How are our deep south people doing? I know that they're not used to this.. shutting down for 2 inches of snow... is it just me, or has this been the weirdest winter in years?

Well, we have had two snows this season, which is not a first... and it's not our first time to have snow for Mardi Gras... and it's not our first year to have 17F temps. BUT, it's our first season to have all three of those in the same year. It's also our first season to have sustained temps of 17F. Shutting down for 2 inches of snow probably sounds absurd to everybody in the north, but we have no ability to salt streets and our drivers are definitely not accustomed to icy conditions. We also don't have the equipment to deice bridges here. Just a tiny amount of ice on the roads creates total chaos down here.

We had more than 2 inches here, 2x this year. When there is ice and/or snow on the roads I stay home I don't know how to drive on it, and I assume others don't know either...so my car stays in the garage.

I just want y'all to know I'm lurking but I'm still here. Have been hanging out a lot on Facebook but check in here every now and then. Will probably change my focus as spring arrives. We did get some good snow this year (for us) and my big oak tree was really breathtaking. Be sure and maximize the pic. The fence post in the foreground really puts things in perspective. This is a color photo, by the way.

And this was an interesting shot ... again, a color photo but against the snow it looks like black and white with color superimposed.

And, of course, my standard front yard shot ...

Judy, while you're hanging out on Facebook, tell your friends to come and join our rose cubit. A lot of cubit owners are posting links to their cubits on Facebook, but I don't have an account there, and I don't dare get one. I already have so much trouble getting everything crammed into the meager 24 hours each day offers me.

The photo of the oak is stunning. What a huge and beautiful tree! The oaks we have in my county are incredibly ugly. They're short and asymmetrical. They're scrub oaks and I think they're creepy, like something growing in an evil forest in a fairy tale illlustration, especially in winter when all of the gnarly branches are exposed.

Well, Judy, you posted two more photos while I was composing my post. I love the composition of the one with the blue glass, and it does look like a black & white shot with the blue colored in later. I love your house. It's so perfect. "Pristine" comes to mind when I see photos of it.

Zuzu,
You are too kind complimenting my little cookie-cutter tract house. I did add the porch which makes it different from the neighbors, and it is the only blue house, so I'm accomplishing my goal of making it stand out. Hopefully I'll be able to add some flower beds to the front this summer. Pirl and I had discussed the possibility if putting Caladiums in my semi-shade in the front yard but the co-op went down the tubes, so I haven't ordered any. Then I noticed that Bill has a Cubit here so I will order as soon as I know what I want and how many I need.

The tree is my pride and joy. Nearly 22 years ago when I moved in, it was a mere volunteer sprout in the middle of the back yard. I recognized the oak leaves and let it grow (it's over the septic tank drain line so it gets fed well. An arborist said it would not hurt the lines as some other trees would.) Every summer I sit on the deck and tell it how gorgeous it is, and every summer it gets more beautiful. The shape is even better with the snow than it is with its leafy bouffant hairdo in summer.

Evey has a Clems Cubit page on Facebook and I joined that but I have never seen one for the Roses Cubit. A few of my friends on FB are gardeners so I'll get the word out. I read on another thread where you are going public which is a little disappointing. Without meaning to sound snooty or uncouth, I will say I sort of like being able to avoid the riff-raff and the problems we were having at DG. But if it's going to be commercial, then people do need the exposure for their business. Facebook is the same way and I've had to remove people as my "friends" when true colors surfaced. Nasty people are out there whether we like it or not.

Here's another interesting snow shot ...

Judy, we already went public a couple of weeks ago, and nothing terrible seems to have happened. If anything does, I have my handy ban button ready to push.

I received an e-mail from Bert Bleek today or yesterday about a Caladium co-op. He's a member of our rose cubit, so I hope he'll post something about it here in the Companion Plants Forum.

In the meantime, go to this link, create a username for the co-op login, and take a look at the caladiums he's offering. You won't see the Caladium page until you've logged in as a co-op member. There's no obligation to buy just because you're a member, but I've bought lots of bulbs and daylilies from him in the past and I've always been happy with them.

http://www.eflowergarden.com/

Oh, I should have added that the caladiums Bert is selling are Bill's from Caladium Bulbs 4 Less.

Thanks so much for the link, Zuzu. I will check it out when I have time to browse and wish. I can't believe it's nearly 4 a.m. here and I really need to get on to bed. Time flies when you're having fun. Nighty night.

The pictures of the snow, have finally been loaded. Here is one of my yard.

Melva, did your plants survive? I spent a lot of time in the garden today trying to assess the losses. It's not a good outlook. As feared, most of the tropicals are completely gone. The few that have some sign of life left in the roots are severely stunted with very little to no top growth whatsoever. I spent part of the day crying over the ones that had special memories and the other half of the day trying to figure out how to nurse the few survivors back to health. Tomorrow I'll start replanting a few that I could pick up replacements for locally (the Xanadu philodendrons). *Blah*

I hope everybody else who got the crazy cold came out of it better than we did for their cherished plants.

The good news, however, is that the bearded irises have never looked happier! The clems and roses are all coming back too... though some of the roses have more lost canes than I had hoped. I suppose from now on we will have to find only plants that are happy in zones 5-10 to plant so that it covers both our hottest and our coldest temps now! =P

I haven't checked everything...most of the roses that I have looked at, seem okay...I believe Lady Banks is toast..surprisingly the clematis seem to have come through okay....