When the temperature outside falls to single digits, as it did last week, I disconnect from any outdoor gardening because it is cold out there, and even with the warmest of clothing and good gloves, hats, etc., you feel that kind of cold, right to your very core.

Then the temperature rebounds up to the low 50’s as it did this weekend, and I start to think maybe there is some additional garden work I can sneak in before the temperature falls again. After all, when outside temperature is in the low 50’s, a good sweatshirt, jeans and a hat is all you need and you can comfortably work for hours outdoors.

With all the temperature swings, it can be a confusing time of seasonal change, for gardeners and plants, too. But as much as it is confusing here, where everything is now essentially dormant, it sounds like it is worse if you garden further south, where plants are not yet dormant. Plunging temperatures “down there” may mean a quick scramble to protect tender plants, knowing that the next week, all could be normal and the plants will be fine again.

I’m used to the complete dormancy of winter, and actually think I prefer it at this point. I like the period of rest between December and the beginning of March. I can sit back, relax, and just tend to a few indoor plants, plan my garden for next year, and maybe read a good book or two about gardening to get some new ideas.

So, I resisted the urge to do anything outside in the garden yesterday. Instead, I went to the White River Gardens to see the poinsettia and model train display. The picture above is one of the many different kinds of poinsettia they had on display. Unfortunately, they didn’t label the plants, so I don’t know the name of this one. I just thought it was a nice one.

My plan to fight these seasonal, daily temperature swings? I’m going to pretend it is cold every day from now until March, even if it isn’t. I don’t know how the southern gardeners keep going, nearly year around, like they do. When do they rest?