I was waiting and waiting for December to arrive so that I could start my pruning. I only have two fruit trees left and I don't prune all of my roses, but I do prune the hybrid teas and I probably have about a thousand of those, so it takes a while. December finally did arrive, but it coincided with a nasty cold snap. Nighttime temperatures have been as low as 24 degrees and promise to drop into the teens. I realize this doesn't sound so terrible to people in North Dakota, for instance, but our houses in California aren't built for cold. We mainly insulate against heat and welcome the cold air in through the uninsulated spaces around our windows and doors. We also don't have winter wardrobes. I don't even own a pair of pants, so I've had to wear those 1980s leg warmers with my skirts, looking like a refugee from Discoland.
There won't be many photos in the blog for a while. The evergreen plants still look good, but most of the other plants look like thawed-out frozen spinach. Not a pretty sight.
Here's the first camellia bloom of the season and a dianthus that wasn't affected at all by the frost.
The Swan River Daisy was similarly unaffected, and this hydrangea, Sir Joseph Banks, has lost its colors, but it looks good any time of the year, even when the colors have faded.
Here are two pretty pelargoniums. These pictures were taken the day before the first frost.
And there are still some roses in bloom, of course. These next two are Shazam, a floribunda that usually looks more like a pink blend. The apricot is its fall color. The one on the right is Nicole Carol Miller, a grandiflora.
Folklore and Fandango are hybrid teas.
Confetti is a floribunda and Ambridge Rose is one of David Austin's shrub roses.
Pensioner's Voice is a floribunda.
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