Does cool weather affect the scent of flowers-it makes sense that it would-perfume smells stronger on a human in warm weather...
But the dead stuff is dead because the chemistry of the native soil will leach into any soil you bring, even if it is from a rain forest. People from the city just refuse to believe that, and plant a fortune in non-native stuff-it makes awfully expensive mulch...
There is solid limestone under the soil here, and the soil is very thin and has an alkaline ph-only native plants and trees can thrive in it for the most part-nearly everything else is wilted and dead within a couple years, but for natives and plants cultivated to be well adapted-like those healthy looking climbing roses...
I cut most of the front yard. Both mowers started. So I guess the “Stabil” additive did its job for winter storage.