Hibernation

There is general agreement around these Pittsburgh parts that it is way too cold for this early in the winter, even if the frosty season has not officially arrived yet.

General agreement notwithstanding, the cold is here, oblivious. And while we are not as cold-bound as the upper Midwest and the upper Northeast, we are cold enough to be weary already of hunched shoulders and heavy coats.

So I am happy to report that I have some summer friends hanging around, in my garage, who are doing rather well in the cool and dim confines of their winter home. This fall I decided to skip the fussy gardening advice about lifting tubers, blah blah blahbeddy blah blah. I've been growing things long enough to know that there's a lot of advice out there designed only to make you work too hard.

My patio pals are hibernating quite nicely so far, still green and in the case of a canna, still flowering. If there is sun and it isn't too frosty, I open the garage door for a bit to give them a bit of weak winter light on the weekends.

Of course, there will be work to do in the spring, dividing and trimming, but I am happy to say I have $7 end-of-season ferns and hibiscus from Home Depot and black mondo grass from I can't remember where ready to set out on the warm asphalt driveway in March.

Just 3 months to go!