Hotkaps and Biba

Tomorrow's when the plant coverings will come off. Thanks to the ice, they really do seem to have done their Hotkap job. In the shade, some of them are still mostly rigid with ice. Terrycloth seems to hold the water droplets. We did peek under them to see that the thyme did just fine. Nasturtiums seem to be so-so; chiles left outdoors not so fine (but if the pith didn't freeze, they'll probably come back); the milkweed looks iffy, but will probably generate new and better leaves if the past is any guide to the future. While I was looking for coverings against the frost I found an old Biba shopping bag, probably from circa 1968. How we loved that corduroy with no wales, in a mysterious raisin color and in a dusty greenish sort of peacock, especially. The original Biba eventually moved to the old Derry and Toms in Kensington, I think (yes; so it seems), and reopened the beautiful roof garden there. Coincidentally, there was an article about Biba in yesterday's NYT.