MEET THE SURVIVORS OF THE RECENT SNOW STORM!
Yesterday, Sunday, December 6, 2020, I got to survey the damage to our plants caused by the recent snow storm that dumped wet snow in our area on the evening and night of November 30th and the next morning.
I waited a few days for the snow to melt in our driveway. No snow shoveling for me. We have a 2-car garage but no cars. I walk in the neighborhood – and during the winter months I wait for the snow to clear before I venture out. Being a senior citizen, I have to be very careful of the surfaces I walk on – one slip on an icy surface and it is a trip to the ER and months of pain and suffering.
We got 5 to 6 inches of wet snow in our back yard.
The snow was accompanied by sustained freezing temperatures for a couple of nights. About a dozen miniature marigolds survived.They are very hardy plants and grow easily and profusely. As the first photograph shows, the plant on the left was grown in a pot from seeds saved from last year. The plant on the right grew by itself from seeds that found their way in to cracks in our concreted driveway
The wet snow buckled the stalks as the second photograph shows. The stalks had almost dried up – so they were very brittle and bent over easily. The stalks on the left are pokeweed. This plant has been growing along our driveway for the past two or three years. The plants grow to a height of 7 to 8 feet and provide very lush greenery. The plant yields dark black berries that had dried and fallen off a few weeks ago. While the plant is poisonous – according to the Internet -- it has a history of being used for food, medicine, as a herb, dye for clothing, ink for writing, colorant for wines, and much more.
Galena, our golden retriever with a curly tail, waited patiently to be taken out while I was making my observations.
The stalks on the right are from orange cosmos plants that are grown in pots from seeds saved from the previous year. The plants grow to a height of 6 feet or more. The orange flowers provide vibrant color right up to the first frost.
Enjoy the rest of the autumn.
Winter is officially supposed to start in nearly two weeks – on December 21.
UPDATE: 12-22-20
Today was the second day of Winter and one of our plants has not only survived – it is thriving with fresh flowers – a total of five -- blooming and ready to bloom.
The photograph shows a Michaelmas Daisy (a weed) plant – growing upright out of a crack in our concrete driveway.
The plant is in front of the side-door entrance, which we use very rarely. The entrance has an awning. Whether the awning and the fact that the plant is growing out of a crack – has contributed to it’s survival -- I don't know -- but it appears to help.
The plant is a member of the Daisy family and grows all over our open areas and also in pots. The flowers are tiny with very tiny seeds that fly all over and propagate easily.
I have seen such flowering plants all over Cleveland.
The plant is also known as the New York Daisy.
The name Michaelmas Daisy comes from England because there the plants bloom on September 29th, the feast of St. Michael, Archangel.
Probably came to the U.S. on the Mayflower.
In Cleveland, the plant could use a new name like the new name search for our baseball team.
Looking forward to an early Spring!
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