Beautiful pictures Marcia! One question, why would we be so stupid as to show pics of our weeds. I've deleted some gorgeous pictures of some of the beds because it showed the glorious crop of weeds around it. Weed eating is not a favorite past time for the hubby. I made a (can't even call it a dent) small blip in the pot ghetto yesterday because I planted all my annuals in the ground. I still have some containers to do but that can wait while I work to get more things into the ground. The potted, with many scapes, daylilies can now look for permanent homes. Right now it is drizzling (not forecasted) but hopefully, can get the two tacky gh's down and out of the way so I can move my benches from the deck of the building to hold my tropical bonsai, so all lights can be turned off. THEN, I can take the newly arrived hosta and the companion plants I purchased for them to their new location. I'm not planting them just yet but going to stick the pots in the ground where I think they will permanently live. After all those chores, I will only have about 100 hosta seedlings to contend with and where they will live for the summer. I do see a light at the end of the very long tunnel. Brooke

bvt2007... umm where are you located at? For us, by those definitions, "Blackberry Winter" would be appropriate - they were beginning or in bloom (depending on the various patches)... the Dogwoods bloomed here on my property and surrounding "locale" ahead of the Redbuds by at least a week and a half, probably closer to two weeks, then the Redbuds came on (right along with the forsythia) even as the Dogwood blooms persisted. Normally, for right here on the hill, the Dogwoods and Redbuds wouldn't have bloomed until mid-April, but they were kicking it in late February and all through March respectively. April had the Dogwood flowers persisting even while the Redbuds were transitioning to the next phase of growth. Those of us on the hill were concerned then about it, fearing what losses would be because we would inevitably get a cold snap. I don't think any of us expected temps as low as they were for the three days that most others also experienced. From what I'm reading on this thread, there seems to be a fair amount of variation from one garden/property to another as to what weathered through without a hitch and what got hit hard. All of my Oaks... the old Oaks... it looks like late Fall/early Winter again. I hope they have the reserves to leaf out again. The leaves, unlike some others I read about here, still had a lot of growing to do - MAYBE at 1/5th their full size, less in most cases. I worry especially for those that were already compromised but have continued to leaf out each year even when I expected they would just die - this might have been Mother Nature's "purging" for those, as if to tell them it was okay to go to sleep forever. While blueberry blossoms were struck - I think that might be a blessing in disguise. The bushes on the property here have given me bumper crops year after year instead of the "normal" pattern of high yield year, low yield year, high yield year, low yield year, and so on. I kept waiting to see when they would finally take a break. MAYBE with the cold snap coinciding with blossoming for some of them, they will have a break from production this year. Of course I assume that bumper crop production has taxed them too much, though they might be so healthy that that is why they could "afford" to do what they did for all these years. They were in need of pruning and suckers taken up, etc. though so maybe when they recover and I can see where there's new growth, I will actually get that trimming and maintenance done for them this year. I'm sure glad that most of my Brugmansia were still indoors, if nothing else. Don't think I could bear having to start over with those AGAIN... IrisAddict - Thank You so much for starting this thread. That freeze, was precisely what put me totally in the dumps on whether or not to even bother going to the swap in May and now that I know I was far from alone in the losses I feel.. well, not so alone. (Misery loves company?) I won't have as many ready-to-go started plants to offer, but I'll surely have at least some seedlings (resowing in cups) and if not already rooted, at least cuttings of some things to bring - and for other things I'll probably bring seeds so that folks can opt to sow for themselves. And it looks like the Fall swap might be even better since so many of us had the losses we did this Spring. So I'm already planning to attend that one as well. :) Trying to see a silver lining... Hermit

I just received the most WONDERFUL box from Miss Sue! It was so big, it took 2 kids to carry it. :) And MERCY, I just about fell out of my chair when I saw how much it cost to mail! Prices are getting ridiculous!! I tried to keep track of everything as I unwrapped them, but I had 4 little helpers (the girls helped me...the boys couldn't have cared less- they know they're going to be recruited to help plant later on! LoL!) so I didn't get everything written down. But everything looks great, nothing is wilted! Which was SO surprising, considering the heat! I know there were 2 mini roses, red & blue salvia, many daylilies, 6 succulents, dianthus, lantana, rosemary & lavender. The rosemary & lavender made the box smell SOOOO good! If I've forgotten to mention anything, please forgive me! Thank you SO MUCH, Miss Sue! You outdid yourself with a WONDERFUL box, and I absolutely LOVE everything!

Watching the weather and happy to see improvement and read some reports of garden survival! I have been thinking of building simple shelters for my potted driveway plants. I know someone who lives in the ever changeable climate of North TX who constructed collapsible frames from PVC. I think he built flat panels and then drilled holes for wire "hinges" of sorts so he could unfold them and lock them open with tree tie supports, the kind with open loops for sliding the ends through and locking with a twist. (Sorry about vocabulary loss. I know those ties have a name.) Then, like John, he drapes and ties old textiles over the frames. Every time we get a weird cold spell, I swear I'm going to make a set of "freezer frames". Carol