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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Freeze-dried

You know how we're always told not to plant till all danger of frost is past? Who does that? I've ignored that for years and suffered no consequences. Well, friends up in Blakeslee, in Luzerne County in the Poconos, paid attention to that warning and dutifully waited till after Mother's Day to plant their vegetable garden. The seedlings were coming up nicely - and then, one morning last week, the temperature was 23 degrees! The seedlings already above ground looked OK and chances are the ones yet to germinate will be fine, too, because the soil is warm enough even if the air isn't. But look at this Pieris japonica - fried, Northern-style. Our friends' woods are full of trees with similar damage. It appears the ones whose leaves are fully out are OK, but the ones with leaves just starting to open are cooked. The trees will survive, but it struck me as odd. Wouldn't you think these trees would be used to the unpredictability of Nature in these parts? This is a place where thunder storms roll down the Lehigh River with tremendous booming, loud enough that you wake up and stand by the window in awe in the middle of the night. This is one of the joys of living where they do. Nature is all around you, glorious and destructive, in all its fascinating detail. 
Posted by virginia smith @ 8:57 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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