Spring night...Freeze

Here in MI, we had a FREEZE warning last night--temps in the 20's--some of our peonies have already budded: OH oh....

We covered the peonies, and the blooming pink fringed-edge tulips, along with some already-blooming native phlox, the crocosmia and others, and picked bunches of daffodils and old-fashioned sweet almond, and harvested some just-opening lilac, in case the temps got even lower than predicted. The flowering magnolia looks a bit worse for the wear, though the apple and crab apple, cherry and tart/"sour" cherry, are looking okay this afternoon.

The farmers and orchardists were *very* concerned about the damage to the developing flower buds of the fruit trees...Michigan is the 2nd most agriculturally diverse state due to the wide variety of microclimates afforded by the surrounding Great Lakes = GREAT farmer's markets!

Spring here had sprung by the vernal equinox (March 21) this year, and especially by Eostre a couple of weeks later, but we've had a number of 'freezes' since then; the last average frost date is in midMay. Our FABULOUS local weather guy, Keith, explains it here. (http://weather.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/27/warmer-april-is-reason-for-cold-warnings/)

Hopefully uncovered peonies, like those of my neighbor, will survive...because every year she prunes bushels of peonies in full bloom, and gives them to us! Our own peony party, like Martha Stewart's. (http://www.themarthablog.com/2010/04/more-of-spring-at-my-farm.html)

Haven't had much time/energy to update my garden blog after first post...too busy gardening, though I have enjoyed my morning coffee with Martha and my Saturdays with Victory Garden and P. Allen Smith's Garden Home :)