NEW Winter Issue is Waiting!

Enjoy this preview of the Winter 2022-23 issue of GreenPrints. You’ll love this story! [GreenPrints]( December 6, 2022  [WINTER IS COMING. CELEBRATE OR HIBERNATE?]( We can’t stop the seasons from changing, but we can enjoy what each season offers us. Winter can be hard in a 4-season zone, with blustery winds, drifts of snow, and a garden gone to sleep. But we can weather winter just fine, thank you very much. All we need are some layers to add a little insulation, and we’ll be ready to take on whatever Jack Frost has up his icy sleeve. And that goes for our garden plants, too! Layers of mulch provide insulation, and a nice burlap poncho can protect our shrubs. Here at GreenPrints, we’re all about celebrating gardening — with gardening stories from the heart to inspire and entertain you. Pull up a copy of GreenPrints and warm your feet by the fire while our stories warm your spirit. For example, check out this story from page 39 of the NEW Winter 2022-23 issue of GreenPrints—a warmhearted discussion of Winter: [Winter Is Coming]( Like it or not. By Becky Rupp [Stuffed with Christmas Joy] No Winter lasts forever; no Spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland Winter isn’t the season for everyone. “I shudder at the approach of Winter,” wrote Thomas Jefferson from his mountaintop in (cold) Virginia to John Adams in (colder) Massachusetts. “Winter is icummen in,” wrote poet Ezra Pound (Idaho). “Lhude sing Goddamm.” “Winter is coming,” as all Game of Thrones fans know, is a sinister threat. It means that you may be fine and dandy today, but don’t let down your guard—all hell may break loose tomorrow which, in the Game of Thrones universe, means not just a spot of nasty weather, but slaughter and mean dragons. There’s a kinder quote from the Greek poet Hesiod, who wrote, “It will not always be Summer; build barns.” The bottom line, though, from all of the above, is pretty much the same thing. Brace yourself. It’s about to get cold. Here in Vermont that can mean really cold. Where we live, with a little help from wind chill straight from the North Pole, Winter temperatures occasionally hit -20°F or worse. That’s the sort of weather that sends the cats under the couch, causes people to fight over the chair closest to the woodstove, and makes us think twice about going out to get the mail. Theoretically, cold shouldn’t be a problem for us. we’re warm-blooded animals, basically all chugging little biological engines pumping out heat at the rate of 50 kilocalories per hour per square meter of body surface. What this means is that if we were completely insulated—say, sealed up in plastic bags—we’d literally cook ourselves to death. Luckily we aren’t: we steadily get rid of all that heat via radiation—we lose a lot of it from the tops of our heads—and through the evaporation of water through our two million sweat glands. Still, like a bunch of bubbling teakettles, we’re continually making heat. Each of us, from head to toe, is encased in a cozy personal bubble of warm air. This is a layer about six millimeters thick, constantly in motion as air closest to the body’s surface warms and rises to be replaced by cooler air from our surroundings. The problem is that this toasty warming effect can only go so far. When the surroundings are a lot chillier than we are, warm blood or not, we get cold. Nature has a lot of ways for coping with cold—but basically, for a lot of us, it’s all about air. Fur, for example, traps that layer of warm surface air, keeping it safely close to the skin. The thicker the fur, the more effective it is as insulation: polar bears, for example, are so well insulated that they’re invisible to night-vision goggles, which zoom in on radiated heat. Ditto for feathers: When birds fluff their feathers in chilly weather, they’re trying to trap the maximum amount of insulating air. People in cold climates would be better off furry, but they do their best with clothes. Clothing, in uncongenial climates—whether from Armani, Calvin Klein, Walmart, or Tractor Supply—exists to trap air. The insulating value of clothing is measured in units of Clo, in which 0 Clo means stark naked and 1 Clo is the amount of insulation required to keep a relatively sedentary person— think your average couch potato—comfortable at room temperature. (The Clo scale was established in the pre-feminist 1940s; therefore the 1-Clo standard of comfort was originally defined as a three-piece businessman’s suit and a set of BVDs.) In keeping warm, the secret to effective insulation is layering, in which multiple layers of clothing trap multiple layers of air. (Best, says The Washington Post, is three