Playing chicken with the weather

So far, old mattress covers, bedsheets, and towels have been saving the outdoor plants in pots, even tomatos. Those in the ground are left to survive as best they can. The outdoor potted plants have intertwined their roots and their growth so much that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to move most of them indoors, even if there were room to do so. The truly tender have been indoors for about a week now, and we're not counting nasturtiums, chiles, milkweed, or many others as "tender." The clockvine on the fence has joined the hyacinth bean monstrostity in being nearly withered away from the cold so far. We have flirted with frosts and even with frosts that, had they lasted for an extended period, would have been killing frosts, but so far not even the St. Augustine has gone dormant, remaining green, although I wouldn't say it's been growing.