Spring Frost, Snow, Hail

For the last 2 weeks we have had cold weather with snow and hail! We even had 2 days of hard frosts in the meadow. It felt strange to wake up and see a winter wonderland in April.

When I stepped outside to take these pictures, I noticed that our deck was coated with white ice crystals. The bird baths were even frozen over.

By mid-day it warmed up and was really very pleasant outside. I began some clean up of the perennials, but decided to wait before pruning the roses. I learned the hard way, that it is best to prune after the last frosts. It's important to let the cuts on the stems seal otherwise the cold temperature can get into the plant and kill the stems.

I wonder how the wild plum blossoms have managed with the drop in temperatures. The daffodils and other plants haven't minded. In fact it seems that the rise and drop in the temperature is stimulating their growth.

The carrots, beets, lettuce, and fava beans I planted about a month ago are starting to come up. The asparagus has broken through the ground now and is about an 1 inch high. The artichoke plants look very vigorous and are about 2 feet high. The raspberries are leafing out and there are a lot of buds on the blueberry plants.

Dandelions are coming on strong and starting to bloom. I did a thorough clean up of the whole garden. The little unopened buds in the heart of the plant are very delicious and a good spring tonic so I picked a bowl full to add to our salads. I decided to dry a few roots for a tea,too.