4/08/26:  Planting begins.  

4/15/26:  Planting completed.

4/17/26:  Irrigation completed and site tidied up.

4/18/26:  Hard freeze predicted for several hours!

Gardening is far from predictable in Northern New Mexico.  After months of planning and two weeks’ hard work, our border renovation was nearly complete, barring mulching and some fussing.  But then we learned of a hard freeze predicted to last several hours, early Saturday morning on the 18th of April.

Established plants in our garden can generally handle erratic spring temperatures, although there may be a little light frost damage here and there.  But this is a brand-new garden, plants not even a week in the ground.  What to do?

We called for volunteers!  What else would you do?

Three volunteers joined Linda to set buckets, pots, and whatever else we could find on top of each new plant, hoping the bit of air protection inside the bucket or can would mitigate cold temperatures even just a little.  We also placed heavy rocks on top of each pot so it wouldn’t blow off in the sharp winds.

Saturday morning, after the frosty air had warmed a bit, we removed the rocks and pots to find that each and every new plant had survived the overnight freeze with only minor droopy leaves here and there.

We’re almost done!  Stay tuned for…

…the Meadow Border Renovation, complete!