On Thursday morning I looked out into the dark morning and saw frost – first on the frosted Knock Out red roses. Knock Out roses are very sturdy. This red rose bush has been blooming all season until now. It has been a hard year with intermittent rain and hot days, but this rose has persevered, though without its usual vivacity. I was worried if anything else had survived.
Amazingly the Coral Drift rose is still covering the bush with untouched bunches. No frost! I think she survived because she is living right next to the house and is sheltered. She is beautiful.
The Zinnias, tall and small, have shown some distress from the chill, but they were still looking pretty from my kitchen windows.
This salvia has not made a brilliant appearance all summer, but it has not given up. I think all those leaves protect the salvia from the frost.
It is the Sheffies that have not minded the weather, though I have to admit the Sheffies got a late start. Usually they start blooming in September, but this year they did not begin until October! It has been a very strange year in the garden.
Now my husband and I are raking leaves, digging up my single dahlia, raking up leaves, bringing my rosemary inside, raking up leaves – and having a pretty good time!
Oh, you still have zinnias and daises–lucky you! Mine are done now. 🙁 But I do have a few rose buds near a rock wall. I wonder if they will bloom before the next round of frost? Enjoy the last of the autumn garden blooms!
Our first frost arrived two weeks later than usual, and was actually four nights running of freeze. Normally that first frost has a light touch, but not this time. Most everything is gone now, but that means it’s time for my bulb planting extravaganza. I always wait until the annuals get knocked down by freeze until I start.
Robin – Isn’t it wonderful to have a whole new project waiting when the frost hits hard! Putting more bulbs in the ground gives us more to look forward to in the spring.