Had a Dose of Winter; Now I Have Spring Fever!
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 8:20AM In my part of the world I can garden year-round, though in winter I have to seize the opportunity between bouts of bitter freezes and equally miserable, sloppy days of cold rain.
We have had enough polar-inspired temps and snow this year to make it feel like we have had a real winter. A few weeks ago I visited Tennessee with friends during a particularly frosty spell. I borrowed some furry UGG boots and padded myself with multiple layers to accommodate below-zero wind chills.
Could you guess how cold it was by this view of the winter sky?
Our group of ladies has a decades-long friendship, and a bit of cold air wasn't going to keep our warm spirits down! On the way home we were still enjoying our camaraderie and even stopped several times to take photos of frozen waterfalls and icicles along the road. 
We piled out of the car into the teeth of arctic winds and gripped our cameras with determination. Had my husband or someone else with common sense been with us, we would never have done this, but we would not have had nearly as much fun.
Here are a few images taken outside of Gatlinburg, including a selfie of myself with an icy waterfall and stream in the background. I am not very good at taking selfies. A friend said I should delete that shot because I wasn't smiling. Ha! It is the only photo I have of myself with the frozen waterfall. And it was my best attempt at a smile with my shivery, congealed lips. 
So I have had my dose of winter; enough of that! Forgetting that I still have a chunk of January and all of February to go, I am ready for spring. Temps warmed up briefly into the sixties over the weekend. A true gardening addict, I spent Saturday outside, planting new shrubs that I purchased off-season cheap at my favorite nursery. It felt so good! This is the perfect time to plant shrubs in Alabama. The ground is not frozen here, and roots can settle into the soil before spring growth.
I even found some hellebores blooming. These fantastic plants will bloom for months: 
I have a long list of things I want to accomplish in the garden before March, including (but not limited to!) some pruning, transplanting, clean-up, and spraying of horticultural oil. I am hoping for more beautiful days so that I can get out there and treat my spring fever.
frozen waterfall, hellebores, icicles, winter in weather, winter
Reader Comments (17)
What wonderful photos you took on your trip, Deb! Including the selfie! Ice like that is a foreign concept from my vantage point but I nonetheless look forward to the bulb blooms that signify "spring" in my area of the country. Despite the lack of rain, we're getting close. Of course, with temperatures in the low 70s the past 2 days, by some assessments, it's already here.
You and I are suffering from the same Spring fever, and our lists sound very similar! I love the waterfall shots, and enjoyed seeing your face! 😊 xo
The photos of your waterfalls and icicles are amazing, glad you had such a wonderful time with your friends. I too have spring fever at the moment, bulbs are bursting into bloom and I have so much to do to get everything ready for February which is the peak of the winter bulb season!
Oh lucky you. You got a real shot of winter and can still get out and do some fun stuff, like planting. We are beginning to thaw out here. Ground still frozen though. My poor hellebores look like mush after being buried in snow for so long. The Galanthus are a different story. They seemed to like being blanketed with snow. Your frozen waterfall pictures are nice. I like your picture. It tells the story...not so comfortable outside. Of course the frozen water puts an exclamation point to that. Enjoy being outside.
Very cool photos of the frozen waterfall. I'm terrible at selfies too but sometimes it's the only way to get a photo since I'm always the one with the camera. I'm over winter too. I planted 100 strawberry plugs this past weekend and it was glorious. I'm hopeful that we won't have anymore prolonged hard freezes. Onward to Spring!
It looks a really fun trip AND it is nice to see you; I will have a picture in my mind now when I read about your garden or your comments on mine. We've just had a week of beautiful gardening weather so I've been outside pruning roses and weeding.
This was a fun post and good for you! This reminds me of just last month when a friend and I ventured to Old Westbury Gardens here on Long Island to see it in the wintertime. We tracked through the snow in boots while bundled up with scarf and gloves just so we could see the gazebos and bridges over a frozen lake. After coming in from the outside, the volunteers there had hot apple cider and cookies to complete the day. I am glad you had a wonderful time with your friends.The pictures are fabulous!
I think your selfie is beautiful. :) The frozen waterfall and the misty scenes are lovely! My Hellebores want to bloom, but I'm keeping them covered with mulch because we have lots of winter yet to go. At the beginning of March, the conditions might be right. Aren't they amazing plants? Happy transition out of winter!
I think the selfie is lovely!
When we lived in Pennsylvania from the average day was about 35 degrees and cloudy. Ironically the only thing that made all that cloudiness bearable was the chill edge of the air. lol One January the only 2 sunny days had highs of 0.
"Real" winter weather is so restrictive. I have missed a lot of days in the garden too. It's all I can do to take care of the horses when the ground is incredibly muddy/icy/covered in snow.
You were too smiling! Just not feeling good enough for a toothy grin!
Hellebores are truly cold-weather wonders for the garden. I can't do any planting, but I can get out and do some pruning, which I will do this weekend if the temperature is above 20 degrees.
Deb,
I wanted to contact you to inquire if you may be interested in being a Guest Blogger for www.gardeningknowhow.com? You previously wrote an article for us and we would love to invite you back for our upcoming garden season!
If your interested you can email me at stacey@gardeningknowhow.com
Thank and looking forward to hearing from you,
Stacey Weichert
Did you say spring ? Hoping soon I'll feel the same way. That's true about Hellebores ,just wish they would bloom longer.
I rather like your selfie - captures good memories for you.
Icicles in Alabama... Brrrr..... Cold beauty!
We've been lucky so far and haven't had any serious cold yet. But even march can bring some snow.
Deb, you are beautiful! True. Thank you for the pictures , and yours especially!
We have true winter here in Ohio, but even so, this winter has been extra cold and extra snowy. It’s tough for a gardener to endure. But in some years, I see a few blooms in late February, and maybe this will be one of those years.
looks so cold there, I just came back from visiting my family in Germany, snow and ice and coldness, I have enough of it, but coming home to a cold snap. At least it is not snowing ;)
Beautiful pictures, as always!