layers, starting with a set of polyester long johns.) Experts in the matter of Clo are the northern indigenous Inuit, whose parkas, pants, boots, and mittens add up to 4.0 Clo, almost as good as the insulating value of the average sled dog’s fur coat (4.1 Clo), though not a patch on that of the average polar bear (8.0 Clo). Clo is the reason gardeners in cold climates wrap sensitive shrubs in burlap in November. So what about plants? Some garden plants, faced with Winter, simply turn up their toes and die. Lettuce, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers—all annuals, from the Latin annus, year—give up the ghost at the end of the growing season, leaving their remains to the compost pile. The killer, when it comes to annuals, is ice, which is why many garden plants bite the dust after the first hard frost. When water inside cells freezes, the resultant spiky ice crystals can tear them apart from the inside out; and ice in the matrix outside cells can be just as bad, pulling internal water out through cell walls, leaving behind desiccated husks. The blackened, wilted remains of frost-bitten gardens are the aftermath of cells losing a battle with ice. Other plants know how to hunker down. Perennials such as asparagus and rhubarb, for example, come back year after year. (Our asparagus has led a somewhat pampered life, but the rhubarb is a rugged survivor, having outlasted at least two seasons of being inadvertently mowed down with the tractor.) Chives and horseradish come up time and again; so do daffodils, tulips, crocuses, irises, and lilies. Each year their vulnerable tops die off, but all have back-up storage organs—bulbs, rhizomes, roots—safely sequestered underground. If perennials were people, they’d have stockpiles of tunafish and bomb shelters. [St. Fiacre] Other plants know how to hunker down. Perennials such as asparagus and rhubarb, for example, come back year after year. (Our asparagus has led a somewhat pampered life, but the rhubarb is a rugged survivor, having outlasted at least two seasons of being inadvertently mowed down with the tractor.) Chives and horseradish come up time and again; so do daffodils, tulips, crocuses, irises, and lilies. Each year their vulnerable tops die off, but all have back-up storage organs—bulbs, rhizomes, roots—safely sequestered underground. If perennials were people, they’d have stockpiles of tunafish and bomb shelters. Deciduous trees and shrubs cope with cold by going dormant—the botanical equivalent of hibernation, in which bears, squirrels, skunks, and bats take one look at the weather, then curl up for a few months and go to sleep. In dormancy, metabolism slows down to a sputter; Winter trees survive the season because they’re pretty much out of it. During this dozy state, they’re also protected by the arboreal version of antifreeze—sugars and proteins that lower the freezing point of water and fend off ice damage. Maple sap—which, boiled down, turns into maple syrup—is sweet because it functions in the Winter tree as antifreeze. Personally, having been raised with it, I like Winter—though I can see the downside. In Star Wars, the perpetually cold ice planet Hoth was fearsomely unpleasant; and Narnia, in the grip of the White Witch, was miserable in a state of always Winter, but never Christmas. We wouldn’t want to have Winter all the time. Still, as Anne Bradstreet wrote, while somehow managing to write poetry and to raise eight children in the 17th-century Massachusetts Bay Colony: “If we had no Winter, the Spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” And if our gardens didn’t sometimes vanish under snow, it wouldn’t seem such a miracle to watch them once again turn green. ❖ Illustrations by Linda Cook Devona Dear Reader, Writer Becky Rupp celebrates the resilience of plants in the garden and reminds us that we’re pretty resilient, too. GreenPrints has published many heartwarming stories just like this one—stories that deliver wit and wisdom, such as: - “The Vines in the Pines” (Autumn 2018 issue, p. 46) - “My Horseradish Folly” (Winter 2018-19 issue, p. 34) - “A Milk Can Man” (Spring 2019 issue, p. 16) - “The Hedonist’s Garden” (Autumn 2019 issue, p. 60) - “150 Plastic Forks” (Spring 2020 issue, p. 16) And tons more hopeful and inspirational stories in our Library—and coming up in future issues! Please read what some subscribers say about how GreenPrints affects their lives: “The wonderful stories in the magazine have given me hope about mankind. We are surrounded by sad and difficult times in a polarized culture. Your heartful approach and spirit shine through. Thank you!” —Cathy Gornick, New Hartford, NY “I’m renewing for three