Hi all --

Been crazy busy so haven't had much time to chat on the forum. After the July Hailstorm of Doom my garden recovered quite nicely, considering, and I had a late but amazingly profuse display of zinnias, sunflowers, tithonia, etc. as I'd protected them as best I could when they were smaller.

That being said, I was a bit negligent with the frost warning we had here in Fort Collins a couple of nights ago and lost some plants. (Runner beans, marigolds, tithonia, etc.) But now I don't feel so bad, because the upcoming 60+ degree temp plunge could wipe all my tenders out, regardless of how much I'd have covered them!

So yeah, I've been working as much as possible on harvesting stuff and protecting the hardier plants. Needless to say, I remember the temperature rollercoaster of early November 2014 that eventually killed off my beloved Mesabi cherry trees and nearly took out my roses and raspberries.

If you're new to the area, take the freeze warnings seriously. Yes, we'll be back to normal in a week, but the swing from 70s to teens is VERY hard on most plants and trees, so take a moment to cover/mulch/harvest what you can.

I'm going to collect a ton of herbs today, and try to figure out what to do with several pints of raspberries. I'm also gonna take in a bunch of zinnia blooms to brighten the house up as the snow clouds roll in. As cut flowers, they seem to last forever. Just hope the seeds I've collected from a handful of spent heads will germinate well next year...

Best wishes to everyone and their gardens,

Laura