VOA慢速英语--秋天不是园艺的终点

As the Northern Hemisphere moves deeper into autumn, the daylight hours get shorter and the weather colder. This means the gardening season is ending, right?

Well, not so fast.

Lee Reich is a gardener and writes for The Associated Press. He shared his thoughts on growing plants in and around the home.

In mid-October, Reich was cleaning up his garden in northern New York state when he heard a weather report on the radio. The announcer warned that freezing temperatures were coming, and this would put an end to the gardening season.

The weather reporter may know about weather conditions, Reich writes, "but he is no gardener."

To Reich, colder weather does not mean the end to gardening. He admits that his more tender vegetables and flowering plants froze to death when temperatures dropped to 1.6 degrees Celsius¹. The beans, peppers and marigolds did not survive the cold.

However in his story, Reich writes lovingly about what is still growing in his garden. Even with a recent frost, he says, there are still leaves on the trees turning beautiful colors of red, yellow and orange. His butterfly bush is still producing flowers.

Reich says his rhododendrons and heaths, two hardy² flowers, "look as healthy the morning after the frost as the warm day before it." Hardy is a way to describe plants that can live in harsh conditions or colder weather.

In my garden, my butterfly bush, rosemary and hardy flowers like chrysanthemums³ are also doing fine. So far, night-time temperatures have dropped as low as 7 to 8 degrees Celsius.

Reich also suggests looking around your garden or the grounds around it. Some areas may not be as cold as others. A wall or a tree can prevent temperatures from dropping as low as in more open, exposed areas. Reich noted⁴ that some flowering plants, growing next to the west side of his house still look healthy and strong.

Hardy vegetables

It is not just flowers and trees that can do well in colder temperatures. Hardy vegetables can still be productive. There are plenty of cold-hardy vegetables growing in his garden. His kale, spinach⁵, broccoli⁶, lettuce⁷ and radishes looked fine, he said, after a night or a few nights of below-freezing temperatures. In fact, he adds, such vegetables look and taste better during this kind of weather than they do in summer heat.

Another writer and gardener, Robin⁸ Sweetser, provides advice on gardening for The Old Farmer's Almanac. She notes that autumn is a favorite time of year to plant some things.

On the Almanac.com website, Sweetser says this is the best time to plant trees and small woody plants or shrubs⁹. She explains that the combination of warm soil and cool air helps their roots to grow. Roots will get established in the ground before the ground freezes.

The kinds of trees and shrubs to plant and when to plant will depend on the climate where you live. Both experts advise gardeners to think about their plants for autumn and winter.

Before planting, Robin Sweetser suggests asking yourself these three questions:

Does the plant have colorful berries for winter interest?

Will it interest birds?

How will it look in other seasons?

Lee Reich adds that at his home, there is less sunlight at this time of year. And all plants, hardy or tender, make little growth. Once the tender flowers are gone, he says, it is time to enjoy the "hardworking shrubs."

Both gardeners tell us that colder weather does not have to mean your gardening is done. Or that the ground should look empty and dead. With some planning, you can enjoy something in your garden even during the cold weather.

Words in This Story

garden – v. to work in a garden : to take care of the plants in a garden

garden – n. an area of ground where plants (such as flowers or vegetables) are grown

tender – adj. not tough

frost – n. the occurrence of weather that is cold enough to cause water to freeze and frost to form

leaf– n. one of the flat and typically green parts of a plant that grow from a stem or twig¹⁰ (plural leaves)

hardy – adj. able to live through difficult conditions (such as a cold winter or a drought)

exposed – adj. not shielded or protected

berry– n. a small fruit (such as a strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry) that has many small seeds (plural berries)

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 chrysanthemums   

n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The cold weather had most deleterious consequences among the chrysanthemums. 寒冷的天气对菊花产生了极有害的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The chrysanthemums are in bloom; some are red and some yellow. 菊花开了， 有红的，有黄的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

6 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

8 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

9 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

10 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。