The First Freeze

We had our first freeze the morning of December first.  It got down to about 30 degrees.  A light freeze but a freeze nonetheless.  It was enough to make a huge difference for some of my plants.

I wasn't sure how the marigolds would fair as it started to get colder this fall.  They were planted in the middle of the summer rather than in the spring. I've planted Marigolds for years but never really worried about how they would handle the cold.  By August they are usually not doing well but have produced a huge number of blooms for me so I let them go. This year I wanted them to hold on.  Nope.  They are gone now.

Cotton is a tender perennial - accent on the "tender". Sure enough, with this first light freeze, the plants have withered. There are still unopened bolls of cotton but I fear they are lost too.

I have this large lovely swaying plant in front of my studio.  I can never remember what it's called although I've asked the question several times. It has soft yellow blossoms in the fall and I love the long limbs even when they droop to the ground. I know it dies back to the roots in the fall and will come back in the spring so it's not a huge surprise that it too withered with the first freeze.

So much of the rest of the property shows no ill effects of the freeze.  The roses are still blooming, the cactus doesn't care in the least, and most of the plants are happy as can be. We planted lots of cyclamen this fall and they are particularly happy in the colder weather.

The conclusion to all this is the cotton and the marigolds that I have already harvested are the last I will get until next summer.  Now it's on to winter!