December 05, 2006. I'd seen them before, in magazine articles and web pages, but today, I could marvel at them before my own eyes: frost flowers, ice castles, or whatever you prefer to call them. We had a good freeze last night (down to about 20°F), with cold persisting into the sunny morning. Result: thin bands of ice extruded from the stems of an overwintering perennial (in this case, hardy spurflower) curve and curl around, to form intricate structures. Just to make a case for strolling through the garden, even when the flowers have departed. |