dealing with the cold, plus hanging the gate

We are still having cold nights and fairly cold days. Even though I covered my azaleas, when I went out to uncover them this AM, the frost had gotten the blooms. The frost has also gotten new growth leaves on most of my camellias, the hydrangea, tea olive, both pierises and the small beautyberry. I am most worried about the tea olive and the small beautyberry. The beautyberry was just starting to leaf out and all those leaves are now dead. Hopefully it will be able to grow some new leaves. Also, the tea olive seemed to have dropped most of its old leaves and have gotten in almost entirely new leaves. Those are now pretty much done for. We will have to wait and see. The little pieris looks so sad with its little dead new leaves. I am depressed and worried about my little plants. Bobbie suggested not messing with those "little things" (all my 1 gallon shrubs) and just putting in some hollies that would get to be 6" tall after a while. Of course, the tea olive will also get to be that tall, and bloom and smell good and the pieris is just cool looking and will get bigger too. The dogs have managed to break off one of the stems of the tea olive, so I had to prune that off today. I am planning on getting two whiskey barrels to put in the border to protect the shrubs some more. I had wanted to plant flowers in that area and due to the dogs running, I could see that inground flowers would not work. So, guess I'll have some more containers.

I spent a decent part of the day today weeding the grass. Lots and lots of weeds. Once the weather warms up, I will AGAIN try to get some grass to fill in on the bare patches. I am about to give up. I had seen sod for sale at Lowes a few weeks ago and thought I might get some to try and establish some more grass around the forsythia, as the other grass clumps I had moved there this fall and winter seem to be doing well.

Finally, we worked on the gate today. We now have a working gate, but it ground stake doesn't have anything to fit in currently, so we have the gate wired shut so that the dogs can't get out. I think it will be SO useful once it is done. Now all I need is a lawnmower and I will really be in business.

I guess all my herbs are surviving indoors. They all got watered today and the try of little pots went outside in the afternoon for a little sun. When I brought them back in, I had purple basil 911. It was looking very wilty and it felt quite dry, so it got watered right away. I think it was looking a lot better tonight.

Tuesday it finally warms up at night again. Tuesday is also the first day of the plant sale at the school near work. I am going to buy a flat of impatiens to plant in my shady areas, as well as a hanging basket of petunias and some sage. Then, when I get home from work I will have some major potting to do. I will probably end up sending my mom out for some more pots while I get to work on what I have. I still need to find two more really pretty glazed pots, as I want to redo one of the big blue pots, the one I just kind of shoved things in before I went out of town. Right now I think the begonia is making it look crowded and you can't see the petunia at all. The begonia is going to get its own 12" pot and I am currently thinking I will put the petunia in with a verbena and maybe either a million bells or a nemetisia. I would like to get something in a blue and something in a white to contrast with the purple and white petunia.