Download our weather radio app for your smartphone. We're giving
thanks now for a truly mild winter. But it could prove bad news
for the region's plants and flowers. Lured out by so many days
that have seen highs in the 50s, 60s and even 70s, those lovely
yellow daffodils in the yard are vulnerable if the mercury
slips. Sue Hamilton, director of the University of Tennessee
Gardens, said a drop below freezing could kill many of the
plants that have already begun the germination process with buds
or fruits. "There are a lot of perennials that are beginning to
break their dormancy. If we have a hard freeze it's just going
to kill that back to the ground. We run the risk of losing a lot
of plants," said Hamilton. She cited area Japanese maples that
have budded early and then frozen in past years. She hopes the
hydrangeas she has seen budding this year don't follow the same
fate. Another freeze is certainly possible. While the normal low
for March typically is above freezing — 36 degrees and above —
it's not unusu