the damage report

A wee skiff of snow came.  Then the upper 20's cold snap for three nights.  Quite cold for us!  Now it's raining.  The meyer lemons that had set are fine (Diane, you will be happy to know!).  Many of the late fall buds (only a quarter to half inch in size) that had just started to grow into fruit are black with frost damage.  It won't be the thick crops we've had in the past but enough for friends and family to enjoy, none the less.  The bower vine, which provides us with such striking pink-throated white flowers and fabulous seed pods each year, took quite a hit.  I'll wait until spring before I trim the branches, because nature sometimes has a way of popping back from adverse conditions.  Everything else faired quite well.  Some plants, that in other parts of the country would have been dormant a couple months ago but were still blooming here, have now rested for the season.  They'll require some trimming back in preparation for spring.

When the rain stops, leaves will be raked and stems will be cut back.  The plants are taking their winter intermission.  The only thing that will be multiplying and developing will be the compost.