Dedication and Purpose

This blog is dedicated to Doreen Eaton. She has been my friend, inspiration and mentor. She is an English gardener and her comment when she first laid eyes on my property was, "It's nice but it's so... GREEN." Many of the nicer parts of my yard are designed or inspired by her. She has chosen some of the more interesting plants.

My goal as I work in my garden is not only to enjoy being outdoors and relax and breathe fresh air, but also to create a space that is useful as a playspace for my children, a habitat for local wildlife, and a visual feast to behold. I hope someday to also have a productive vegetable garden and fruit orchard.

Friday, January 4, 2013

First Frost

January is certainly the coldest month of the year in our neck of the woods. I thought it was rather fitting that the first proper frost of this season in our yard happened on the first of January 2013.

The skies had cleared over the previous weekend and the temperature had gradually dropped until all the moisture in the air solidified and blanketed all the surfaces outside.
The back deck on a frosty morning.

Lavender

The grass turned crunchy and the lavender and strawberry leaves looked like they were made out of sugar.  Inside the humidity dropped dramatically as well.  Suddenly our hair lifted with static like it does in Utah or Arizona and the skin on my hands started to crack.

Our trusty analogue thermometer showing
 the temperature under the deck cover
 at  noon as 34 degrees.
The next two days were frosty as well and it was a good opportunity to teach the kids about checking the thermometer before heading out to the bus stop - if it's below 40, you will want an extra layer or two!

From the garden perspective - all of the plants that I have purposely planted are hardy enough to withstand a short light frost like this one.  Several of them get damaged by heavy snows or prolonged frost, but something light and brief like this isn't a problem for them.  Even plants in pots that I haven't gotten in the ground yet seem fine after this kind of weather as long as I haven't *just* watered them.  I did kill a pot of rosemary last year by watering it the day before a heavy frost. Oops.

Strawberry leaf
Jack Frost making patterns on the front deck!
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