Frosting on the cake
Well, not really frosting on the cake BUT frosting on the plants this morning! It got down to 27 degrees at my house.
Frostweed (Verbesina virginica) is a favorite plant of mine. It attracts beaucoup (which is French for a lot- I didn’t remember that it was French) of insects while it is blooming. And then when it is done for the year and the first hard frost comes it busts open and lets out this sap. The sap is not sappy but very delicate to the touch. It disappears fast as soon as the sun shines on it.
My Frostweed was spectacular this morning!
Closer.
I love how it highlights the various plants.
Blackberry leaf.
The fruit of the Western Horse Nettle (Solanum dimidiatum).
Let’s see, the deer went by here before the frost.
When the sun hits it, almost no frost left. Going, going, gone!
Wonderful macro shots! My frostweed grows on the south side of my house, close to the brick wall, and it didn't get quite cold enough there for the stems to pop open.
Beautiful!! I think i got up and went out too late yesterday to see any frost 🤷
This is the second year of really cold temps and the frostweed did not frost. We got down to 19 degrees Tuesday. Last year we had an early hard freeze then nothing for weeks. By the time we had another freeze the frostweed plants had dried up.
Suzanne, in Carrollton my frostweed was up against the west side of my brick house and the warmth of the house kept us from getting good frost shows, too.
One year my Texas Lantana put on a frostweed-like show. Never saw that before and haven't since.
Very interesting about the Lantana! Kathy can't believe it didn't frost. I think it was the second freeze that made mine frost. My frostweed is in the front yard and it faces north. So I got lucky where I planted it. I probably didn't know at the time that it frosted.
We have had several mornings that would be cold enough and the most we found was about 2 inches of one stalk and barely beyond the stem. No curls or nothin! We are thinking our severe drought must be causing this. We don't even have frost crystals like you photographed. Just too dry I think.
Kathy, We were pretty wet the first half of year.