The Freakin' Freeze

This morning my husband found me staring out the sliding glass windows, looking at our big backyard, and whimpering. "I'm so sorry," he said in a hushed tone. I knew it was coming. A tropical garden can only last so long in freezing weather, and we had three consecutive days of temperatures dipping into the low twenties. It was probably the hardest freeze we've had at this house. My job keeps me away from the garden during daylight hours at this time of the year, so I couldn't check on it during the week. My husband was home during the day and would give me updates. "Yeah, it is not good . . ." Today was the first day I could get a look at it. It was probably harder on him than me. I know that the losses are actually just temporary - by April this will be a distant memory as the perennials start to come back. All he sees are dead plants. Because I have masochistic tendencies, below are pictures of each of the gardens in their peak and how they look today after the freezes.

THE SHED GARDEN

(The before is from late September 08)

THE CORNER GARDEN

(The before is from late September 08)

THE CORNER GARDEN

(The before is from September 08)

THE POOL GARDEN(The before is from last week.)

THE FRONT GARDEN(The before is from last week. This is the winner this year. I was determined to have this garden looking nice this winter. With the exception of some pink pentas and some coleus, everything lived.)