I haven't had to do this in many years, maybe decades, where I ran around my garden with plastic bags, sheets and landscape stakes bundling up my plants against the expected frost. Usually it is safe by Mothers Day to plant annuals in the Chicago area, but every once in awhile we get caught.
I remember my last experience in a hooded raincoat with sleet beating down on my head laying sheets everywhere in my old old house garden, with my husband behind me placing bricks to hold them down. I am not too worried about the geraniums, petunias, ageratum and pansies as they all can take a patchy frost. But impatiens, tender vegetables like peppers, tomatoes and basil will succumb to anything near a frost.
I wanted everything to look so nice for today as I am hosting my daughter's birthday and Mothers Day for several relatives. Well, it will look like a Halloween Party with all of the black plastic bags I have everywhere! I am not going to remove them as there is a real frost warning for tonight. Notwithstanding the work of replanting everything but the expense of the single pot annuals is a downer. My garage is filled with plants that I had not put in yet (thank goodness), my car trunk is filled with the plants I dug for the plant sale tomorrow with the Garden Club, and I even bought flowers today for the table.
I took my daughter on a Kitchen Walk yesterday and we had a really great time seeing several beautiful homes and kitchens in the area. She took the day off work for her birthday, we did lunch, and really enjoyed doing something we previously were never able to do because we were always working.
So when you think about it, in the scheme of things, how much does a little frost matter?
