Here in Albany, Magnolia season never got a chance to start

I just came back inside from taking inventory. The forsythia is done, but it started blooming weeks ago. The magnolia hasn't started, but the buds look like they will be fine. The neighbor's souleana may be a loss since it was almost in full bloom. For most things, it is just plain too early for this to be considered an unseasonable event. So they are still prepared for cold temperatures. The daffodils, for example, are bent over by snow, but undamaged otherwise.

I did bring the seedlings I bought last week inside the garage.

Thanks all ~ appreciate your thoughts. I've been gardening for decades and still do that 'what to do' dance when spring temps plummet. I know all will come back if it freezes, but like to protect when possible. Did read today that clematis takes it on the chin when a cold snap hits and mine are in full bud. Fingers crossed.

Ken, I'm talking Louisville, KY ~ home of the Kentucky Derby. For that well-known 'first Saturday in May', we've seen the entire city in full bloom and 80 degrees as well as chilly 50's and pouring buckets. One year the hubby and I dodged snow showers to get to a Derby party. Hundreds of thousands show up from all over the world and the entire city shuts down for the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday, but as you know, Mother Nature does what she darn well pleases ! Need to buy that girl a calendar !

Here in SE Pa We are expecting low 20s tonight as it was last night. Only thing I'm covering are my asiatic mayapples which are in heavy bud and I darn sure don't want to lose their bloom. Temperature won't damage them much, but frost is instant kill back to the new growth and they are just starting to clump up after 3-4 years.. Weather says next Saturday will also get down to a hard freeze but I hope that will be the last (fingers crossed)..

Hear that, geoforce. After long winters, it's hard to see those beautiful, early spring buds hit by cold.

My feeling on this is that if I try to cover things that means that I have to determine what is special and what is not. Since they are all special I find myself wandering around lamenting a frost but not doing much in the way of making my Sophie's Choices.

So I pretty much take the tough love approach and tell them "Every plant for itself" and let what happens happen. They come back or they don't, and if I lose something to one little 29º night in April then it wasn't such a smart choice to begin with.

If I could set a dome over my entire property of course I would. But I can't cover 500 things so I try to let it go and stay zen.

We got cold enough here the last two nights that covering wouldn't have helped . . . into the single digits, and short of a styrofoam enclosure with a jug of hot water inside, I can't see any covering helping that. So my early daffodils, reticulated iris, and crocus flowers are all done for, and my big leaf hydrangeas will be sprouting from the ground again.

Maybe this isn't the best time to report that parts of the PNW are experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures and that we are expected to break a record tomorrow and possibly hit 80F!! It can still get chilly at night with some areas dropping into the 30's but I think our hard freeze season is well behind us.

Unseasonably warm weather can have its own drawbacks. Weeds grow faster than one could possibly imagine and combined with a very mild (although wet) winter, all sorts of insect issues have started popping up. Warm, damp springs also tend to be the harbingers of all manner of fungal issues as well.

If I had to do long term weather forecasting, looking into my crystal ball, I'd guess the PNW was in for another long, dry and overly warm summer. And that produces its own share of problems.

Gardeners are seldom perfectly happy with their weather, whatever it maybe :-))

Down to 24 here last night, Colder than night before. Haven't uncovered my stuff yet, but will get to them in a while.

feh - its only April and as usual, I am resigned to the cover/no cover, inside/outside shuffle for weeks yet. Most UK gardeners don't really expect anything (warmish) until June - then there will be a maniac month when everyone races to plant out tender annuals (tomatoes in my case). Everything else is either frostproof or doomed so news of (another) freezy week or so just causes shrugging....endless rain gives us many sleepless nights and anxiety attacks - freezes, less so.

Here in Reno the weather is as always variable-last week a foot of snow, tomorrow 80. But we regularly have late may disasters so I just enjoy the good. I stopped covering things years ago and it makes life a lot easier.

I've been putting a lot of my potted plants under my house and in my house. I'm planning to cover my Japanese maple with its new leaves. Probably will cover some hydrangeas also because last year the one I covered did well and the uncovered one got a lot of damage. It might be too windy to cover anything but I read that if there's a lot of wind frost damage will be less. I don't know. Can't cover everything.

Going down to 19 degrees here Sat night (tonight). The entire month of March was near 80 so everything is weeks ahead of itself. Every bud on the Daybreak magnolia is mush after several nights in the upper 20s.

Good morning GWers: Loved waking up to all your responses - from 'zen' to 'done in' - we do love our gardens, but in the end we are all at the mercy of Mother Nature, aren't we.

Here in Louisville, KY the weathermen did their usual 'OMG' gloom and doom routine of how temps could drop into the teens, but woke to 33 degrees this morning, so all is well.

Did cover some hostas with pots and some other things with row covers, but high winds and late-afternoon rain/sleet mix yesterday made that quite the chore. Think next time I'll stay inside and away from the windows....

Expecting another dip tonight, but not nearly what many of you are seeing. Wishing you all sunshine, warm breezes and gentle rains and soooon !