Sunday, December 28, 2008

GOT SNOW?


The winter storms of December 08 hit us hard. It started with a playful light coating, one we could almost laugh about, chuckling when telling relatives in 'real snow areas' that we were housebound due to the 6 inches of snow on the ground. My two hardy fuchsias are shown below after a few inches of snowfall...


Then the snow became no laughing matter. Ambulances going into neighborhoods needed help from neighbors to get them through the snow and to the sick and ailing. There was no more joking. We'd had enough already. Finally the thaw is here, and now we're worried about flooding.


We hope not only that the people who live here weathered the storms without incident, but wonder what the results of this arctic freeze will be on our plants. The picture above is of the same hardy fuchsias, buried under almost 2 feet of snow. I hope that the snow was like an insulated blanket and the plants will be just fine when spring arrives.

Below: when the snow was highest and
then 24 hours later when the rain and thawing began...



Gazing skyward, willing the sun's return!

Stay well. Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay dry.

~Aerie-el

15 comments:

  1. The snow should be a good insulating blanket - your plants are likely much better off with it than with colder temps and no snow blanket. Good luck!

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  2. Thanks! One of the fuchsias has chartreuse leaves and is a beauty. I just put it in this year so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it makes it.
    ~Aerie-el

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  3. What an amazing wallop people have gotten in the last couple of weeks. I always feel awful when I hear the ambulance head up the highway. The roads here have been pretty bad lately.

    Hope you had a good Christmas!

    Amy

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  4. Wow you guys got bombed out there. I know that's unusual in your neck of the woods. But not to worry, snow is the best protection those perennials could possibly have. Sometimes I shovel snow onto anything that's marginally hardy to give it an extra measure of insulation.

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  5. Yes, we share your hope that people stayed warm and safe and dry! It sure was a doozy of a couple of weeks. I went out to look at a few plants this afternoon, prognosis is not good for some but others may make it. Will be very interesting to see what survives! Guess it serves me right for pushing it a bit on hardiness zone recs. Never have I been so happy to see the rains return!

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  6. OH my word! That is a lot of snow! It was pretty and I'm glad I witnessed it on the puter screen and not in person. Did it flood? Looks like you are right on the water.

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  7. @Amy--good news is that most of the roads are now plowed. Until they were, we stayed home, or used the 4WD vehicle if need be.
    It was definitely a lovely, white Christmas this year! Hope you had a good one too!
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    @Steve--thanks for the encouraging info about using snow for protecting perennials. I'll keep positive thoughts of seeing these babies come back to life again.
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    @Karen--Agreed! I would be sad to lose any plants, but if I do, then I guess that means there's room for NEW ones! :)
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    @flowergardengirl--As it was snowing, it appeared that we were in a snow globe looking out. Beautiful, but we were only too happy to see rain and temperatures above freezing return.
    Thankfully no worries for us about flooding, though the water will be pretty high for some time.

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  8. You really did get hit! Almost 2 feet, huh? For us it's back to normal- rain, rain, and more rain! There's only so much you can do with a puddle :)

    Thanks, for visiting again!

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  9. Tessa,
    Our street still has so much snow that the postal carrier couldn't turn down it today.
    Never thought I'd say this, but I'm really looking forward to rain!
    ~Aerie-el

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  10. hope all are well, 2 feet melting that fast. Hope things are peaceful to get you folk into the new year.

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  11. Thanks Wayne. Seems the snow is making an orderly departure...so far, so good anyway!
    ~Aerie-el

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  12. We haven't had snow like that here for years. A few inches back in November but that must be difficult to have so much snow.

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  13. The amount of snow has been crazy. Many plants are not happy, and many gardeners are sad/worried/hopeful (pick one or all) as a result!

    From the photos on your blog, it looks like the winter veggies are doing great there. But more about that over at your blog!
    ~Aerie-el

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  14. You really did get lots of snow! I never heard our total snowfall here in Nebraska, but we had a white Christmas. I went out the 26th and took some snow melting pictures, too.

    Our temps are fluctuating quite a bit, which isn't supposed to be so good for the plants. We will have highs in the upper 50s one day, then in the 20s the same week. It's 23F right now. Brr!

    I enjoyed looking at your blog on my break/getting sidetracked from cleaning out my refrigerator.

    Sue

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  15. Hi Sue,
    It's nice to know other people get sidetracked reading in the blogosphere too!
    Hope your plants are okay after the wild temp fluctuations there. Our temps are holding steady at 'cold', so 50 degrees sounds like a heat wave.
    ~Aerie-el

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