Destruction, devastation and hope........................

Oh Andrea - your poor plants! I really feel for you... My Hydrangea looks poorly too - but I did see new buds at its base, so maybe they will all perk up later.

I can ID your unknown plant for you - it's Coronilla valentina subs. glauca 'Citrina'. I have the brighter yellow one and mine is also in flower. I posted a photo yesterday.

I am pleased and relieved that your coprosmas have survived. Great shame about your new bed. I suspect the plants hadn't had time to get their roots in - too much of a shock to them now.

Like me, you will be out shopping for replacements in the spring, I guess! Not too soon - wait and see what recovers, we may both be surprised!

P.S. I hate the cold weather, too!

I do hope members' gardens haven't suffered too much from this cold weather. As Spritz says, maybe some plants will be more resilient than appears at first glance.

Andrew, have your neighbours commented on whether there has been such a severe frost on the Isle of Wight over recent decades ?

Oh dear...all your hard work too..... But I think at least some of your plants ought to bounce back - as Barbara says, you might find buds coming up from the base of plants where they were more protected. I had some small hydrangeas in pots from cuttings last summer and they SEEM to be alright....time will tell.

Some of my plants were all drooping & looked about dead, but yesterday it rained alday & there was no frost over night, & they look ok today, dont know if my new little plants will servive that i put in before all the frost came,but only thing is we will have to do it again, suppose it's all part & parcel of liking gardening,what's the saying take the rough with the smooth.

Sorry Andrea, noticed I called you Andrew by mistake. :o)

O No all those Lovely plants u put out in2 that lovely Boader :( So sorry4your loss :/

Oh Andrea, i really feel for you, but as the others have said, all may not be lost, i think i may have a few casualties come spring, same problem, newly planted, my burgandy Rhododendron that i moved just before the cold hit, is looking rather sorry for it's self, and i am a bit concerned about the 2 cortinus i have standing in a very sheltered corner of the patio, still in the pots as i have'nt been able to plant them, i have tucked a bit of fleece around the pots and base of them but they are still frozen solid. i think a lot of the other things that are new in should be ok, because of my little fleece tents that i made, but then that is all very well in the back garden is'nt it, but not holding my breath, as well as the cold, nothing has had any water for ages. i have put the odd sprinkling here and there on the pots as and when they have thawed, but the ground has stayed frozen now for quite a few weeks. Your mexican yucca looks ok though, mine is also doing ok with this weather, it is still in a very large and thick terricotta pot, which is bubble wrapped, the pot not the plant lol. i have'nt fleeced it. think i might plant mine in the ground in the spring, have an ideal place for it that is against the wall in the front of the house. really sunny and a warm wall as there is a radiator on the other side of it. but one thing i am a bit concerned with is are the roots a problem right next to the house, do you know Andrea? and i have my fingers crossed for your babies xx

So do I hate the cold Andrea. I hope your plants survive. Osteospermums never survive the winter outside here in Wales. But this year they've even died in the protection of the shed.

Actually you will be amazed at how hardy some plants are!

Many have the ability to 'shut down' and survive the frost despite looking rather sickly at the moment.

Dont dismiss them yet. You may find that they have survived when Spring arrives.

I was going to wait until I ripped them all up, it's just the front garden and it looks shoddy, but I know I've got to give it some time. I am going to do some mulching this weekend just in case we get any more prolonged frosts

Yep that is what i have been doing Andrea, will also help keep in what little mosture the soil has at the moment.

Thoroughly agree with Grenville give them a chance. I have my fingers crossed for my 6ft Echium that is 2 years old. He is fleeced but he looks all sulky and grumpy with his leaves starting to curl in on himself.

Let them hold their breath for a few more weeks until it really warms up.

I liked the fact that you say your front garden looks shoddy. Does everyone elses in your street/road look fantastic at this time of year? I think yours looks great.

