It may be difficult to get your yard ready for spring this year. That's because the severe winter weather left its mark on lawns and gardens across North Texas, killing some plants while making others a little pricey.
From the greenhouse to the garden, what grows in most yards come from wholesalers like Rainey Greenhouses. It may look like spring inside Bill Rainey's greenhouses, but he said this growing season was far from easy thanks to days of severe winter weather.
"It made it very difficult to move plant material around to keep it from freezing. We had to burn more natural gas than we normally do, and that impacts the cost of our products," Rainey said.
Rising plant prices are not the only challenge people will face come spring. The owner of Dennis' Farm Store in Denton, Dennis Smith, said the full impact of the snow and ice may not be seen for a few more weeks, but most yards will not look like last year.
"We've got a lot of problems with the cold weather, especially Saint Augustine. A lot of people don't know if they will have their yard come back of not. It's in real bad shape. Of course, when it gets cold and stays cold below 20's like it did, it does a lot of damage to the roots," Smith said.
It is not just lawns and gardens that were hit hard by the winter blast - what you put on your kitchen table has also been impacted.
"A lot of people planted onions early. They got bit bad. Potatoes got bit bad. Anybody who put out mustards and turnips, they probably lost 90 percent of those," Smith said.
He said the only thing that would make matters worse is if another freeze comes our way. The recent warm weather has caused flowers and fruit to blossom, so if another freeze hits, Smith said it will kill them.
