Beautiful garden Grant! Especially love the table photo, what an inviting space.

I'm posting a photo of what some of my gardens have been looking like for the past few days - lol - no frost cloths unfortunately but a whole assortment of various old sheets, bedspreads and towels!!

(The top of the bougainvillaea covering blew off but I re-secured for last night's freeze.)

Me too, I may be taking photos in a few days of cold damaged leaves and drooping, dying flowers. Hopefully the damage is minimal for both our households however.

Well good luck folks! With at least a few more nights of this horrible cold and I will personally be starting from the roots this spring. . . not the worst thing in the world so long as they are still alive :-D I think we had an ACTUAL freeze last night/this morning! Ugh - many things this morning are stiff-leafed and dark Most covered things are OKAY but some tropicals look a little rough. . . ice on everything, bird bath frozen and fish pond plants wilted . . . meh.

Most of my perennial plants are VERY mature so they will handle this fine but look like hell until growing season returns.

Some of the more tender tropicals and annuals are another story. . . I hope my bananas and cannas are established enough to make it. Also closely monitoring a large patch of sweet potato vine that would be nice to keep alive instead of having to replant again :-D

Good luck folks! I'll try to post some photos from before the damage soon!

My place looks just like KimmeyK's! All covered up. It was 28 this morning under the sheets that covered the tomato plants. Hopefully they pull through since the leaves were covered. I need another string of C9 lights for the raised bed in back.

Fun updates all, keep the coming. Good job with the sheets, Kimmy! I'm looking forward to updates, good or bad.

I did finally get a freeze last night. A thin, but definitive layer of ice on the bird bath water this morning. No bueno, LOL. Damage is minimal though, mostly some nipped foliage on self sown nasturtiums and petunias that popped up in VERY exposed places. Most everything else looks good. Nasturtiums and petunias closer to the house or under shrubs look fine. We're in for another cold night tonight though, so stay alert, hah.

My little bistro table DOES look kinda cute and charming in that pic, doesn't it? I didn't really think about it until I posted it. It was CHILLY though, lol. I always say I read the local paper (on my iPad) and have coffee out there 355 days a year--yesterday and today are definitely two of the ten days a year I don't, LOL.

The plants in my pics above look fine, knock wood, as do the several clumps of Aloe 'Cynthia Giddy' in bloom. Here's one clump this morning, chilly, but happy:

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Here's a random pic of a young 'Ruby Red' grapefruit tree I planted as a tiny thing six years ago, plus his nearby friends. No serious damage that I can see, but I've migrated away from leafy tender subtropicals over the years (though I love them, I just can't deal with the stress and worry, hah).

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Indoors of course, I've got quite a few "Christmas cacti" (Thanksgiving cacti, technically, Schlumbergera truncata) in bloom. Just give them a sunny windowsill and water only when DRY and they'll grow and bloom for you. Maybe a bit later than Christmas many years, but even if late, they're lovely.

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Happy gardening all! Keep the updates coming,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics, so far, from my garden, January 2015

great pics Grant! especially the one with the table shot. really nice space and inviting.

This morning so far has been the coldest. I was watching the station close to my house on wunderground and it predicted to be 34f but it got down to 29f around 7:30am! OUCH! I was at work and I was freaking out over it since I haven't placed any frost cloth on any of sensitive plants. (Part of it because I'm lazy and part of it because I want to test them on how much cold they can handle and also if the protected areas I have them is actually effective)

So far after two consecutive freezing nights, the only plants that have shown any damage are definitely the Canna 'Bengal Tigers' and my bananas that are in one corner of my yard. The other bananas in the opposite corner are sheltered underneath a huge Canary palm and surprisingly don't have any damage except for one leaf.

So this afternoon I decided to finally protect the other bananas in some frost cloth. I had to cut the damaged leaves off so I can cover them entirely.

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here's the other bananas in the other corner, and notice only one leaf has frost damage. (top left)
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Ice Cream Bean tree shows zero damage even on its new sprouting leaves. It's planted underneath the Canary palm as well, so it's well protected.
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Canna bengal tigers really took a beating. Don't care much though since these guys will bounce back easily in the spring. The other types don't show much damage though, probably because they're closer to the block walls. either that or they're a bit more cold hardy.
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Everything else was left unprotected and shows no signs of damage:
Jaboticabas
Longans
Giant Timber Bamboo
Hong Kong Orchid trees
Calamondin
Orange
Pummelos
Guava
Sugar Canes
Elephant ear fig tree
Moreton bay fig tree
Mango

Anyone worried about your citrus fruits though? I was thinking of picking them all off the tree so they won't get damaged.

