Saving the Lovely Landscaping

Monday night they called for freezing temperatures.  Sherry emailed that I should cover the new plants.  We had chosen ones that withstand the cold well, but these are young transplants.  I gathered all the sheets I could find and started just after lunch having no idea how much work I was in for.

The wind was whipping and I had to figure out something heavy to hold the sheets down.  My neighbor said bricks or stones were what he mostly used.  The only bricks we had were the ones that border our beds in the back of the house. 

   

Here's how the drill went:  
Put a sheet over a plant and try to cover 2 plants, if possible, because I knew I didn't have enough sheets.  Go around back and get a couple of bricks.  By the time I got back, the sheet had blown off.  Pick up the sheet and start over, placing bricks as I worked.  

Get another sheet and start covering another plant.  Glance behind me to discover there weren't enough bricks and the first sheet had half blown off the first plant.  Trudge around back to get more bricks for the first sheet.  Start over with the second sheet. 

It took a LOT of bricks to even begin to hold the sheets in place!  In hindsight, I realize I should have used my gardening wagon to get the bricks but who knew? 

Notice that part of the bricks in the border to this bed are gone - to hold down sheets.

Our neighbor across the street used blankets.

When I started, it was super cold so I wore a warm jacket.  By the time I came in, my T-shirt underneath  was soaking wet.  I surely got my exercise and I was exhausted!   I've always noticed that some people covered their plants but I had no clue how much effort it took.

I was sad to discover that even with being covered, many leaves turned brown.

On Wednesday came the fun of taking the sheets off.  They were half wet because the automatic sprinklers had run on Tuesday.  What to do, what to do?  There were 12 slightly dirty sheets - that would be quite a few loads of washing and drying.  Then, if another cold snap comes, I'll need them again and they'll get dirty.

I shook them well and hung them over the carport lattice to dry.  

The elastic around the fitted sheets didn't dry well so I did put a few in the dryer this evening.  Now they're neatly tucked away, ready for the next go-round.  They'll also be ready to use as dust covers when we leave in the spring.

I'll have to deal with returning the bricks to the back another day.