Same here - I'm on the outskirts of Ottawa. Last week, a daylily that bloomed back in July as it was supposed to suddenly put up a whole new spike and huge pink flowers.

We are still harvesting greens, Swiss chard, kale, carrots, beets, etc. but the tender guys (zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers) got hit.

Now we are told that the "lows" this weeks will be well above freezing. Weird!

Gardeners know: yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as global warming!

Of course there's global warming. The earth has been experiencing warmings and coolings throught out it's existence. It's just that currently the warming was accelerated (whether manmade or natural is still being debated) and so not only are the winters somewhat warmer, we as gardeners are noticing more southern plants, able to survive up here for longer periods. So the winter survival of bananas and palms in Vancouver are just a symptoms of the effects of global warming. Crazy huh!

We have had a couple of mornings with frost ... just light stuff, but enough to scrape the van windows before heading to work.

We haven't seen even a light frost here in the Trenton area. My Canna lilies are putting out blooms again as well. This is my first year to grow them and I am waiting on the frost so I can harvest the tubers. The morning glories, salvia's, begonia's and penstemmon are all blooming their heads off. I noticed a flower bud on my Niobe Clematis just yesterday and my Delphinium Laurin is still in full bloom. There are others showing flower buds as well. Every time I take my daily flower stroll I am presented with surprises I never expected this time of year.

Cindi

It's strange how just along the road from you we had a couple of mornings of light frost ... I'm just north of Belleville.

I forgot to add a link to a post on my blog

Here is a link that might be useful: frost in the morning

That is very strange beings how we are so close to each other. I've been watching carefully but still no signs of frost in our neck of the woods. Could be because I live south of the 401-between Brighton and Trenton.

I have had two major frosts last month. It even went through the sheets I put over my brugmansia, burning some of the leaves and buds. However, at the top of the hill in the same subdivision, they did not have any hard frost. Nature picks its places I guess..... and cold always falls to the lowest spot....MINE :(

My brugs did come back, as did my dahlias after some pruning. They are blooming up a storm right now.

Somehow, at the end of September when other places on the prairies were having frost, we missed it. We have had some cool weather in October, but cloud cover at night which meant overnight lows not quite at freezing. Yesterday morning I finally got what one might call a light to moderate frost, but still the impatiens against the house survived and the marigolds were undamaged. The deck was frosty and slippery though.

So, I am feeling guilty pulling out live annuals but I know what's coming.

Glen

Well here is Oct 31st and no hard frost yet! DH wants me to reign in and wait to pull out cannas.
I too was feeling very guilty pulling out still blooming scaveola, impatiens, petunias and daisies from hanging pots!
Perhaps next week.
This weather is ideal for general clean up plus planting seedlings that have been hanging around the greenhouse. Trees and shrubs with roots growing out of their pots are finally finding a home. Thank goodness it gets dark early.

Same in Toronto. May Roses are still blooming and my Golden Willow hasn't gone golden yet. What's going on!

We;ll just have to be patient. Frost will eventually get our plants and things go dormant. As for Toronto, it usually is far more warmer than the surrounding areas and that's because it is a concrete jungle and it has it's own microclimates. Enjoy the blooms while it's still around.

I still can't believe the warmt we are experiencing here in Southern Ontario. My David Austin roses are still blooming and so are my delphiniums. However since frost is just around the concern, I'm seriously considering cutting off the blooms so that the plants concentrate on feeding nutrients to the roots. What are your thoughts about this process? If I don't remove the blooms, the plants (new this year) could exhaust it's energies in making more flowers and possible die in winter. On the other hand,if I remove the blooms, will the plants be fooled into promoting new stem growth?

Your plants should be fine, but if you are worried, you could snip off the flowers to conserve energy. Take the blossoms into the house and enjoy them there....My roses are still blooming too (Zone 5)

Ian

Well I checked on the plants this frosty morning. I will probably debud them but not do any heavy prunings until much later or perhaps wait for spring. Hopefully the shrubs will last through winter.

My Austin "Clair" rose is blooming at present.
But I am going to carry on as usual. Even though the frost arrived and stopped active growing, I believe roses and shrubs will 'catch up' naturally to their hibernation characteristics. I hope.
I'll be cutting back roses and mulching the first or second week of December as usual. My gut tells me we will have another mild January.