How cold does it have to be or how long of a duration below freezing before the fruits get toast?

Good news is I've never had a problem with Canna coming back after freezing to the ground. As long as the rhizomes aren't in standing water. I take it as a good time to divide if needed.

raimeiken, from experiences here at my house with the 2 mature lemons trees on property, this cold will mess up the fruit that wasn't harvested. Here at my house. Elsewhere? Not really sure.

Now maybe others have different experiences but, again, here when it freezes the lemons are pretty much damaged although from surface appearance, they never look bad. Just when the lemons are cut open, then you see...I've had mushy and I've had almost dried out inside appearance. Either/or, not good :-(

I'm curious to see how my Sky Flower shrubs fared (Duranta)...I have some that are older and large, a few that are younger and smaller...I did cover what I could but not sure of temp range for those.

Thanks for the interesting photos, you have a nice yard! It's helpful to read too the list of what you think did OK despite our plummeting temps the past few days!! I'm taking notes :-)

LOL *marymcp*, my neighbors are probably shaking their heads over my "decorating scheme" in the yard!! Oh well, I love seeing healthy growing plants and not dead and decaying stubs so I never ever throw out old blankets and the like - all are potential plant covers! Hopefully my yard will look good again soon.

I will definitely investigate the C9 bulbs. Especially for areas that traditionally tend to be colder in my yard. Thanks for mentioning.

*grant_in_arizona*, those christmas cactus pics are beautiful!! I have one in the bathroom window that just got a couple buds on it. I am soooo excited now to see it bloom but it needs to perhaps be moved to a sunnier window now that I read your comments. I did give it a drink with added Super Thrive yesterday.

One question. Mine is in the original dinky plastic grower's pot. (It was purchased at grocery store for my MIL who has since passed on but I took home with me.) Do you ever transplant your christmas cactus to larger pots or are they better being pot-bound? Thanks ahead for any comments on that subject.

Check now for good pricing on C9 strings. An online search showed some for $2.24 at HD. I'm going to try my local store first, will order if I can't find them. This would be best time to buy.

Transplanting Xmas cactus is fine but it is difficult because they are so delicate and have a tendency to break branches, but will come back. I have done it many times to the point the thing was giant. Size about 20" + pot. You need to wait so the temp is warmer. Use light soil mix.

another morning at 29f possibly 28f. Only plants that got more damage are the bananas I left unprotected, but they should pull through easily.

I LOVE all of the new updates and pics and I'm sure others do too. Thanks for posting them. Thanks too for the nice comments on my goofy little pics.

I'm surprised and pleased about your ice cream bean doing well. Thanks too for the list of other things you think are doing okay uncovered. Good info there!

Kimmie, Christmas/Thanksgiving cacti can definitely be repotted but if yours have flower buds I'd wait until AFTER it's done blooming before repotting it just to avoid it getting annoyed and dropping the buds. I DO move mine into terra-cotta pots as soon as they're done flowering (I picked up a not blooming bargain one at Ikea the other day and will repot it today).

Damage was really light in my little garden I'm pleased to report. I hope the same is true with everyone's gardens too. Keep us updated with good news or bad.

Here's a talavera hen on the patio that is still looking pretty good this morning:

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And another aloe in the front garden looking fine as well (no ID as it was an unlabeled rescue a few years ago):

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Indoors this paperwhite narcissus that I'm forcing in a forcing jar is looking good too. The scent is VERY strong so I only do one at a time, hah. If you do it in soil indoors, you can transplant them out into the garden when they're done blooming and you'll have blooms in future years in later winter.

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Happy gardening all!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, Jan 2015

My "cape cowslips" (Lachenalia bulbifera) are starting to bloom on the east side of the house. Fun bulbs for full or partial sun. Leaves/flowers in winter and dormant (no water!) in summer:

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My Japanese honeysuckle is blooming nicely too. I know, I know, it's a weed in many climates, but it's very well behaved here, evergreen, and it flowers several times a year.

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Random quick-pic looking west/southwest in my back garden. Nothing fancy, but plenty to see and enjoy.

