As evidenced on my Instagram feed, my garden experienced the worst temperature extremes that Texas endured in the new year. We saw the lowest temperature I’ve ever witnessed in all the years I’ve lived in North Texas: -1F.
The historic winter storm knocked out power, water and cell data for 2 days. Our yard was buried in snow for at least 4 days. The community pond was completely frozen over.
The outdoor greenhouse tent could not sustain the plants housed within especially with no power to heat the space. Similarly, my garage was plunged in cold and darkness, freezing the most sensitive plants.
I’m still tallying the losses. The weekend following the storm, we set about to pruning the roses, and removed some dead branches and debris from the front yard. Most of the snow had begun to disappear by this time.
Frost hardiness for some plants seem hit or miss. I had put out some nasturtium seedlings earlier in the year; those were a loss. But I also planted out some romaine lettuce seedlings, and they seemed to have survived.
Needless to say, this means more seed starting and emptying pots to make way for new plants.
Looking ahead at the forecast, it seems that we will be seeing highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s beginning the second week of March. I’m already thinking about all the gardening tasks I have to do to prep the beds to receive new plants.