We haven’t any measurable precipitation in our part of Virginia for several weeks now — since July 4, to be exact. Consequently, it’s really dry around these parts.
Trees are dropping leaves at a furious rate, without even bothering to change colors first.
Lawns are going dormant early.
Flowers have long since stopped blooming and died.
Bushes are wilted and drooping and some have gone to the Great Garden in the Sky.
I could have watered everything in my yard, but opted not to, as I don’t want to waste the water on annuals and perennials that are going to croak in another month or two anyway. When we went on vacation, a neighbor offered to water my potted plants and I told her not to bother.
I am still watering our kitchen garden, mostly because I’m trying to coax as many tomatoes from my plants as I can, as well harvest as much basil as is agriculturally possible before the first frost comes in October.
The end of summer is generally not a great time of year for gardeners, but even more so in times of drought.
I had such high hopes back in April and May. I planted and weeded and mulched and trimmed and raked, just like a sorority girl getting ready for a Saturday night out with her friends. Now, a few months later, it’s like Sunday morning when the sorority girl does her walk of shame back to her dorm room. Her makeup isn’t so fresh, her hair isn’t so shiny, and her clothes aren’t so clean. My garden is just as frowsy and rough looking.
Yesterday, i went around the yard and started preparing it for fall and winter. I raked leaves onto the grass so they can be cut the next time Pete mows. I pulled some weeds, but even those have mostly given up and died for lack of water. I started ripping out annuals from my pots and planters and stored them away until next spring. Several bushes I planted in the spring, in spite of the soaker hose I wound around their bases and turned on every days, so I pulled the dead shrubs out.
It seems a bit odd to be raking leaves in late August, but the weather hasn’t been so hot lately, so I could pretend that fall is nigh, even though we really won’t get true fall weather for another six weeks.
Surprisingly, I’m not at all sad by all the dying plants around me, even though I have put hundreds of hours into my gardens over the past nine years. I’m really excited about our move and having the opportunity to landscape the new yard from scratch. If we get some rain in the next couple of months, I hope to start putting in a few bushes and possibly even start a wee apple orchard. Our builder knows that I’m chomping at the bit to get started and told me recently that I’m free to plant anywhere except in a 10′ perimeter around the foundation.
So today, I WON’T be outside puttering around in my gardens. I’ll check my tomato plants for ripe ones, but will otherwise find other projects to keep me busy and out of trouble. The girls and I are working on a sewing project, which has us at the kitchen table, surrounded by piles of supplies.
Have a peaceful Sunday.
Yeah…not a gardener. As long as it is vaguely green I am happy. Though like you I do like to grow basil, which has to be indoors here.
So whatcha sewing?
Sewing sounds fun. I may start sewing my own clothes again — that’s how much I hate shopping for clothes.
I’ve planted some last summer/fall things in my wee little garden plots. I’ve been watering them with dishwater. But yeah, the bright side — it’s been a tough summer for weeds! And it’s not like the yard needs mowing.
*late* summer
Enjoy the tomatoes.
I only planted basil this year and so far it’s ok. The rest of the yard and flowers I have given up. I can water all the time trying to save it, but the bills are $150/mo and I feel terrible wasting the water for just my yard and flowers.
When we built our house in MA I was so excited to have room for a big veggie garden, but it was so much work for such a short growing season up there.
I always wished for a heated greenhouse, where I could have fresh stuff year round.
We haven’t done anything in FL yet, because we are still renters. I may do some in big pots next year.
Are your girls using a sewing machine yet?
I’m just like you–the rest of my garden is going to hell in a handbasket, but I’m babying the veg.
It’s the same here. My maple is turning red.
Do they do any xeriscaping in VA? Probably not because I’m guessing you normally don’t have a problem with rain fall. Here, though, we don’t get much rain and all yards are irrigated in a several times a week basis. The newer trend, though, is xeriscaping ~ it’s supposed to be a better fit with the lack of rain we get and work with the soil well… I wonder if it would work in VA?
Noooooooo you can’t say this! My growing season is so short as it is (really – less than 100 days. We had a hard hard frost June 6th. And we’ll probably get the next one in a week or so.) I baby everything except the lawn. Hubby wanted a football field, he gets to deal with it – which means nothing gets done to it. But my plants are almost all herbs and veggies with a few columbine and mini-dahlias thrown in.
This is the time of vigilance. I have a stack of old sheets near the back door ready for the frost predictions. Must fight the good fight.
Over the weekend I made about 6 quarts of cherry/chokecherry syrup, a gallon of chicken stock, and more pesto than we’ll ever use. And I still have a gallon of cherries, almost 2 gallons of chokecherries, a sack full of basil, 2 huge bags of apples, and another couple gallons of stock to deal with. And my beans are acting like rabbits, but in a good way. I love this time of year.
And we’re all dying to hear about the sewing project. (If I hadn’t had so much cooking to do I would have abandoned it all to go work on some quilts. It’s also THAT time of year.)
Mine are looking surprisingly well for this time of year. But we only had three days of 100 degrees instead of the usual three weeks – HUGE difference.