Heart breaking pictures. Sorry. BUT, as you know, this is simply a fact of life in the world's most continental climate. (in the sense of ridiculous swings. While Siberia and Northern China are cold as can be in winter, they stay cold, and when spring arrives, it arrives for good) I've assumed the facilities that have to contend with it either use sprinklers or tyvek-like row cover/blankets to protect rare plants. We can just get so darn warm in winter. Resin and I had a chat a while ago about where to collect the Cornus florida that would do the best in the UK. He brought up the issue of northernmost collections being used to a winter that stays winter...but even that's not true. Syracuse NY is probably its northernmost range in the interior of the east coast, and even it can get warmer in February than London. Yes, only by a degree celcius, but you're talking about a zn 5 with 100+ inches of snow versus a zone 9 with many subtropical plants like Eucs being quite common. Of course a C. f. from Asheville might still be a better collection for the UK, but the notion even our northlands always stay cold is a false one. Related to the reason I came here today, apparently the guy who had the largest collection of magnolia hybrids in the SE lost a huge number of them back in 2006 or 2007 when a freeze in SC/NC brought temps to the teens in April after they were fully leafed out. 30' Gresham magnolias died totally...not even able to sprout again from the base. They have the Chinese & Himalayan genes that are used to the far more consistent winters there. This post was edited by davidrt28 on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 14:28

Sammy, thanks for the comforting words. Also, you all have reminded me that many of you are having far worse years than I am; and that my plants are mostly in fair condition even if the flowers have been dreadful. I hope the many sufferers get relief soon. Suzy and Greybird, Mariannese, I hope you get rain--lots of rain--soon! And Greybird, that the temperatures drop. Ogrose, I happy for you that you're happy with what you've got. Sherry, we do have plenty of crows, but I don't know whether they eat beetles and grubs or not. No armadillos. I've thought about chickens, which my sister tells me love bugs, but haven't been able to bring myself to think through a chicken coop and the various requirements. Many people here let their chickens run free during the day. Bart, I'm glad you got some rain! I'm actually planning on introducing broom (ginestra) to some areas of the garden where I can't get anything to grow. I may be getting in touch with you about those pheromone traps. I think it's interesting that you say yellow is the favorite color of the black beetles. I don't remember seeing a lot of them on my Foetidas, which are as yellow as anything can be; while they particularly adore pale roses: 'Bermuda's Anna Olivier', 'Mme. Jules Bouche', 'Maiden's Blush'--all close together, however. I've been doing some maintenance down in the shade garden, yanking weeds, cutting back plants, thinking. The shade garden, with its trees and shrubs and wooded surroundings, is closer to being a mature garden than is the big (sunny) garden which was just a brushy field until a few years ago, and enjoying it once the height of the spring flowering is past doesn't require an effort of imagination. The shade garden is where I can feel the effect of the form and bulk of trees and shrubs, appreciate the texture of foliage and the effect of freshly cut grass--my husband mowed it yesterday--against the beds and the woods. A pretty spot. Until this year we were chronically behind on maintenance in the shade garden and didn't have the planting adequately planned or carried out; but now we're fairly well caught up, there's enough of the planting in place for a plan to pleasantly evident, and I have plenty of ideas about how to continue developing the garden. There's certainly plenty to do in the sunny garden, but for it to be pleasant in summer the shrubs are going to have to grow taller than me, and that won't happen in a hurry. Thank goodness for the cool green of the shade garden. Melissa

Toyo, thank you for the advice regarding watering; I shouldn't have gone "off" my drip system this year, but when I watered it was early morning with soaker hoses. Fruitback, whatever business you're in, I want to buy stock. Sensible advice. I DO think soil is going to be my emphasis in the spring when I start up again, to the point where I may be removing truckloads of the old before carefully selecting the new (and not from bags bought at Home Depot). Yesterday was that new day of hope for me. After a few hours of fall clean-up grunt work, I planted fava beans, sweet peas and lettuce (seeds) and some nursery sets of pok choy. Even though the asters and mums aren't blooming, the beds are tidy and the patio is swept. The light this time of year is a gorgeous golden yellow. Thank you both for encouraging advice. C

Hey !!! But not all is lost !!! Abraham Lincoln's' root stock keeps coming up ! I've pinched and pinched and pinched those suckers off - to no avail !!!! Lost 2 Abrahams this past winter ... This post was edited by Cenepk10 on Tue, Apr 22, 14 at 19:30