The "Frost Free" Date

It's almost here! May 15th- The Frost Free date! Actually, it's the AVERAGE frost free date for our area, but everyone around here (including me) treats it like it is a law that cannot be changed or wrong for any reason. If we have a frost on May 16th, we all wander around in shock, wondering HOW this could've happened! "...It can't be- the OFFICIAL FROST FREE DATE was yesterday!"

To be fair, that rarely happens- it gets CLOSE to being that cold sometimes, but generally after that date it's pretty safe. i sometimes think the date could be a couple of weeks earlier, except almost every year it happens during that time period that the weather gets warm or at least settles so you feel you can plant the tomatoes and stick the tropicals on the patio, and then weget ONE more night of freezing temps! Just enough that the pink and white leaves of the variegated Kiwi vine freeze to a crisp (and then come back a plain green when they re-emerge), and the beautiful acid yellow leaves of my "Tiger Eyes" Sumac turn brown and ugly!The 'maters can be covered, the house plants can be taken back in, but i've tried covering the Kiwi and the Sumac, and it does no good. Tonight may be that night, although i have heard varying reports, 40 degrees (F) or down to 36 degrees, so it may get dicey! And, of course, the Gunnera (who is behaving himself and throwing some fairly large leaves) can be brought in, but he's in a large container i can't negotiate by myself and don't want to have to bring in. i think i'm just gonna grit my teeth and hope for the best!

***plAnt dAy!***(a running commentary on the most interesting collector's plants I own) *GUNNERA*

GIANT GUNNERA (gunnera manicata)
This one isn't mine!

i first discovered Gunnera ( AKA Giant Rhubarb and "Dinosaur Food"! ) when i began leaf casting. i was browsing the Web for articles on the subject, and i could see it was a fave with leaf casters in the Pacific Northwest (far from me), so i decided i HAD to have one, too! It is not hardy in my region, (that rarely stops me from trying things, though), and i knew the leaves wouldn't get anywhere near the 5-6 feet across that they would if the plant was happy, but, really, did i WANT to try to cast a SIX FOOT leaf in cement anyway? So i sent for one last Spring, potted it in an old washtub with a spigot in the bottom, thinking i could hopefully control the water saturation for the soil it was planted in, and set it on the patio. Did very well, i ended up with several nice sized 8 - 10 in (20 - 25 cm) leaves to cast, definitely not huge, but very nice. She lived in my unheated sunroom all winter, except for that VERY cold spell, when I moved her into the house for 3 weeks. Just relocated her outside in a protected spot near the house till the weather really warms up.

...Not bad for zone 5b in April!

Thoughts On Skunk Cabbage And Steroidal Giants...

My garden contains as many rare and oddball varieties of plants as i can find, whether grown from seed or cuttings, acquired from neighbors, friends and family, traded for, or purchased (last resort!).The trees are filled with many cultivars of Tillandsias, not hardy -or even heard of- in my zone. The yard also is home to variegated Horseradish, variegated Dogwood and Redbud trees, variegated Lilac, HEMP (!) leaved Lilac, hardy Bamboo, things like that, and over in the veggie garden, purple snap beans, Elecampane, and "Preacher's Pride" tomatoes grow. Now that i'm a "leafer", my sights are on unusual plants with large leaves. i do have a Gunnera (she is keeping the Tillandsias company in the Florida room at the moment), a Butterbur, giant Lotus, and Inula (Elecampane), but this year i decided i "need" a Tetrapanax (one of the varieties is the 'Steroidal Giant') and Skunk Cabbage!