years. I’m not sure I’ll be around in three years. But I want to make sure you are!” —Susan Ward, Middleton, WI “Thank you, GreenPrints family, for providing calm, joy, and wisdom in these crazy times.” —Lee Ann Hawkins, Marion, IN Including this featured story—“Winter is Coming”—you get all 15 stories in the Winter 2022-23 issue of GreenPrints with an [All-Access Membership](. Filled with stories that inspire and heal, GreenPrints also includes specially commissioned artwork with every article, to enhance the stories and entertain you—illustrations that are thought-provoking and just plain fun! Here is what one subscriber says about GreenPrints: “Thank you! BEST EVER Magazine!! It's like the finding a ‘treasure’ in the mailbox. Artwork is amazing!” —Jo Glenn, Port Royal, PA Here are the stories included in the Winter 2022-23 issue: - “Stuffed with Christmas Joy” - “The Gardener’s December” - “The Boysenberry Saga” - “Lily Bushes” - “The Upside-Down Flower Tree” - “Mother Hen” - “Winter is Coming” - “The Sole in my Father’s Garden” - “The Waiting is the Hardest Part” - “Rundown Garden, Brand-New Friend” - “Setting Down Roots” - “A Real Gardener” - “My First Orchid” - “For the Birds” - “The Flower Shop” [Winter 2022-23 Issue]( Now, you can [order your own single copy]( of the GreenPrints Winter 2022-23 issue for $15, plus shipping and handling (and in some jurisdictions, you have to pay tax—you’ll end up paying more than $20 for a single copy with shipping, handling, and tax). Or, better yet, for just $20 (no shipping or handling … and no tax!), you can get [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( for an entire year—with a whole year’s worth of stories in a full subscription to GreenPrints, both print and digital editions … and benefits galore! [$20 SPECIAL! GET A 67% DISCOUNT WHEN YOU CLAIM YOUR BENEFITS TODAY!]( [Claim your GreenPrints All Access Membership now, and you’ll get all the gardening stories to delight you, make you laugh, and fill you with heartwarming inspiration and motivation. Claim your benefits now!]( [GreenPrints all access]( [ONLY $20 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!]( Right now, you’re eligible for this limited-time invitation—to claim a premium [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( with this Special Offer. You get a full year of membership in a club that provides you all the gardening stories to warm your heart, inspire you, and make you laugh. And for only $20 right now, that’s 67% off the regular $60 price! [Introducing GreenPrints All-Access Membership—Only $20 for an Entire Year!]( Your [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( has privileges and benefits that are reserved exclusively for premium members like you. [Claim Your $20 Membership Now!]( Summary of All-Access Membership Benefits 01 A full year of GreenPrints All-Access Membership, an exclusive club for those who want to enjoy the greatest gardening stories ever—save $40 off the annual cover price, a 67% discount! $60/year Now Only: $20/year! 02 1-year subscription to the GreenPrints Magazine, quarterly issues filled with humorous and heartwarming stories—in print, delivered directly to your door, and sent to you digitally as soon as issues are published! INCLUDED 03 Full and immediate access to the GreenPrints Digital Library—your membership includes access to the current digital magazine issue and back issues, a digital version of The Weeder’s Reader—plus the library is constantly growing with new content regularly added! 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You deserve to have regular hope and happiness in your life—please act now to claim your [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( and get inspired and motivated every day! [GreenPrints All-Access Membership Special Offer—Only $20!]( 67% Off the Regular Price Now! [GreenPrints all access](  Claim your GreenPrints All-Access Membership today and get all the greatest gardening stories ever—heartwarming and funny, for you now! [YES, SIGN ME UP FOR JUST $20 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!]( About GreenPrints Magazine: GreenPrints shares the absolute best true stories of gardeners from all across the country. It’s the most inspiring, humorous, and heartfelt gardening magazine of them all. There is nothing else like it. We’re no spring seedling, either—we’ve been publishing for over 30 years. If you love to garden, you will love GreenPrints, THE magazine of personal gardening stories from the heart. You are receiving this email as part of your free subscription to email updates from GreenPrints Magazine. 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