Our forecasters have changed their prediction again now we only have 1 day in the 60's next week, our cooler temps shall remain. I won't be uncovering the mulched peonies anymore, we are going to have several nights below freezing.

The only benefit to this cooler weather is that I'll have plants blooming later this year, instead of blooming in March and April, and done by May.

Sorry to hear that, Annette. It seems to me this has been the coldest February that I can remember. Not only has it been very cold but it also has very wet. Not a single day has passed that the ground wasn't wet or covered with snow. Tomorrow is March and it will be my first warm day of winter. Boy, I am going to have a lot of cleanup to do.

I feel your pain, Annette; right there with you! And I have to delay that garden cleanup by a couple of months, Karen! Maybe our winter will actually end in March or April since we've had so much snow and cold weather in Feb. We normally have a week or so of 50-60 degree, sunny days in Feb, not this year.

I have no choice but to let Mother Nature rule the garden, and I've decided to go with the flow.

Today, we got to 51 degrees and it's sunny. I took advantage of the weather a did a little cleaning up in the garden, as I've been doing all winter when we sporadically have those warm days. Pips continue to increase here.

I transplanted Itohs Pastel Splendor, Hillary, and Cora Louise in the fall. I'm thrilled to see that they have nice pips.







This newly planted pink TP also has pips that are swelling.


This is the 3rd spring for TP Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower (what a mouth full😁). and I'm happy to see it putting up stems from the base of the plant.



And here are a few of the herbaceous peonies. I'm thrilled to see pips on Tourangelle, it struggled last year, it came from a small tuber from OHG. Avalanche continues to be a feisty little plant.

Well, here are my peonies above ground. Like WAYYYY above ground.

Not likely to grow outside any time soon

Looks like winter hanging in there!
Pips look healthy in the pot.

Perfect weather here for peonies. Snuggled under a cover of snow and not suffering from being freeze dried from bitterly cold wind. Spring is just around the corner.

Can't wait! Being kept inside by snow is getting old.....

Didn't get to do much cleanup today as the weather changed from forecast. No upper 30's but mid 20's and 2 inch snow. It is going to be cold for the rest of the week. According to the forecast, we are going to get significantly warmed up by next weekend so hopefully, I can get some cleaning and fertilizing done next weekend. Hang in there everyone. Spring is coming.

Can't do much in this weather. Hopefully last snowstorm of the season.

I bet that carriage is plenty nippy. Amish?

Hi Mary! Yes, they are Amish. My development is near Amish farms. Everynow and then, their horse buggies will go past my house. During the summer, they sometimes sell their veggies in our development. We got a foot of snow today. This much of snow is probably nothing compared to what you normally get in your area but it was enough to shut down our schools and public offices.

That is called a four-foot drive. It will go anywhere. We have lots of Amish and Mennonites in this area.

Karen, your pictures are surreal, and so beautiful. However, I do not envy you with all that snow.

It's freezing here the next few nights, I uncovered the peonies yesterday, when we hit 72 degrees, but I did not recover them, hoping it wasn't going to get as cold as was predicted.

Jerry, I did not know that there are Amish in Illinois. They are really nice folks. They are terrific farmers and gardeners too. I wish that I can grow vegetables like they can.

Annette, this is the most snow that we got in a storm this winter. It has been basically a cold wet winter rather than a snowy winter. For this reason, I think that I may have more damage to plants this year than last since there has been no snow protection. I do not know how your plants take it with such extremes in temperature changes. Do you think your plants adapt to your climate over the years? I don't know how you do it but your garden pics are so beautiful every year. Your plants look so happy and healthy!

Well, after wonderful weather we have a weather advisory for snow this weekend.

Karen, thank you for your kind words. If your plants are in the pip stage, they should be fine, even without the snow cover. It's when they start growing and putting up stems that they get damaged. We don't get any prolonged snow cover here, and my older plants with pips are fine, even after we've had temps on some days that don't get above freezing, and wind chill factors of 0 degrees.

I'm happy to report that the stems I mulched with pine straw weren't damaged from our recent temps down to 12 degrees and barely above freezing temps, nor the snow/sleet/freezing rain that we've had recently.

I have noticed that my older plants have adjusted to being in this zone, and they don't start growing until the appropriate time. It's the new tubers from Adelman's, Fina, and GH Wild that have lost their minds and try growing during the winter, LOL. Hopefully, they'll settle down and realized they must stay pips during the winter, or die.

Mary, I hope some warm weather comes your way soon.

The 2010 census gives about 7,000 Amish in Southern Illinois with a cluster of nearly 4,000 in and around Arthur Illinois. They are considered to be among the best craftsmen, mainly cabinetry and carpentry. Very nice people. That BS shown on the tv reality show "Amish Mafia" is all fake.

I took a few pictures when I got home this afternoon. These plants were uncovered and were exposed to freezing temps last night, and snow flurries this morning, with no noted damage today. These stems have grown quite a bit this week, since I last looked at them.




Then here is Miss Melbourne, with the 2 stems that were killed off by the cold weather this winter, and the new stems that are coming up.


Tonight is the last night below freezing, supposedly for the next 10 days I hope it's for the rest of the spring.

The snowstorm has become an ice storm, at least in the prognostication. For now things are melting fast. Pond is almost clear of ice, plants are emerging right and left. We could still get a dump but it shouldn't stay long and won't hurt anything. Below freezing is becoming less and less likely.