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Health & Fitness

What's Up, Mother Nature?

Really, Mother Nature? It was 65 degrees. It's January. What is this going to mean to all the plants in our gardens? Will they survive to bloom another day?

Thursday, January 5th was a record-setting 65 degrees.  Nary a cloud floated in the pristine sky, the breeze was mild and, if you closed your eyes, you might think you’re on the beach. 

My favorite beach city, Naples, Florida, hit 70 degrees Thursday.  Mother Nature, how is it that there is a 5 degree difference between Naples in southern Florida and St. Louis, smack dab in the middle of the country?  And, more importantly, why are you messing with our plants, trees and shrubs?  Really?  What’s up with all this?

Normally the first week of January has the majority of us bundled up to spend some bone-chilling, finger-numbing time outside, enjoying the annual ritual of removing the Christmas decorations.  Every strand of lights wants to snap and crack under the pressure of being coiled onto and around the apparatus that keeps it so neat and tidy. 

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After a while in the cold, you care less about the fact that it is neat and tidy and more about the fact that you MUST get inside for a hot drink.  Maybe a Hot Toddy, Buttered Rum or coca spiked with anything alcoholic.  Mother Nature, today that didn’t happen. 

In fact, my son, Alex and I spent a leisurely afternoon pulling pine roping down, gathering bows and ornaments, giving no thought to the fact that the top of our ears hadn’t fallen off or the tips of our fingers weren’t brittle.  It was nice, pleasant, even memory-making.  Then, we went inside for a soda.  That didn’t seem quite right.

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Since it was so nice, I decided to do a little work in the garden.  In November I had a total shoulder replacement.  Needless to say, nothing got accomplished after that and there was still some work left to do.  There were Peonies and Hardy hibiscus to cut back and annuals to pull. 

As I began working, I noticed that some of the annuals were still alive.  The lipstick-pink Salvia wasn’t blooming, but it was alive.  Ditto for Verbena bonarensis.  I had new growth that was 6’ high.  I was a little befuddled. 

The pansies I bought last fall (and have paid little attention to) looked splendid.  Worthy of the cover of a spring gardening magazine, in fact.  But wait…its early January.  My mint was falling out of the terra cotta pot and trailing down the patio.  Mojitos, anyone? 

Now I was concerned.  Was it just this microclimate on my back patio that survived, or was Mother Nature messing with my other gardens as well?

With pruners, my camera and yard waste bags in hand, I began my quest.  Ah, first let’s check out my Lenten rose.  The botanical name for Lenten rose is Hellebores.  They are the always the earliest flower to bloom in the garden, generally around the middle of the Lenten season.  That means mid to late February. 

Uh, oh.  They’re almost blooming.  There are 10 to 15 blooms ready to erupt on my one plant.  It looks very happy and very healthy.  I am guessing that it will bloom at the exact time we have an ice storm.  Really, Mother Nature?  Onward down the garden path.

Checking out the shrubs reveals Forsythia and Lilac budding.  Nothing happening with the hydrangeas, luckily.  The stems on the ‘Cherokee Chief’ Dogwood are a beautiful red.  Not normal for January at all.  Mother Nature, does this mean that our lovely spring blooming trees and shrubs will be doomed to a minimal or lackluster bloom season? 

How about the finicky ‘Mophead’ hydrangeas that find every reason possible not to bloom?  Chip Tynan cracks me up whenever he talks about the great April freeze 3 or 4 years ago.  Chip attributes any and every horticultural oddity to that particular event.  Hydrangeas didn’t bloom?  It was the freeze!  Thanks oodles, Chip!

Onward down the garden path I go.  Daffodils are popping up everywhere.  Not a big deal, though.  It’s just the green stems poking up.  My ‘Becky’ Daisy has lots of new growth at the crown.  My grasses have abundant, lush green growth above the mulch line.  My favorite variegated Carex looks absolutely fabulous, as if I had just planted it.  My Ajuga is a shiny, purple masterpiece in June.  But it’s January.  And it’s really stunning!

I stopped, closed my eyes and had a few words with Mother Nature.  Why was she doing this to us?  Surely this record-breaking weather will wreck havoc on our gardens.  Will we be doomed to a bland, lackluster spring, devoid of flowers and striking foliage?  Will my Lenten Rose bloom, only to lose the abundant pink flowers to an ice storm of historic proportions? 

Mother Nature, please answer my questions!  Do you know what she said?  Nothing.  I might be a little crazy, but I don’t hear voices. 

If she did reply, however, I know what she would say.  Enjoy the weather.  Don’t worry about spring.  Take your dog out for a long walk and let the breeze blow your hair.  If you still worry about your plants, rake your leftover leaves on top of them.  Not too thick, make it look as if the wind blew them there.  Because that’s what Mother Nature would do.  She would tell the wind to blow any leftover leaves onto the plants you love to keep them safe over the winter. 

Thanks, Mother Nature…thanks so much for today!

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