Survivors of the first frost
Winter has finally arrived in Tucson. As I write this post, it’s 32F outside, and there’s frost on most of the plants. Goodbye, rose in bloom. Goodbye, New Guinea impatiens. Goodbye, sunny orange zinnias.
Fortunately, the tomatoes and basil are planted against the side of our brick house and appear to be unfrozen. The citrus trees look irritated, but they should be fine. We even harvested our first lemon! And nothing seems to stop the orange bells (the pretty flowers in the header pic). They bloomed almost all year, though they too look a little irritated at being so cold.
Here’s what remains of the fruits (literally) of our labor:
First oranges on our new tree 
Almost-ripe lemons 
Cherry tomatoes, apparently undamaged by frost
I can’t complain about our losses too much, considering that in most of the country, gardeners are relegated to browsing seed catalogs this time of year.
Linking up with Cee’s Flower of the Day.
7 Comments
Laura Zeigen
nice fruits!
Janet Alcorn
Thanks!
Jacqui Murray
They don’t look too bad, do they? Still edible?
Janet Alcorn
Yep. The tomatoes got nipped but not enough to kill them or destroy the fruit.
Jacqui Murray
Now it’s the grocery story until Spring. Darn!
Ally Bean
The tomatoes are tough little things. I understand how the citrus fruits could endure, but those fragile-looking tomatoes are fascinating.
Janet Alcorn
Yep! It’s been in the 30s for several nights, and they’re still alive.