About this gardening season! This horrible weather has really done a number on my gardening. There was virtually no spring. Ironically, I started my cleanup earlier than ever, when we had a real nice stretch of weather in early March. But that was followed by cold and wet that lasted forever.
I managed to get most of the major stuff done, but not anything close to what I wanted. This was made worse by other obligations that kept me from the garden. So now it's summer - hot and humid. I usually do the very minimum during July and August. I'm not a summer weather person. Plus I have the kids to entertain.
On the flip, the garden continues its maturity, so the weed problem gets better with each passing year. Many perennials and shrubs now extend out to and past the bed edges, really helping the weed problem there. Most of the beds are now grown enough that the good plants crowd out the weeds - the absolute best weed solution. As for the remaining areas - well the invasives are taking care of that. ^_^
The worst area is the pool area. It's just way out of control. Someday...
Anyone else feel that this year has shortchanged them?
I Feel Gypped!
I'm definitely resenting all the rain and cool temps. We've had exactly two "hot" days that I can remember, and those were two freak days in mid May. It doesn't feel like summer at all- just lousy,wet Spring. The thing that has me down the most is that this is ideal climate for slugs, and they got a real jump start on destroying my hosta. I've taken to hunting them at night, but they are present in record numbers this year, I think. It's bad enough that I can't enjoy being outside because of the crappy weather. Now when it finally gets nice, I'll have to look at a bunch of holey hosta leaves, which just makes me crazy.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2009 3:23 PM
I do! We had an unusually cold "winter" here, followed by an unusually early heat wave with no rain, and even though it's July, many plants are still trying their best to recover! Almost no one in my neighborhood has bouganvillea blooming, and it's usually been full of blooms a couple months ago. That's only the beginning of the long list of thinks looking utterly pathetic...I think that 5 months ought to be plenty of time for the plants that survived to bounce back!!! The only things that are truly thriving seem to be the weeds!
Victor, found your new thread and know exactly how you feel about the rain wrecking everything. My garden is most likely much smaller than yours so you have double trouble with that senseless weather. Gardening at my age becomes harder and harder each year, have to rest a lot as where I used be out there all day long. Thinking I am not going to bother next year
Also have to spend lots of money to have the lawn cut within 24 hours it looks as if it had not been tended to at all
Oh, well sorry about the complains but it helps since there is no one here for me to sound off and my Golden could not care less.
Grass needs cutting, of course. good iris bloom before the floods started. DH had to harvest a pumila pod (they are in the ground with no stem) with the seeds still immature. Watering ban signs still up--ha ha. I worry about my pods & the peonies getting bortrytris. Tired of the sounds of falling water. who need a fountain?
When we had that heat wave in May I felt gypped because it shortened the bloom time for my tulips and left a huge gap in between flower bloom times. At least I have flowers blooming now and haven't had rain during the day for the past 4 days.
My hubby is hating this weather, business wise this is our "busy" season but he was actually home all day just doing paperwork, yikes! No $ coming in means I can def not spend a dime on plants.
No need to apologize, Maria! This is the thread for complaining. It's certainly a freaky weather year all over. I hear you on the slugs, nor. It's a banner year for slimy things, and for bugs in general. And fungal diseases. Tough on the edibles so far.
By the way - it just started raining again.
Right now it stopped for the first time today, even managed to get the mail before it starts again
At this point I would not mind watering rather having nature do it. I can water all I want due to an artisan well that hands me 15 gal. a minute plus the rain barrel that 'runneth' over, can't even use it.
Y'all are hogging the rain.
In early June the temps hit 90, in mid June, they were 100, with a heat index of 105.
So I went to Chicago for the last week, and even there it was in the upper 90's.
No rain at all since the very first of June.
So I heard it would cool down this week in my little corner of KY.
It did. Yesterday it was 93.
No rain.
Today is about the same.
There are no slugs, it is too dry.
My daylilies have been blooming since early May and they are still going strong, the blooms are gorgeous, but the foliage is growing brown. What little grass I have is too dry to mow.
Even Creeping Charlie is wilting.
As am I.
So I was thinking if you would all go outside at an appointed moment this evening, and just wave your arms in a southeasterly direction, do a little chant/dance thing, and maybe a smoke signal or two, you might just blow some of that rain in my direction.
I swear, this was the hottest driest June I have ever known. So far, July has shown no differences.
