Jack Frost!

I am afraid.  I am scared.  I have worked my tail off this year in the gardens!  And for what? I am angry. I am in a state of panic.  I won't sleep.  A snow storm is heading our way that will bring A LOT of snow to the Tucson valley and blizzard conditions in the sky islands/mountains.  Is this normal? Absolutely not.  Maybe a one day event at most, but this is promising much more with temps dipping into the low 20's for at least 4 days!! Citrus must be protected!  This sounds like a joke to our friends in the North, but this is a major event in Tucson.  The last time this happened, the snow storm killed millions of dollars worth of plants at nurseries. Of course, Phoenix is not in any danger of the severe wind or cold temps, but Tucson most definitely is.  I'm sure the pics that will follow in the following days will be interesting.  I have called upon my neighbors for sheets to protect the gardens here at El Presidio. People tell me to use lights to warm things up but there are no electrical outlets for such things....this is also not going to be a light freeze or a one night event.  This freeze is going to kill plants.  In my 12 years here, this will be the second time I have experienced a cold snap like this....but that was one night and it killed half of my, then, small garden. Today I purchased what was left of the "plankets"....or blankets for plants.  The large sizes were sold out by 9 AM this morning. And people are purchasing sleds.....SLEDS!!  in the desert.  Unnatural, I tell you.  What follows in the next  several days should be very interesting....pray that Mother Nature be merciful.

Remembering the Devastating Winter of 2006

We, here in AZ, are waiting for "fall" to begin.  We can only hope it will start soon, but honestly, it still feels like summer.  During a conversation at the Botanical gardens last weekend, this extremely rare snow event was brought up during a discussion about the horticulture business in Tucson. Plant nurseries lost millions of dollars to this storm. So while we suffer in hot, humid conditions, here are some cool thoughts from that chilly November of 2006. The following pics are from my own camera and from other Tucson viewers at the time. (off of the KOLD website-the pics are no longer  there unfortuneatly, but I saved a few:).

Can we say Christmas card?

A KOLD viewer took this of their puppies playing:)

My car Goldy(RIP)

I got up early and took this pic from my backyard!

Some of these plants died in this pic:(

My hood

 The fence around my patio

One winter to rule them all.....it was one evil November day that caused massive plant death and millions of dollars of damage to the Tucson nurseries.  It was the first(and probably the last) time in my Arizona teaching career that I ever had a snow day from work. People from the cooler regions understand and appreciate the excitement of a snow day:)   I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked out my apartment window at the time and saw SNOW!!!  My tropical patio suffered a major set back and I couldn't do anything about it.

To this day, gardeners still talk about that winter "5 or 6 years ago" that killed so many trees and plants.  I discovered that the Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, while one of my favorite trees, is not that cold hardy.  As a consquence from that storm in Tucson, most of those trees died....some were very very old.  Today, you won't find as many of those trees around the Old Pueblo anymore.  Other varieties of Eucalyptus stood the test of Mother Nature's fury.......

Winter in Tucson:)

A cold evening after....Look at how the snow blanket covered my neighborhood. I'm on a hill looking down and Mt. Lemmon is in the background.  This is in the Foothills near Sunrise and Swan

Due to this topic being brought up in class, I thought, "Hey great idea....share those beautiful winter pics!!"  It was a one day event but boy the aftermath was felt for years.  Old trees were taken down....in one neighborhood, they had a line of those silver dollar eucs and it took them 2 years to remove the dead giants.  That is why today I won't plant certain trees because all it takes is one night to kill many years of work.  I will admit secretly that I planted several Jacaranda knowing that a snow storm could kill them.......but my heart longs for the Jac:) And once you see the purple blooms on the tree or covering the ground, you will want to plant one yourself:)  Maybe two....or three......Enjoy the pics!!  PS.  You better start your Christmas shopping now....don't procrastinate like I do:)

From Mt. Lemmon