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.
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| Regent Apple (Malus 'Regent') |
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| Compact Winged Euonymous (Euonymous elatus 'Compacta') |
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| 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.
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| Looking straight down a twig of the Compact Winged Euonymous. |
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| Crabapple, variety unknown |
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A rose? Barberry, perhaps? Nope.
Miss Kim Lilac (Syringa patula) |
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Flower stalk of a Coral Bells, most likely Plum Pudding.
(Heuchera 'Plum Pudding') |
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Astilbe flowers.
(Astilbe 'Visions in Pink' - I believe) |
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| An artificial accent in the winter containers. |
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| 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.
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| Volunteer Eastern Red Cedar. (Juniperus virginiana) |
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| White Diamonds Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'White Diamonds') |
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| 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.
I have no idea. Let me consult Google.....
ReplyDelete"Hoar" is an Old English word used to describe characteristics of growing old, and was attributed to this kind of frost because it made the trees and shrubs look like they had white hair.