Sigh....
Hi Sharon! Wow - what a difference. We need to trade for a while. (But I don't like high temps.)
Me either, Victor, but I'd probably just be happy with a little rain.
Ah..you too Sharran? It hasn't rained here for some time and everything is turning brown and laying down.
I picked the wrong year to plant new perennials because they now need watering everyday and I don't have the time plus the fact that it is too hot for me to be out there doing much of anything.
The spring was long, cool and wet and did wonders for my spring bloomers but now everything else that should be blooming is a dry hot mess.
Yes, a rain dance would be welcome. Or contact the Northerly wind god to blow some of those rain clouds this way.
JJ, if the wind god sends it to you first, please send it on to me! I have not given up hope, even though my perennials seem to have.....
I can empathize with you about the abundance of rain: this is what many of our "summers" are like in the PNW. It should only rain at night & not more than necessary. Not sure which button to push to accomplish that.
We are hovering at 80° with a fairly substantive breeze. Perhaps if I am lucky, the Tomatoes & Peppers will be able to accomplish something along the lines of growth. Poor things - they're stuck where they're planted, without umbrellas. At least we can seek shelter inside...
The only upside to the rain is that it facilitates weed pulling, and fills the rain barrels.
But i still feel sad for you!
Thanks, Kate. I used to say I would love the Pacific NW. No more!
yes, well I'm not sure where to live anymore, as far as weather is concerned.
Don't want to leave my property with deep well.
The sun-deficit is truly a hindrance to gardening and the rain exacerbates the entire scenario.
I can't remember a worst June, especially one that followed a horrible May, that followed a really bad winter where I couldn't get away. My gardens are green instead of filled with color, & the trees in the backyard have grown so I have no view left. My veggie garden is sad----me too---but the sun is supposed to be shining on July 4th, we are going to a clambake, and I'll see my GKs---have to stay positive!
I have been to many states and I must say WA is on the top of my list for beauty and weather, yes it does drizzle but a lot but no monsoons they way we have here. My friends have absolutely the most beautiful gardens without damaged, broken flowers, shrubs or broken branches from trees. They have hardly any snow but do have icy roads in winter. Also, it is hardly ever humid nor terribly hot. The weather is a lot like in England or Ireland, always green and with the most beautiful flower I have ever seen.
When I visit my friends all I have to do is open the door and there are the Cascades to the east with Mt. Baker close enough you feel you could touch it. Going out another door I see the Canadian Cascades to the north, it takes my breath away.
Perhaps the reason I fell in love with that state is also it reminds me of my Austria
Sounds beautiful, Maria. I look forward to visiting WA one day soon.
We do get monsoons, but not the prolonged type, & usually they happen during the winter & spring. The weather can be quite different from one area to the next. I am east of Seattle in the Cascade foothills & totally exposed to the storms from the southeast during winter/spring, and those from the northwest during summer. Rain shows no mercy: no buffer here in my area!
I don't like the winter here - too icy, and NO insulatory snow blanket for the plants. (I lost way too many plants the past 3 winters.)
I will work outside in drizzle, but where i am, it's usually a steady rain.
Yes, you should visit here, and I need to head out to the NE - I have wanted to do so for the past 25 years.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2009 6:15 PM
I'm with you, Victor. I've always loved the PNW and thought I could live there, but this past month has put the kebosh on that little fantasy.
Katye, I spent most of my visits in the Bellingham area, Summer and Winter.
As per our local news station this morning, "Since May, we've had a total of 8 dry days!"
That's all I can say...
I am in good company...
my garden was ok for awhile until the rain started...
the weeds are out of control,
for the 2nd year the rain has damaged all the roses - see it and cry..... so I have no idea what they look like... some of the brand new dl planted last year are so wet ... everything is wet... and the daysies are filled with water...
tomatoes are growing but nothing yet (well they have not got sun for several days!!!!!!)
and of course the fact that our spring was a bit reluctant to arrive helped the roses for awhile...
now black spot is alllllll over.....
the zuccinis and pumpkins have powdery mildew....
today I killed the first japanese beatlle! I am so not happy....
For Spring we had 20 some days in a row with rain; usually pouring rain with storms...hail and tornados. Then, we had a couple weeks of nice weather. Now, pow, June and we've had early 103 and hotter temps with NO rain. More 100s forecasted and still no rain. There has been a promise of rain but I think we got 2 drips and that is all.
