It's melting!

Looking ahead at the forecast it shows that we are going to be in the 60's for our last week of February 2021! This February marks the third snowiest February in Arkansas since records started back in the 1800s. While I am sure I saw more snow at one time as a child in St. Louis or Ohio, this is the most I can ever remember at one time.

We had 16 inches in our yard, and with the melting and refreezing, I have a ridge on my deck that is solid and over 22 inches tall.

While I still have a snow covered deck, the snow is melting quickly today. I cleaned the sidewalk and driveway over the past two days, and they are almost dry where I shoveled.

Clay drove me this morning to the store, and I felt like we were going to a major event. I haven't left the yard for over a week. The main roads were all clear, but side roads were still a mess this morning. Now that the temperature is in the 40's, things are melting, but for this much snow to totally disappear, it is going to take time. I did see quite a few damaged loropetalums as I was driving around town. I went outside this afternoon and uncovered everything I had covered. The layers of boxes and tarps with air space really worked well. I have no damage on the plants that were covered.

The sheet covering my camellia did not protect the blooms, but the foliage looks nice.

I needed some refrigerator boxes! I walked the yard and started to take inventory of damage. My abelia,

Soft Caress mahonia

and pineapple guava all have burned leaves.

I have several varieties of loropetalum in the yard, and only one looks bad, so far.

This could showcase the difference in hardiness of species. I have some burned tips on my azaleas,

and some burned flowers on rosemary, and the buds on the hydrangeas and figs don't look happy, but time will tell. I have spring bulbs poking their heads out of the snow,

but there is still more snow to melt before I see winter annuals and hellebores.

I hope everyone has gotten their snow fix. And icicles! I have never seen them so large.

Let's just hope Mother Nature will take pity on us for the rest of the gardening season. Come on spring!

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