Frost-free flowers: Costco saves the day.

That Tom Sherry makes me mad.

A couple of weeks ago he urged his TV weather listeners to "go ahead and put in your garden . . . probably no more frosts."

Well, I've lived long enough to believe the weatherman as much as I do the current crop of politicians, but I was feeling pretty confident that we were past the danger season.

Last night Tom couldn't urge us often enough to cover those delicate plants or bring them indoors.

In most cases, I had only one choice for my delicate outdoor plants. They've been in the ground for about ten days so I wasn't gonna uproot them and plant 'em again.

I've learned which plants are hardy and which ones are wusses with cold weather.

Zinnias are wusses bigtime.

So, I was trying to figure out how I was gonna cover my two dozen zinnias, planted in various outdoor beds.

Somehow the plastic garbage bags didn't seem to be a good idea. Zinnias are wusses with the cold, but they also have long, skinny stems, very susceptible to breaking off.

First, I found a big Costco box, but that covered only four flowers.

Then it dawned on me that all those jars and vases inside the house could do something other than take up space in the cupboards and fall out onto the floor every so often.

For once, I was glad to have an overflowing cupboard of empty containers.

Every last zinnia had some covering last night, and this morning it looks like they may have survived.

Some flowers still have jars over them cuz Tom Sherry told us this frost would last until 9 a.m.

And, if we had frost last night, it's likely we'll see it again for a couple of days with the cooler weather. So, I'll keep the containers handy.

My biggest concern this morning is not zinnias. It's those apple trees, which up to last night, were ALIVE with more blossoms than I've ever had on an apple tree. I'm sure the trees are still alive, but I'm worried about the blossoms.

It seems like it might not have been cold enough, long enough to destroy them, but it's difficult to have a positive outlook with a lifetime of experience with North Idaho's fickle weather and its highly uncertain growing seasons.

We'll see. For now, I'm ever grateful to Costco.