Just to let you know, there’s nothing nice in this post. A few flowers, but mostly a miniseries of complaints and disappointments and all the bumps in the road which gardeners imagine won’t happen this year, but then happen. I guess the most obvious place to start is with the smoke. It was noticeable earlier in the week, eerily oppressive mid week, and then apocalyptically thick yesterday. The smell of smoke was everywhere, and I can only imagine how it’s like closer to the source. My thoughts go out to the firefighters and residents who are out of homes and in fear of their safety and wondering when they’ll get a reprieve.
About four in the afternoon, looking out beyond the berm towards the industrial park. Visibility is less than a mile.
Fortunately, although the woods are dry and a good wind has been blowing, local brushfires have been relatively quiet. About a week ago we had a half inch of rain, which was enough to take the most desperate edge off for a few plants, but of course it’s nothing close to what we need. I think for May this area came in as the driest May since 1901 and the soil is already taking on that deep-dry that usually doesn’t set in until August.
The front yard isn’t a desert (yet) but most of the lawn is crispy and I’m not even going to bother planting annuals. Maybe it’s a good year to open things up and create some mulch patches.
Earth moving is now on pause due to rock-hard conditions. It was hard enough working through the rocky-compacted-subsoil before, but once it dries to the concrete stage even I have second thoughts.
The weeds were thrilled with the brief shower we had and perked right up. It’s a sad year when you end up relying on crabgrass, mullein, and oxeye daisies for a garden high point.
Most of my plants know they’re somewhat on their own in the dry. I hate watering and only do it as triage to keep the most desperate treasures alive, and it takes a real dramatic shriveling, dry look to guilt me into attempting a save. Usually it’s just in time, but I’m afraid our one rain event tricked me into thinking I could take a couple days off. As a result there’s a good chance I lost two newer dogwoods, a couple struggling rhododendrons, a witch hazel or two, and a few seedling pots. I’m sad about it all but only really upset about the one dogwood. It was a special gift, can’t easily be replaced, and I suspect when the dust of this season clears it will bother me even more.
Maybe a just in time watering saved this witch hazel for another few days. Maybe. There are long, likely-dry, hot months ahead and I don’t expect this missed watering to be the last.
Dry weather is nothing new, even if it comes at a time of year which is normally the most perfect gardening time of the year, but this year it’s on top of one of the latest freezes ever, and the garden is still trying to move on from that. Browned new foliage is still trying to grow out on magnolias and willows, only to advance right into wilting stage due to the lack of water.
I was so excited to see flower buds all over the rambling rose ‘Wartburg’. Its clusters of pink roses should look nice with the first flowers of the clematis ‘Venosa Violacea’… until they didn’t… I only just realized that this whole side of the rose is more exposed and was likely more damaged by the cold. I’m seeing stunted roses on some of the other bushes and of course am hoping that next year they’re perfect again.
The freeze damage could also be worse, and up in the mountains it was. The beech forests were really hit hard, worse than I suspected even just a few days ago. Patches along the road are all browned and whole trees have their new foliage burnt. That’s annoying, but not really as bad as it looks. The trees will recover if not for the other thing going on. I’m seeing large swaths of beech forest infected by Beech Leaf Disease… much much more than last year and it looks severe on a few trees. Beech trees are a big part of the canopy in some areas and with a six to ten year fatality I’m not looking forward to adding stands of dead beech trunks to the dead ash trees from borers and the bleached oak skeletons from prior spongy moth (gypsy month) infestations. The forest needed a break, not a new pestilence.
Plants in waiting on the driveway. There’s a backlog in moving things out into the soil of the rock-hard garden and that’s probably a good thing, since they’re likely better off here. The amaryllis are definitely happy here!
Did I mention it’s also cold? Normally Canadian air brings bright blue skies and cooler weather, but it was in the 40’s the other morning and that’s terrible to have the week after you open the pool(which of course has a leak on top of everything else). I was digging tulips in a sweatshirt rather bathing suit and thats not normal.
