Monday, January 7, 2013

FROSTY MORN SURPRISES

 
We had such a gorgeous Hill Country sunrise this morning, I couldn't resist going out on the balcony to snap a few shots of it. While out there, I got a bit of a surprise.


Overnight, my waves of amber grasses had somehow morphed into frosty mounds, and there was a nice chunk of ice in the bird bath.


Oops! Guess it got a good bit colder last night than I was expecting. Too bad I didn't bother to cover those pots of large succulents that I've been trying to overwinter outdoors.


The pot that's tucked up next to the house, just outside the bathroom pipes, seems fairly unscathed, but I'm not so sure about these other pots, left exposed out on the terrace.


Know what's interesting about them? Remember how I told you that the Donkey Ears plants seemed to be forming baby plants way out on the tippy-tips of their large, pointy leaves -- baby plants which were sending down fuzzy little aerial roots in hopes they might come into contact with some soil? Well, most were hanging out over the edges of the pots, with no soil in reach, so guess what they did?


They dropped off the tips of the plants, nestled themselves into the cozy piles of leaves that had accumulated around the base of each pot, and a few of them have managed to survive numerous dips into the 20s there! How's that for resourcefulness?


The biggest surprise is that this Christmas Cactus, which I stuck out in the Cantina Garden on a lark this time last year, is still hanging in there, and still blooming up a storm!


Winter in central Texas is a constant bounce from temps in the 70s, down to the 20s, and then back again, so it won't be long before we have a nice sunny day -- one warm enough to inspire me to get out there and trim back all these freeze-zapped perennials and the many clumps of ornamental grasses in our flower beds. Mustn't wait too long, because you just never know when those amazing grasses will begin sending up fresh new blades of green...


and these very dead-looking clumps here will be sending up delicious little spears of asparagus for our early spring dining pleasure!

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