It's been a rough winter in Boise this year.
As this article by Margaret Lauterbach attests. "We luxuriated in one of the warmest autumns on record, then as if a once-friendly door were slammed, the thermometer plummeted to one degree above zero on Nov. 15, 2014. We weren't ready for winter then, and neither were our trees, shrubs or ornamentals. Many were killed."
Our garden was no exception to this winter kill. This is how our akebia quinata vines looked this spring.
Here's what we're accustomed to seeing;
At least they aren't entirely dead. They're coming back from the base.
The ivy that used to climb the walls in the background and to the right all died back also.
Another victim of the harsh winter was our beautiful tree peony.
We won't be seeing these blooms for quite a few years.
I'm glad it's at least still alive and showing some growth.
We've heard lots of reports of the loss of cherry trees over this winter.
This article speaks to that issue.
"Cold injury usually occurs from a sudden freeze following milder weather."
One thing I have learned during my twenty-some years of gardening is that the garden changes, with or without our intervention. Gardeners need to be resilient and willing to go with the flow. The alternative is......insanity? Ha ha, maybe!
As this article by Margaret Lauterbach attests. "We luxuriated in one of the warmest autumns on record, then as if a once-friendly door were slammed, the thermometer plummeted to one degree above zero on Nov. 15, 2014. We weren't ready for winter then, and neither were our trees, shrubs or ornamentals. Many were killed."
Our garden was no exception to this winter kill. This is how our akebia quinata vines looked this spring.
Here's what we're accustomed to seeing;
At least they aren't entirely dead. They're coming back from the base.
The ivy that used to climb the walls in the background and to the right all died back also.
Another victim of the harsh winter was our beautiful tree peony.
We won't be seeing these blooms for quite a few years.
I'm glad it's at least still alive and showing some growth.
We've heard lots of reports of the loss of cherry trees over this winter.
This article speaks to that issue.
"Cold injury usually occurs from a sudden freeze following milder weather."
One thing I have learned during my twenty-some years of gardening is that the garden changes, with or without our intervention. Gardeners need to be resilient and willing to go with the flow. The alternative is......insanity? Ha ha, maybe!
4 comments:
It was a very hard winter - coldest February on record here - redbuds - hardly any blossoms; my akebia pathetic, but now coming back robustly; tree peony coming back from the root - so not from the graft sadly. But, the weird thing was our snow cover saved so much - I've hardly lost any perennials - I usually lose about 10-30%. The insanity option would only work for me if I could count on Kevin to water reliably - I think you're right - flexibility and adaptability are the hallmarks of good gardeners.
I didn't think of it, but that must be why our butterfly bush is only coming back at the base, we had the same thing with another shrub as well.
So sorry you lost some of your lovely garden! The past 2 winters in PA have been terrible - weeks and weeks of below 0 weather, so school was cancelled or delayed too. I lost most of my strawberries the year before last, but most everything survived this winter...hooray!
So sorry about the winter losses. That is what happened a year ago here and I am still trying to replace everything. I am glad your vine is coming back though. It may seem silly to some but it is heartbreaking to see those plants die. Everything here has been growing fast this spring. I am so far behind in gardening chores. :) Have a lovely weekend.
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