Cold comforts: Even nips of frost can't crust these cold-tolerant beauties

摘要

Jack Frost doesn't scare me. When he arrives in early fall, I know my garden isn't going to turn a boring brown. My autumn garden is scattered with colorful perennial chrysanthemums and asters and many frost-friendly annuals. It's taken years, but I've learned that color doesn't have to diminish during chilly temperatures. And gardening for five months of color is significant in my northern garden. I used to worry about those first-to-perish annuals. Sweet potato vine and coleus, two of my favorites,were spent when temperatures dipped into the 30s. Many years back, I noticed that some annuals bloomed happily even after early-morning temps near or just below freezing. I was proud of the few annuals that could tolerate a little frost. Sometimes theywoke up looking a little shabby but perked up as the day progressed. For a better investment, I now plant and focus on what is still flowering late in the season.