Indian Summer and a January Thaw are supposed to be two significant milestones in the year's weather in the northeast U.S. The former is the short-lived return of summer after the first killing frost. The latter is supposed to be a brief respite from the ravages of winter. January Thaw lasted one day this year. This morning (it is still January) the temperature was -15ºF (-26ºC), deer tracks in the snow, furrows actually, surround the house and more snow is on the way. What do gardeners do at this time of year? My Danish sister in law is mowing the lawn, my son in Dallas claims the pool is too cool for swimming but the hot tub is in use, my son in Salt Lake City skies in deep powder snow, my daughter in Indiana just sent me a photo of a herd of Canada geese in front of their house and my son in Ithaca battles the miserable weather going to and from work. Outdoor gardening is an impossibility here.
As I expected, the Golden Rain Tree and Redbud Tree seeds have not germinated after their preliminary boiling prior to refrigeration and planting indoors. Don't believe everything you see on the Internet. I boiled with trepidation and waited with remorse. Ah well, perhaps the seeds I planted outdoors last fall will be more successful, if furry vermin don't get to possible early growth.
A couple of months ago, one of two Prunis Sargentii "Ecolade", was again in flower at the wrong time of year. So many things are mixed up. With massive amounts of rain causing mud slides and flooding out west, substantial snowfall in the south where it shouldn't be, who am I to complain of snow and cold. But I do. My winter gardening usually consists of watering indoor plants, tending any seedlings and drooling over garden catalogs. Why do things look better in catalogs than in your garden? At least that seems to be my fate most of the time. Some things develop true to my imagination yet still miss a catalog's flowery description. "Blooms all summer" but only if there is an incredibly early frost. "Dwarf", compared to what? At least my dwarf banana trees are true to form. When I visited my son and his family near Dallas last fall, his banana tree, planted earlier that year, was truly a tree in height. Why do
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