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Beautiful dried bouquets can be made with the faded flowers and stems of garden plants. Not everything is suitable, but with a little imagination a lot is useful. The spent panicles of the yarrow (Achillea millefolium) dry very well and then mix very well with the silver-shiny dollar plant (Lunaria biennis) and the bright red calyxes of Physalis (Physalis franchettii). The nice spikelets of the plantain (Plantago) contrast very nicely with the dried yellow flower heads of the tansy (Tanacetum vulgare).

The large faded screens of the hortensia (Hydrangea macrophylla) lends itself perfectly to beautiful, very large bouquets. Especially the pink flowering variety gives a very nice result when dried: the individual flowers that make up the umbels take on all shades from a deep pink to a soft brown. A large number of flower heads together gives a beautiful effect. Of course, one hortensia in the own garden too few umbels; prove the neighbors (if of course they have a hortensia and want to be released from their umbels) a service: cut the spent flowers from the Hydrangea there too and add them to your own bouquet.

When it has frozen a few degrees and the garden is covered with frost in the morning, that means a white shroud for some plants. They did not survive the frost.

Temperatures below zero can trigger fatal processes in the green parts of a plant, such as the leaves becoming limp. This happens because the water in the inter-cell spaces freezes and thus more and more water is withdrawn from the cells, causing them to dry out. If the frost lasts for a long time, the leaves will dry out to such an extent that recovery is impossible. Even if the temperature rises very quickly after a period of frost, irreparable damage can occur. The ice in the leaf then thaws so quickly that the drought-shrunk cell wall cannot keep up with the rate of expansion and bursts. Even a quick attack of frost can be fatal for the leaves. The water in the cells is then not gradually withdrawn from the leaf, but freezes in the cell itself. The sharp points of the ice crystals tear the cell wall apart. In short, doom and gloom.

However, there are plants that can tolerate cold very well: these species tolerate freezing cold because a large amount of sugars – antifreeze – has been dissolved in the cell fluid. These plants are hardy, because the frost leaves them untouched. Kale, for example, belongs to this group of plants and can therefore remain on the land for a large part of the winter. A few degrees of frost even improves the taste, according to an old saying: frost causes the kale to produce extra sugar and thus the bitter taste disappears.

In addition to the sensitivity of the plant, the risk of frost damage also depends on the location. Some places in the garden are colder than others, the so-called frost holes: drafty places, where the cold frosty air sinks down between houses or along dikes and lingers. Do not put frost-sensitive plants there.

To comfort you: if the frost has struck the garden mercilessly, it is good to know that nature often gives the affected plants a second chance. They will no longer flower in the coming season, but new leaves will usually form later on.

The days are getting longer, the average temperature is creeping up, daffodils and crocuses are already blooming. Compost is sprinkled and raked in the vegetable garden. Under glass or in a greenhouse can already be sown.
When the average temperature rises above 7°C, the grass starts to grow and weeds also appear. Insects come out of hibernation, bees go in search of nectar and some insects go in search of fresh young leaves. Fungi and other pathogens become active as the temperature rises.
Cabbage whiteflies have overwintered on evergreens and multiply rapidly in the spring to colonize cabbage plants and strawberries in the vegetable garden.
Seed plant disease, a fungus, affects young beet plants in the spring.
Fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom in the vegetable garden. Sufficient nutrients and water ensure healthy crops that can take a beating. Crop rotation keeps soil parasites in check. Clean tools prevent the transmission of pathogens.
If there is something wrong in the vegetable garden, this website offers a solution. This relational database provides an overview of diseases and pests per crop. For each pest it is stated what can be done about it and how to prevent it.