to "weatherize" them.
Cindee:
Thanks for joining my group at OhMyBloom... something different than Blotanical. Yes, winter has arrived with a vengeance! It is -4 degrees F outside right now, and there is also close to 2.5 feet of snow! All of this inside of three days! Gotta love the great white north.
For me its all about survival of the fittest as well. This isn't to say I haven't tried the same plant three years in a row in an increasingly sheltered position each time ( that beguiling chartreuse leaf Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey') - and hey, next Spring makes the fourth attempt. It will be containerized this time.
Fountain pic is supurb! Grace, who also resides in Oregon mentioned this week that she had temps even lower than mine. Perhaps we have more in common than we thought. Try and stay warm. You are a saint for rescuing the office feline, truly!
That is just Gorgeous..Nature is the Artist .
smiles to you..Deena
Cute kitty! So glad she got to come in from the cold, it was way too cold for all the critters. 12 cats in one house, you must have a mighty generous spirit.
Our cold weather here ended the day we finally got the chance for some snow. 33 and rain is about my least favorite temperature, I was so looking forward to a big beautiful snow storm to cap off our cold snap. I think I lost a couple plants I should have covered, I pushed my zone boundaries a little too far this year.
You need a general comment box on the homepage for this blog. Im lovin the falling snow!!!
Cindee, thanks for visiting and leaving such a nice comment. I tried to find your cat-blog but didn't get anything there? I did find a post with two blue-eyed darlings, and left a comment there about gardening with kittehs. We are down to seven this past year or so, but I'm getting the urge to go to the shelter and adopt a couple of kittens...hubby is a catperson too so he would be good with that. Maybe after Christmas...
Your property looks absolutely gorgeous, and moonstones are one of my favourite stones, next to labradorite! So i'm happy to make your acquaintance at many levels!
Jodi,
Oops, I gave you the wrong address. The cat pictures are at www.felinedomain.blogspot.com
It's a sub-blog off of Our Grandmother's Gardens (link in the sidebar of this blog).
My hubby is more of a dog person (we also have 2 big dogs!) but he is very tolerant of the kitties.
Cindee
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