Looking for spring, finding winter

As our cold spell continues—every day in January has seen night-time lows below freezing—I’m getting ever more eager for spring to arrive. This morning, after dropping my daughter off at school, I decided to swing by the UC Davis Arboretum in hopes of finding at least a few harbingers of spring, like jonquils or paperwhites. Instead I found a sea of plants covered with frost.

130117_UCDA_25

Frosty morning at the UC Davis Arboretum

The temperature at 8:30am was just above freezing but with sun rising quickly, the frost was melting fast. I quickly took a series of photos to capture this ephemeral beauty.

130117_UCDA_Rosa-Happenstance_02

Happenstance rose (Rosa ‘Happenstance’)

130117_UCDA_Rosa-Happenstance_04

Happenstance rose (Rosa ‘Happenstance’)

130117_UCDA_Hebe-Caledonia_05

Caledonia hebe (Hebe ‘Caledonia’)

130117_Scabiosa-Pink-Mist_01

Dawrf pincushion flower (Scabiosa columbaria ‘Pink Mist’)

130117_UCDA_Muhlenbergia-dumia_02

Pine muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia)

130117_UCDA_Muhlenbergia-dumia_01

Pine muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia)

130117_UCDA_Lavandula-England- -Muhlenbergia-dubia_01

Pine muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia) and ‘England’ lavender (Lavandula ‘England’)

130117_UCDA_Stipa-gigantea- -Oxalis-rubra_05

Giant needle grass (Stipa gigantea) and window-box wood sorrel (Oxalis rubra)

130117_UCDA_Oxalis-rubra_03

Window-box wood sorrel (Oxalis rubra)

130117_UCDA_Oxalis-rubra_02

Window-box wood sorrel (Oxalis rubra)

130117_UCDA_Teucrium-x-lucidrys_01

Germander (Teucrium × lucidrys)

130117_UCDA_Glaucium-flavum_01

Yellow horned poppy (Glaucium flavium)

130117_Lavandula-Lisa-Marie01

Lisa Marie lavender (Lavandula ‘Lisa Marie’)

130117_UCDA_Aster-novae-angliae_01

New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)

130117_UCDA_Marrubium-supinum_01

Dwarf horehound (Marrubium supinum)

130117_UCDA_09

Oak leaf with frost

130117_UCDA_Euphorbia_purple_03

Purple wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’)

130117_UCDA_Euphorbia_purple_02

Purple wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’)

130117_UCDA_Viola-odora_01

White-blooming violet (Viola sp.)

130117_UCDA_Kniphofia-in-bloom

Kniphofia hybrid

130117_UCDA_Opuntia-compressa_01

Opuntia compressa

130117_UCDA_Agave-bracteosa_01

Agave bracteosa

130117_UCDA_Yucca-recurvifolia_03

Yucca recurvifolia

130117_UCDA_Yucca-pallida_01

Yucca pallida

130117_UCDA_Cerastium-tomentosum_01

Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)

Many plants seemed completely unfazed by the cold. Some were even blooming. Here are a few of them.

130117_UCDA_Farfugium-japonicum-Giganteum_01

Farfugium japonicum ‘Giganteum’

130117_UCDA_84

Lily of the the Nile (Aganthus praecox, apple green foliage);
I don’t know what the other plants are

130117_UCDA_Daphne-odora-Aureomarginata_14

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

130117_UCDA_Daphne-odora-Aureomarginata_12

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

130117_UCDA_Grevillea-Scarlet-Sprite_01

Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’

I didn’t see what I had come to see, but what I found was even more beautiful because I hadn’t expected it.

Comments

  1. Frosts on plants has its own unique beauty. Not always good for them (actually, is it ever good for them? At least hardy ones tolerate or are indifferent of it) but they do look pretty and make great photo subjects.

    Great photos as always, and love the title of your post as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very pretty! The frost improves things briefly, but it's hard to accept when you're expecting -- and longing for -- spring. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some very pretty photos -- I especially like the happenstance rose and pine muhly shots.

    (I think the New England Aster ID is incorrect.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I absolutely love how you capture the beauty of frost on plants. At first gland on the Rose happenstance, I thought is was some type of variegated plant. I love this. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment