BY AMY HIGGINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
So long, warm weather. Hello, sweaters and blankets.
A series of cold fronts is expected to blow through the Tristate early this week, bringing clouds and some of the chilliest winds since April.
Today's high should reach 66 with a low of 40. But come Tuesday, forecasters say the mercury will start tumbling. By Thursday, the high temperature should be just 49 degrees with a low near the freezing mark.
On Sunday, busy gardeners were preparing for the cold snap. Many dodged the rain and dashed to garden stores and nurseries to pick up lawn fertilizer, bulbs and pansies.
Debbie Rich of Delhi was at the Delhi Flower and Garden Center shopping for spring bulbs. Her main concern, however, was tending to her still-blooming roses. She's covering them with a sheet to protect them from the impending freeze.
At other Tristate greenhouses and nurseries, customers were grabbing bushes and trees for an autumn planting spree.
Store employee Liz Lawwill said now is the time gardeners need to be planting bulbs and applying winterizer to lawns, getting the plants ready for winter.
"With the cooler weather, it gives them more time to develop better root systems to get through next summer," Ms. Lawwill said. "If you want to tamper with a root system of any plant, now's the time to do it -- when it's cool."
Check our weather page for advance forecasts
