Losing My 'Patiens

No, what you see pictured at left is NOT a bunch of boiled down old asparagus tips that I threw into my window boxes for an oh-so-attractive holiday display. This is what happened to the last of my Impatiens in last night's freeze. They were blooming cheerily away in a nice red hue and looking very seasonal, I might add. Evil Jack Frost got to them and now I have "rip out window box plantings" added to my To-Do list.

Coincidentally, on Martha Stewart a day or so back she scolded her warm-up-act Joey, a budding gardener, for trying to hold on to his annuals and prolong their bloom. She practically hissed, "Yank them out NOW." Then tutted him for his laziness and cheapness. He looked wounded. As was I. Martha, I love ya, but damn if I'm going to take my few precious blooming plants out even one minute before they give up the ghost. I milk my babies to the last second of their lives and last year that was well past Christmas.

It is not my being cheap or lazy in this case (though in other instances I'll readily admit those two flaws in my garden care-taking). Rather, it is a complete unwillingness to admit that my beloved summer days are long gone and winter has set in. Those annuals are my last vestige of hope until the snowdrops pop open in early spring. I'll be counting the days...