Frost Warning

Last Sunday I received an alert on my cell phone that Wellesley was expected to get a frost that night.  I knew what I had to do that day besides watching football - get all of my porch and patio plants inside before nightfall.  Luckily, I have my husband to help - I cannot easily move the hibiscus, lemon tree, agapanthus or mandevilla.  I was able to move the orchids, Christmas cactus (it should be in bloom by Halloween),  and fuschias  into the house.  The geraniums that I keep on my front steps went into the garage.  My amaryllis plants that had been summering in the shade of a large ornamental grass were also brought into the garage.

Here is my one small lemon that I hope will grow big enough to be used.

I hope that this mandevilla is happier in my sunny den than the one I bought last year, which languished in my not-so-sunny bedroom.

We did not get a frost Sunday night.  That is good news for me, because it means that I can still harvest parsley, rosemary, cherry tomatoes, and maybe an eggplant or two.  I also have two dahlias that are budding but have not flowered yet.  My 'Silver and Gold' Chrysanthemum Ajania has not bloomed yet, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will soon.  I still have a few plants to move and some tidying up to do.  My husband was able to spread an organic lawn fertilizer a day before a Nor'Easter blew into town and dropped several inches of rain - which we have needed.

This post is probably my last for the season, although I am not promising that I will not post once in a while, especially if I get some eggplant or my chrysanthemum blooms.