The plants were accustomed to daily drowning drinks and suddenly their cool water supply has not only been cut off but the plants have been subjected to this blistering hot sun. Even the trees are drooping.
Sometimes I wish I lived somewhere else. It is good to see it is not only me. LOL
You know you are in for the flood when the slugs take to high ground. I have picked them off the siding near my kitchen door about 3 feet up!
Get the ark.
Martha
lol...
I didn't know Noah's wife's name was Martha!
LOL
(My reading error, I read, "Get the ark, Martha!) LOL
Hope you think this is funny too; I have a silly sense of humor.
My apologies beforehand if you don't.
^_^
I feel cheated too. As I may have mentioned, I requested a refund on this spring. I am close to a cash settlement.
Watch out for Slugzilla!
I keep expecting to see one of those Northwestern Banana slugs in my yard....
I've finally been successful in getting my citrus trees to bloom and the slugs have found them totally delicious. It's a daily chore at this point to pick them off and salt them into little piles of goo.
I seriously can't keep up with the grass since all I've got is a human powered push mower.
Even the dog doesn't want to go out there since he's got such long fur and it takes forever to dry.
Even the bees are unhappy and stay close or in the hive...
On a more positive note -
we found a salamander living under one of the citrus tree pots....
The deer in the neighborhood have found that balled roses are quite yummy and I haven't had to deadhead the moldy blobs as much as I would have....
My lilies are about 8 feet tall and are blooming despite the weather....
Andrew (the dog) has found that sleeping on rainy days is just fine...
Andrew looks like a Golden from the looks of his belly, lol. I have one too and Samson does not even want to go out anymore when it rains, can you blame him?
First thing in the morning I have seen those slugzilla in WA but what they survived on I have no idea, it was not the flowers nor their foliage.
Am hearing rumble
I have a bad feeling about weather, been complaining for weeks. I have gotten or have:
Slugs Galore - could of fed an army.
Aphids an abundance - could of decorated the worlds tallest building.
Flowers are leggy - they are laid over. You could trip and not get hurt.
Weeds are flourishing, like fleas on an untreated pet.
Tomatoes - yesterday one was starting to rot. We had to take top branches off. In my own opinion they are not right as the suckers and branches I try to take off are not "snapping" right.
Pepper Plants - with all the stuff going on are STRESSED. They all need seditives.
I have been mostly planted since Memorial Day Weekend up to June 6th and have only got to fertilize 2 times. It just came on the news that NH is starting to see LATE BLIGHT and that gardens and farms are starting to ROT. I am complaining, I am not happy as things are not looking positive.
Here I am complaining about my flowers when all that horrid weather is destroying fruits and vegetables many depend on a good harvest for their livelihood. How sad
Hi Maria,
Yes, Andrew is a golden. He's a rescue from Hurricane Katrina or Rita, we are not sure which. I tried to get him outside for a bathroom break this morning, but he heard the thunder and ran right back into the house. He's not a coward by any means, but thunder, lightening and high winds definitely stress him out. I guess he's going to hold it as long as he can today.
He's a pro at the "sad face" and looking pitiful so people will feed him!
Your Sampson is very handsome!
We are going to see my Mom's golden retreiver's litter of 11 puppies tomorrow (he's the proud dad) . They will be 1 week old. I can't wait. Still working on my DH to get to have one....
:)
Deb
Shickenlady - are they manic mushrooms or giant slugzillas?
One cell just past but I hear another one coming, very severe weather with flooding. Poor Samson and me too, there is not much I am afraid of anything but storms like that in the boondocks I do not appreciate. Samson crawls under my legs wanting to hide. I turned everything off but the generator, after losing electricity, turned all on again
Deb, eleven puppies, wow, they are just adorable, my friend's retriever had 8 loved playing with them. Now I understand there is a new mix available called a 'golden doodle' or something like that, don't know if I care for anything were a poodle is involved.
Better turn off everything again, just awful out there.
I'm learning all about slugs and their habits ever since I started hunting them. I've seen them five feet up on the bark of trees. I posted this pic in the hosta forum, but I'll share it here, too. I went out one morning and saw a slug dangling mid air over the Brunnera, I believe he rappeled down a spider's web from a branch on the birch tree overhead.
I just want it to stop raining for a few days so that maybe I can ease up on my slug hunts.
yuk, but a very good photo