The garden is a thing of beauty to behold…except when it isn’t. With temperatures falling into the twenties and even into the teens for a couple of weeks this last month, all I could do was stare out the window (when I dared to look), and watch as the water in the cells of my lush greens turn into icicles. Last weekend, when I did finally venture out to review the damage, the smell of rotting vegetation was palpable. I set to work with my pruners to see what could be salvaged.

Winter damage in the garden

Learning from Each Season

With each new variety we plant, we learn a little more about which will do better in extreme weather. Some things did fair a little better than others and the edible garden is nothing if not experimental.

The Champions

The ‘Seascape’ strawberries and ‘Red Russian’ kale were troopers. The strawberry leaves even turned a beautiful red. I will definitely plant more of these beauties, as they take the summer heat as well. The carrots and cilantro bounced back just fine, as if to say “bring it on winter!”

Strawberries thriving after winter

Red Russian kale surviving the cold

Quick Recovery

The tender new shoots of asparagus were desiccated, but we just cut them back to the ground and they will be fine.

Carrots bouncing back from winter

The Circle of Life

All in all, the garden is looking much better. As for the wilted and sad looking vegetation I removed…great chicken forage! The circle of life is working its magic in North Central Texas and we are gathering our seeds for spring seedlings.

Chickens enjoying the garden cleanup

Winter teaches us resilience - both in our gardens and in ourselves. Every season brings lessons that make us better gardeners.