Evergreen leaves will droop becasue the roots aren't getting enough water to them (remember the summer of 2006?). It's the same principle - the groud is frozen so water is not available. As soon the ground thaws out a bit, normal service will, hopefully, be resumed. That's why thing like rhodos may look a bit sorry at present

Oh Andrew, you have made me a happy woman, I just went out to put rubish out - the freezing fog is back, and my Pieris, my pride and joy, is all droopy and not looking at all happy - SHOCK HORROR!!!!! life and my garden would just not be the same without it. and also good news for my sick looking Rhodo too. just hope it gets mild enough for a good down pour soon. - and yes Andrea, Trees does have a point,' shoddy' is not a word i would use to discribe any of the garden pictures that i have seen.

Cheer up folks and have a little faith,I think Mother Nature is trying to put us back on an even keel,how often have we all said we need a proper winter to get rid of those pesky bugs, both for our sakes and our gardens,those plants are like us they need a rest now and again,I,m always a bit jaded in winter myself and if I can perk up so can my plants.........

Don't worry about your Hydrangea, Andrea. It should be fine. Lady in red is hardy down to USDA zone 6 and probably even zone 5. That means it should be good as follows......Zone 6: -23 to -18 C (-10 to 0 F).
Hydrangeas of all types grow around here and I'm even colder at zone 4b ot 5a. Same with Rhodos. They will be just fine. If they have flower buds already you may lose some but you shouldn't lose the plant.

ofcourse you are quite right Linclass, we have needed a proper winter, and lets look on the bright side, a cold winter usually means a hot summer!!!! now that would be worth all this would'nt it! and Gilli, i think the Pieris will be fine, its the Rhodo i am worried about because it was moved just before the cold spell Nov/Dec time so it has'nt had chance to establish yet. but what will be will be, i have done the best i can for it.

Last night was dreadful, it looked like a couple of inches of snow this morning, but it was just frost. The Island doesn't usually get this sort of frost, only usually a light covering every now and then, not continuous heavy frost. The Echiums are completely black now! Whilst driving around the Island earlier I noticed that Cordylines that are now huge trees with multi stems are black and all the leaves are drooping. The last time I remember things this bad was over 20 years ago (or so my Mum told me) we lost the Cordyline in our garden and several other casualties. This has to be the worst I have ever seen it. I am already planning the replacement plants!

i hope you dont loose too many plants. we have had the worst frosts in the sixteen years we have been here. we usualy get frosts but they are gone by lunch time. this year we stayed frozen for ten days without thawing once.

its amazing how the same plant , planted in different parts of the same garden fair differently.

some of my outside succulents are horizontal, soft, brown and DEAD.

the ones up against the south wall of my house are slightly frosted.

the ones facing south with shrubs and hedges protecting the fron the north wind are looking great.

we just keep on learning....lol

We do indeed Sandra, we have'nt had heavy frost for a couple of days, there has been a scattering but not too heavy, the ground has remained frozen for about 2 weeks now, it has thawed a bit here and there up the end of the garden as and when the sun comes out, but not for long. i think the worst of it here is thick freezing fog, the leaves on my evergreens are frozen solid, i come back from my mums thursday evening about 6pm and it was so thick i had to keep the windscreen wipers on all the way home because it kept frosting up the windscreen. and it was - 5 when i came out of work tonight, and the fog was just starting to loom about and that is at 5pm. it is about tonight, but not as heavy as it has been, it's like a bad Stephen King movie - keep expecting something to jump out on me lol.

I can appreciate how you feel, we live over the water from you, and we have grown many tender plants that look dreadful at the moment, and we have a wedding taking place in our garden in May.....hey ho the garden usually looks great as a rule, typical.....but never say die?

how lovely to have a wedding in your garden Dd. i'd love one of my kids to get married in our garden. whos wedding?

Yeah sounds lovely Dd, hopefully May this year will be every bit as lovely as last year, - about the only bit of summer we had if i remeber rightly! and speaking as a florist so much scope for bridal flowers too. if ever i managed to get dragged down the isle - or garden path (more like it in my experiences! lol) i think i would choose May.

Hi Sandra it is my youngest daughter Hannah at long last, you can read all about it in my blog, if you have a mind to.