Gardening

Encased in Ice

It has been below freezing here in the valley since last Sunday, and the freezing rain, sleet, and occasional snow has turned our place into a winter ‘wonderland’. It is pretty, but there is at least a half an inch on ice covering everything, and we are hoping that the precipitation will stop until the temperature rises a bit.

Ron took some photos of the icy landscape this morning that I wanted to share. Pictured above is an ice covered possumhaw holly that sits at the edge of the valley, and the icicles that are hanging off of the eaves on the south side of the house.

The photo above shows the thick layer of ice covering our primrose hedge in the front yard. We have turned on our holiday lights again in hopes of providing the plants, and the birds that use this hedge as a shelter, a little bit of warmth.

The shot below shows the lower eastern edge of our property where the creek makes a sharp bend. The creek now has a little water flowing in it again, and the ice covered cactus are beautiful.

Our cedars, oaks, and bushes are all heavily ice covered, but so far we have not had any branches break.

The sedge grass on the eastern edge of our property is covered in ice and is quite lovely.

I wouldn’t want to be standing under one of these gigantic icicles when they fall off the eave. Some of them are 3″ thick and nearly 20″ long!

Check back for more news as we thaw out. I will be starting our early spring crops soon.

Stay safe and warm, and if you want to see all of the ice storm photos click on the “Flickr Photos” page link on the upper left side of this page.

© 2007 Lost Valley Gardens.