A Week of Fog and Frost

In keeping with the theme of this winter being very unusual, last week we were beset with nearly a week of fog. Normally fog hangs out in the morning and dissipates when the sun comes out, or at least by noon as it warms up. Not this fog. It was so thick that the sun had no effect on it, and it stayed all day. For days. Driving was a bit nerve-racking for a while.

(BTW, when driving in fog, TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS!! This is not so you can see through the fog - because we all know that doesn't work. It is so on-coming traffic can see YOU and not be lulled into a false sense of security that it is safe to pull into your lane or cross a major highway in front of you, because they couldn't see you.)

During the night the temps apparently dipped below freezing, because in the morning we were greeted with the most amazing hoarfrost.

Regent Apple (Malus 'Regent')

Compact Winged Euonymous (Euonymous elatus 'Compacta')

Compact Winged Euonymous

Most other hoarfrost I've seen is a nice, smooth coating that melts sometime before noon. Not this frost. It was extra Spiky Frost. 

Looking straight down a twig of the Compact Winged Euonymous.

Crabapple, variety unknown

A rose? Barberry, perhaps? Nope.
Miss Kim Lilac (Syringa patula)

Flower stalk of a Coral Bells, most likely Plum Pudding.
(Heuchera 'Plum Pudding')

Astilbe flowers.
(Astilbe 'Visions in Pink' - I believe)

An artificial accent in the winter containers.

White Dome Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescans 'White Dome')

In addition to Spiky Frost, I did find some things that had a lovely Frost Halo around the edges.

Volunteer Eastern Red Cedar. (Juniperus virginiana)

White Diamonds Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'White Diamonds')

Plum Pudding Coral Bells (Heuchera 'Plum Pudding')

Without a doubt the most difficult plant to photograph was the Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). But I think I got some pretty cool pics.

Because of the immovable fog, the hoarfrost stayed all day long. The next night the fog froze again, and we had another day of hoarfrost. It was so bizarre to have the frost stay all day. In a strange way it helped to make it feel like winter - at least something was white, because the ground sure isn't.

Plants on the Hill

This week we mulched our hill. It's actually my in-law's house. Three years ago they lifted the house and stuck a basement underneath. The front hill was cut through during the process. Since it was a horrible (and dangerous) thing to mow, we decided to plant it with prairie-like plants. This is their third year on the hill and it's looking great. We leave everything up during winter and cut it back in spring. We've discovered which plants self-seed and which do not. As a result we have many new freebies! Always a bonus. The randomness of where the new plants grow adds to the prairie look. Here are the descriptions of our hill plants.

Achillea millefolium 'Paprika' (Paprika Yarrow) Very tough little plant. It is very free-form and would be considered scruffy or unruly anywhere but a prairie setting. Bright orange-red flowers

that don't stay as long as I hoped. This is one we've allowed to

self-seed to fill in the gaps. The Achillea is very happy to oblige. And it grows fast, too. The original plants have more than doubled in width since we planted them. Very good for soil stabilization and erosion control. Very drought and "crappy soil" tolerant. Just wish they bloomed longer.

Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' and Echinacea purpurea alba 'White Swan' (Magnus Purple Coneflower and White Swan Coneflower) When we first planted the coneflower we quickly saw evidence of Aster Yellows* - on all the plants. Greatly dismayed, we pulled up the worst ones, which left many gaps. We allowed the remainder to self-seed. The following year many baby coneflower dotted the hill. Now, in the third year, we have healthy patches of coneflower with minimal Aster Yellows sightings. As you can guess in the photo, a Magnus seedling grew up through a White Swan ....or is it the other way around? The stems of the coneflower are incredibly stiff and strong; I caught the tines of a garden rake under a flower head - the flower didn't pop off nor did the stem break. These characteristics make Echinacea a perfect choice for our very windy and exposed hill.

*Aster Yellows is a virus that causes bizarre distortions in the flowers, sometimes preventing the petals from expanding, and the foliage to turn a funny yellowish color. It is spread by leaf hoppers and is untreatable. Infected plants aid in spreading the disease and will become worse in ensuing years. UPDATE: For photos of Aster Yellows click here.

Juniperus sabina 'Monna' (Calgary Carpet Juniper) The only true shrub on the hill. Very tough plant that laughs at the terrible soil. A little slow in growing, but has grown noticeably this year. As suggested by the 'Carpet' in the name, this variety of Juniper grows out instead of up. The evergreen nature offers a nice visual rest from all the color and billowiness of the perennials. We have some situated near the top of the hill; they don't look quite right there so we're considering moving to the lower parts of the hill. Not really looking forward to that job....

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage) Wonderfully silvery-purple and billowy. It is the largest plant chosen for the hill. Although a marginal Zone 4, it withstands Minnesota winters quite well - and the hill is exposed to the harsh winter winds. I think the secret is to have adequate snow cover. By leaving the plants standing during winter they act as a snow fence, preventing the snow

from blowing away and, therefore, providing the necessary snow cover. I do cut them back by 1/2 - 1/3 every fall. In spring I inevitably have to remove more so it actually ends up being 1/4 height. But it never ceases to grow up to its 4-foot height each year. In the three years it's been on the hill only one has died. Unexpected bonus - readily self-seeds! Yay for free plants!

Rudbeckia sp (Black-Eyed Susan) Today I was surprised to find a rogue Rudbeckia in the Echinacea. "What are you doing here?" I asked, because I really do talk to plants! I'm actually quite delighted he decided to join us on the hill; his yellow flowers will be little spotlights scattered among the lavender-purple and silver blue. Having similar traits to Echinacea, they are also well-suited to our hill. They begin blooming about 2 weeks after the Echinacea and continue about a month after the Echinacea has gone to seed. A great way to keep the color coming!

Schizachyrium scopulorum (Little Bluestem) I have had more people ask me to identify "that grass" than any other plant on the hill combined. As the name suggests, the blades are a delightful blue-green. Very vertical presence. In fall the blades turn a striking red-purple - which is when I get the inquisitive passers-by. In October the flower plumes open a delightful silver. They're not as showy as a Miscanthus (Feather Reed Grass), but the effect of silver above purple is lovely. As winter approaches, the blades turn a buff color with a hint of orange. We leave them up all winter. Sure, they get flattened by heavy snow, but they bounce back up in spring. We actually use the grass as our winter weather vane and wind sock. Since the trees have no leaves it isn't immediately clear if it's windy. Then we look at the grass. If the bitter wind is blowing them around, we know it's better for us to stay inside.