flowers – Southern Patches

Hello and happy Friday. Today I wanted to share with you one of my all time favorite things: Frost Flowers or Ice Blossoms or whatever you may call them.

I never really knew about ice flowers until several years ago. When I had dogs, I would walk them very early in the mornings, often just after sunrise. In late fall or early winter, I would notice these white crepey looking things at the base of some of the plants near the side of the road. At first I thought it was paper, litter. Upon further investigation, I noticed that they were icy. I started doing a little research on them and discovered they are quite a phenomenon. The conditions have to be just perfect for these beauties to form. They are only around for a short time. I love them and I can’t tell you how excited I am to see them every year.

What are frost flowers? First they are not easy to spot, especially on a frosty morning when you probably aren’t going to be hanging around outside. They only form on a few herbaceous plants. To find them look for tall weeds, especially in locations that are seldom mowed.

The temperature must be below freezing for most of the night. The wind must be calm. The sky needs to be clear. All of these things are also conditions for ground frost. The soil must be moist but not frozen. The plant has to be alive. Autumn or early winter is the best time to see these. They create beautiful patterns. Ice flowers have water that comes out of the plant, usually wild flowers or weeds. The water from the plant is drawn upward from the ground. It expands as it touches the air and freezes, forming beautiful petals. No two are alike. Ice flowers don’t happen often because of all the different conditions needed to make them form.

I saw my first ice flowers about two weeks ago. I saw them a couple of times after that but I think they are probably done for the season. I took a few pictures of them and I would like to share them with you. Aren’t they beautiful?