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Keep YOUR updates coming too, good or bad. Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, Jan 2015

That Lachenalia bulbifera flower looks so much like an aloe flower. Very nice.

Aloe bloom took it on the chin.
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But 2' away this bloom held up fine, leaf tips burned though.
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Ones on left and right freeze killed, one in middle fine.
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The good...
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The bad...
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The ugly...
{{gwi:2122595}}But I can cut back the Canna now so that's good.

Japanese privet...a little off the top.
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Spider Lillies which I just transplanted a month ago no change.
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Hill being built is coming along so that's good.
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Neat pics and updates, buggy! They definitely show how important and impactful different microclimates are for our plants! I have some bougies that had branches having over the patio that are fine, but the branches hanging out over open ground got zorched by the chill. Some of my blooming mother of thousands Bryophyllums (formerly kalanchoe) melted and some look perfect, all depending on location. The results are amazing.

Yeah the Lachenalia blooms really DO look like aloe blooms don't they? There's even a species L. aloides that is even more aloe-looking. Great easy bulbs here though for sure.

My geraniums (Pelargonium) plants all did fine, here's that pot pinky purple in the day of the dead talavera pot on the patio. It had petunias in it, and they survived the frost too, but they were getting leggy so OUT they went, hah!

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Speaking of bryophyllum, here are some that didn't melt, happily blooming away among some Opuntia quimilo cacti. Some clones of this Bryophyllum just three feet away were liquified by Jack Frost.

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Orange emu bush, Eremophila carnosa looks great too. Definitely my favorite emu bush:

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Here's just a random corner of the garden, looking WSW. No damage from the recent chill that I I can see. It drives me insane each winter, LOL, by the way, that a purple hop seed was mixed in with the green hop seed when I planted that hedge, hah. In summer they're all green, but in winter the purple one shows its true colors, literally, LOL! I'll keep it of course.

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Happy gardening all, keep the updates coming, pics or no.
Take care,
Grant

The warm weather have jump started the bananas already! New leaves are starting to unroll. I hope February will be as warm and no more frost/freeze

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Congrats on those lush new banana leaves. They're just bursting with energy. I hope Jack Frost stays the heck away too.

Here are some quick pics from this morning. Flowers on my 'mini yellow pear' tomato, and various geraniums (Pelargonium) around the patio.

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Looking west on the patio.

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Looking EAST on the patio.

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Fun ivy leaf geranium (Pelargonium) with some nasturtium foliage at lower left.

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Keep the pics and updates coming all, Grant, dreading a trip to the snowy east coast this week. Bleck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden January 2015

All these pics of leaves and flowers just reminds me that there's two separate (not exclusive, just separate) definitions of garden. That's not a bad thing, but I feel if you can't eat it then it might be better appreciated in the nice neighbor's yard than in my dirt pit! Sort of a form vs. function thing.

Anyhow, even though it's been pinched off from a south side Big Boy row that's been in the ground for just a week, below is a pic with nice leaves and nice flowers. It's called "winter's over".

I noticed these snap dragons the day after the freeze and they seemed unaffected which surprised me. Always thought of them as needing warm weather. These are at Copper Star coffee house a couple of blocks away, not in my garden. I don't believe these were covered but not 100% sure.
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My wandering jew bounced back fast. These were covered but still burned on the edges and looked rough.
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Since everything else seems to be budding out I decided to take a close look at the bougainvillea. Surprised it is pushing new leaves near the base. Will have to wait to see how far up the stems survived but was surprised to see any growth this early.
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Love the new pics, thanks for posting them. And I love the Cuban coffee at Copper Star coffee house (I do it with almond milk since dairy milk grosses me out to think about, LOL).

I noticed some self sown snapdragons in bloom down the street. So fun. Nice tomatoes AND bougie shoots too.

Here's a quick pic from this morning of some blood oranges (or "ruby oranges" if you're squeamish or working for the ad agencies trying to re-brand them, LOL) dripping with rain this morning. Those are 'Improved Meyer' lemons in the background.

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Plus a quick pic of a fun yellow-with-orange flames nasturtium in bloom too (many many dozens of them are flowering now, love them).

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Happy gardening all!
Grant happy to be back after a week in FROZEN and snowy Maryland for work.

Hello again I have not posted for a while but with all this rain everything in the garden is looking fresh and clean...

Zeus my Christmas Moose enjoys the cooler weather :)