The weather here in zone 7 Maryland has turned nasty again: lows for the last two mornings have been below 20°F (= -6.6°C); lows tomorrow morning are predicted to be at or even below 10°F (= -12.2° C). These sudden temperature drops might have a devastating effect on the garden except for one saving grace: they were preceded by a six inch snowfall. The cold frames are covered and probably relatively snug. I’m not expecting any significant damage to the plants in the unprotected cold frames – those plants are all hardy here. The consequences of these sudden drops for the plants in the protected cold frame are another matter - I won’t know until I open the frame later this week. Daytime highs later in the week will be around 60°F (= 15.5°C), and nighttime lows above freezing. I’ve never used inside the cold frames any of the materials being discussed for protecting plants, although I’ve been tempted a few times. So far, the only damage I’ve noticed occurs when foliage or flowers touch the glass: for now, I use with good results twigs or brush between such foliage and the glass. There have been years here when we have had severe freezes in April when early tulips and fritillaries such as the crown imperial growing in the open garden were in bloom. I have photos of a crown imperial frozen solid, bolt upright and a dark, ominous, water-stained green. It’s hard to believe that this is good for the plants, but they seem to pick up right where they left off once they thaw. But so far I have not trusted the bulk of the fritillary collection to the open garden: they grow in the unprotected frames. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7, where even the hellebores look cold this morning. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/