Dear January,

While I have personally deeply enjoyed the mild weather and unseasonal 50 and 60 degree days, I must now put aside my personal feelings and plead the case of my plant children.

Today I took advantage of the 60 degree amazingness and went out and winterized my roses.  We're behind on this, but only sort of:  There hasn't really been any Winter yet.  ...  My roses were FULL of new purple growth.  New growth!  In January!  ...  I realized that my attempt at rose winterization was more of a desperate plea:  Go dormant!  Go dormant! 

While it is some consolation to me that I haven't needed my Ultra Winter coat most days, and that The Old Man hasn't needed as much convincing to make it past the end of the street, I am quite concerned about my plant children.  My crocuses and a few other bulbs are coming up, which probably means that they won't bloom now OR in March.  My forsythia has been blooming off and on, in a pathetic sort of manner, since November.  While this makes me sad, because I know that we'll probably miss a large chunk of the spring blooms, I'm not writing this letter because I'm sad.  I'm writing this letter because I'm worried.  Off seasons like this have been known to kill off even the hardiest and beautiful-est of plants.

I'm trying to be nice about this, but there's no nice way to say it:  If you kill off my plant children, I will never forgive you.  Ever.  As our relationship is already iffy, I would like to avoid hating you until the day I die.  I was just starting to figure you out and enjoy you for what you are - don't screw it up now!

However, I'm not sure there's much to be done about it at this point.  What's done is done.  Just please, be as kind as possible to my plants, and put in a good word when you talk to February. 

Thanks.
 
Tamra