We are locked in the dead of winter here in Boston. The prediction is for us to break the 0°F barrier tonight - yes cry for my hardy rosemary since it has definitely bit the dust. It doesn't happen often here, but it is the reason we are in zone 6 and not zone 7. I will point out that it makes it very hard for the flowers to bloom right now.
But I can picture in my mind the white flowers with their six petals slowly unfurling, growing into the cold like a six pointed star. I can also see the little crystalline bee fluttering by, waiting to pollinate it, or it might just be a snowflake, it is hard to tell. My brain is frozen in the cold.
I looked down on my frozen, snow covered garden and only saw a blanket white. No flowers. Not even pretty snowflakey ones. Just small tracks of the dreaded chipmunk in the snow. He hunts for my tomatoes even now. However once I looked up I saw the prettiest of flowers growing from my roof. It was the Makeupius iciclium.
It had opened in all its glory, so I will share that one with you today.
I can't even imagine how COLD it must be. Your rooftop 'flowers' are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHello Daphne,
ReplyDeletenice to meet you.
That temperature (-18 Celsius ?) is homeric!
I will never complain about our winter again, even though I would love that blue sky.
Those icicles are hanging there like daggers. Watch out!
We're supposed to even be having temps in the teens here overnight and in the morning tomorrow. I'm on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. I have the garden covered with plastic but I don't think it's going to be much help with temps this low :-( I can't wait for Spring!
ReplyDeleteBRRRRR that is too cold for me Daphne! Love the photos of the snow & icicles for GBBD and thanks for the official name, lol. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! A botanical name for icicles - love it. Huddled up with you in zone 6 today, Daphne. Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteIt is even colder here in western Massachusetts so I have a few of those roof top flowers myself. Your photo is great. I have 2 posts today, one about the mystical Inauguration poppy.
ReplyDeleteWe only see Makeupius iciclium here once every coupla years, so I enjoy seeing yours. I know--easy for me to say because it's about 46 here right now! Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I envy your balmy temps today --it is about 5°F right now, below zero with the wind chill. This morning it was beow zero, and at 7 am just 1°F in the hoophouse.
ReplyDeleteI loved this line: "... tracks of the dreaded chipmunk in the snow. He hunts for my tomatoes even now." I nearly spit my soup out on my keyboard! (eating lunch at the desk).
Ali
Yes, winter does the gardener's soul, doesn't it? I hope for you and everyone else north for an early spring.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I live in zone 7(a), and I just can't keep hardy rosemary alive in winter. I finally gave it up.~~Dee
I have a crop of those icicliums overhanging my coldframe and veggie trellis. Should have put a little more thought into that placement.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog yesterday! Yes our drought is so depressing. Even the "weeds" are withered. But as a friend of mine likes to say, "We're one day closer to rain!"
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the wonderful comments. The weather keeps dropping here. Brr. We actually got to -3°F (-19C). Which really isn't all that bad here in New England. I feel most sorry for the people living in Carbou Maine. This morning they were -37F (-38C). Tonight we are predicted to get even colder. Parts of Maine will probably get into the -40s and if they are unlucky -50s. Wow. We haven't had a cold snap like this one in about 4 years. And here I was thinking we were getting warmer over the years.
ReplyDeleteKanak, Thanks. They even turn pretty colors when the sun hits them just right.
Joco, Luckily no one goes there in the winter. So we are safe. The icicles on the other side of the house are more problematic.
Judy, That is pretty low for your part of Alabama.
Perennialgardener, We Carol did insist on us embracing those Latin names, even the made up ones.
JGH, I survive with lots of tea and a blanket in my lap, but I am keeping warm as long as I don't venture outside.
Pat, I bet you are even colder this morning.
Iris, Oh I dream of 46 degrees. That is planting weather here :>
Ali, bundle up those chickens. Maybe you should knit them sweaters before nightfall.
Dee, I think this is my last year of trying. Maybe I'll keep one in a pot next year and just bring it inside. Even with my horrible neglect of houseplants, it will have a better chance.
Dan, call it winter interest in the garden. BTW love the black tomaotes you have picked out. I love black tomatoes.
Sheryl, I wish I could send some of our excessive rain down your way. This year we were inundated. It always seems like too much or too little.
A lovely icilium, Daphne! They are growing well in my garden right now, too:)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your adventures in onion growing. I have never planted onions from seed before, only onion sets. Are they easy to grow?
I cannot imagine how cold it is where you are, but lovely pictures - especially the "Makeupius iciclium", very good :)
ReplyDeleteK
Bundle up! If you are going to get the cold weather we've had these last few days, you are going to need an extra sweater or two.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in for bloom day!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Nothing but white here as well. We have those icicliums and the snow flowers, too. But on the rare sunny days the sky is a wonderful blue. Good luck with those onions.
ReplyDeleteRose, well they take a long time, but I think they grow better than sets. Onions are biennial, so they send can send up flower stalks their second year. If they do, the quality of the onion goes down. You can also order seedlings from catalogs, but I've never done that.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I'm keeping warm by shoveling. We just keep getting more and more snow.
Kathy, Thanks.
Oh brrrr! Your Makeupiuses are lovely, and they're one-of-a-kind. Never again will you see that exact bloom, so admire them while they are still around!
ReplyDelete