See? I promised a post full of complaints, and I believe I’ve delivered. Everything seem to be going in the wrong direction without an end in sight, and I guess I should be more miserable but I’m not. Bulb trays have been built, tulip are being dug, and I’ve fallen back to the potager, daylily farm, and anything the drip irrigation lines can be hooked up to. The deck containers look nice, a few day lilies are sending up bloom scapes, and I spent twenty minutes this evening watching baby bunnies nibble weeds and chase each other around the lawn. Spring still has a few good things tucked up her sleeve and as long as I can putter in safety I’m grateful. All the best.
sorta like suburbia 
Well, you ended that on the right note. But I’m right there with you with all the complaints. It does seem to be a plague year. But it’s not over yet.
You liked the part about the baby bunnies, didn’t you 😉
On a plus note most of the colchicums seemed to have grown very well this spring. I’ll need to dig a few and spread them even further!
You have certainly put our weather problems into perspective, they are nowhere near as bad as yours. We as gardeners are having to change how we garden, it won’t be easy but we’ll get there in the end. We have seen the Canadian fires on our news and can only hope that the people are ok.
Two days later and the air has cleared considerably. I believe the clouds and haze today are just that, and not because of raging fire. It will be a good day to look around and reconsider anything not happy with its lot in life here.
These wild fires are horrific; the smoke looks awful, like scenes from the apocalypse. And then add drought into the mix with cold weather, following a freeze. I wouldn’t expect a nice post. Good luck with your garden, enjoy the nice bits.
Thanks, and I believe even with all this, my work-load is still lighter than yours! Best of luck
Not any more, I have moved to a much smaller garden. I had the fun of creating it, but now I find myself prowling around looking for jobs to do .
None of us is going to take your comments amiss. We only have light smoke effect here and it’s hard to even tell due to the clouds of dust thrown up by the road crew digging up my front garden. Fire warnings this week which is astounding for June. Last week we hit 90 degrees and this weekend the highs are forecast to be in the 60s. Trying to enjoy the things that are doing well and keeping the unplanted things watered. Like you, not how I envisioned spring.
We carry on, don’t we? Fortunately our livelihoods don’t rely directly on if we can get the beans planted and watered, or if the freeze wiped out our strawberries. It’s just wilted leaves, smoke and annoying dust, and hopefully there will be a change soon. Good thing this isn’t the year of major garden tours!
Yes, it has been a rather challenging spring, weather-wise. Nights in the 40s in June…what?
Everything I’ve planted so far in the annual bed is pretty much at standstill. Unless it warms up (but I don’t mean scorching please) things will barely make it to flowering before August!
Luckily, the smoke is clearing to the south. I am visiting NYC and today is a huge improvement over yesterday. Envision a nice gentle, cleansing rain!
I just checked our ten day forecast and it’s looking more promising for both warmth and a chance of precipitation. I don’t see the three day gentle rain which we need, but at least there’s hope for a water-hose free day or two.
Hope you are enjoying your NY visit! At least the temperature is excellent for bumming around the city 🙂
It worked out perfectly, yesterday the particulates mandated a mask all day, walked the High Line (awesome) and today went to NYBG, which is a nice spot. The highlight was the rose garden, even for one who doesn’t love roses. The glass houses are great. But I think the best time to visit is late April/early May for the crabapples, daffs and azaleas.
Keep on puttering Frank, and I’ll do a raindance for you as well! Dry here, and hot but not too hot yet. Doesn’t bode well for July and August though with hardly any rain in sight. Hope things improve soon – both weather and air quality.
Things are more promising today, thanks for the raindance! We had a brief shower last night and at least the dust and some of the pollen has been rinsed away. Maybe this is the break we’ve been waiting for and gentle rains will soon be headed to all our gardens… and then I’ll complain about lawn mowing 😉
I just wrote a long comment and somehow deleted it before posting. Maybe that was the the right thing to happen because it ended on a sour thought, as much the same as you have written is going on here. Better yet… let us hope that better weathers will prevail.