Really hardy cyclamen

More than a month ago—28 November 2014, to be exact—I wrote the following about these shooting-star blooms after they'd been buried under about an inch of snow: The last cyclamen blossoms looked bedraggled, but as soon as the sun came up and melted the snow, the garden flowers and their mottled leaves perked up and lived up to the "hardy" part of their common name. Amazingly, they're still living up to their name. To be sure, I've helped them a bit, for every evening when the temperature seems inclined to dip into the 20s and below, I cover the small group of cyclamens with a plastic trash can to protect them from the worst of the chill. This action, and their inborn toughness, certainly made a liar out of me. What I'd figured were the last blossoms in November were anything but. The cyclamens continue to send forth flower buds. If the weather remains on the warm side and I keep up my nightly routine with the protective barrel, we just might have blossoms all winter.