Late Summer Ramblings...

      ...It is a gorgeous day here in Ohio, and we are rapidly approaching the unofficial end of summer and the Labor Day weekend.  It has been a strange summer with such excessive heat and drought conditions.  Looking at many of the trees in the area I can see that the loss will be great.  There are a lot of half-dead trees and some of the young trees that were planted in the spring did not survive.  Last winter was a nearly snowless one with mild temperatures.  I knew those conditions would cost us here in Ohio.  We need that moisture from the snows.  Lots of people were thrilled at not having to shovel snow and struggle through the cold and snowy conditions all winter, but it cost us dearly in the end.  Though we have had some respite with rains finally in early August, it has proven to be too little too late in many cases.  When the rains came they were accompanied with severe lightning and brief torrential rains that ran off the topsoil sending it down the roads into the sewers.  The ground was too sun-baked to absorb the water.  Lately I have seen a lot of established homes drilling new wells.  Obviously that said their wells had gone dry.  I have been blessed to not have to tap a new well. 

        The battle with the weeds has been a huge one this summer Weeds seem to survive when other more desirable plants struggle to hang on even when they are carefully watered.  I learned a long time ago to switch many of my favorite herbs to containers during hot dry summers. When the sun becomes too much for some of the herbs I can move them to shady areas to take the heat off and to give them some relief.  Using saucers under the pots helps to hold some of the moisture below where the roots can draw water through the bottom of the pot helps the situation a bit.  Using more drought tolerant herbs kept my garden areas looking better as well.  This was really a good summer for lavender.  Go figure!  But then, lavender likes hot humid weather.  I was blessed with an abundance of blooms several times over, a pleasant reward in spite of a hot summer.  Usually I get a crop of lavender in June and a small batch of harvest in late fall when it is time to cut back the plants for winter.  As far as I am concerned, one can never have enough lavender.  I can hardly wait to cut them back this year.  The yield for making wreaths will be exciting.  Though they got a bit of a slow start, I have a lot of basil cranking out lots of fragrant leaves for teas and pesto creations.

      To my great disappointment all the sunflowers I had started dried up before they could flower.  I see other people sporting huge sunflowers by now and I am envious of their crops.  I'm really glad that I moved my little birdbath.  The golden finches have found the water, and I see them from my kitchen window drinking from it and occasionally splashing in it.  All summer I have tried to keep small troughs and bowls of water around the garden areas filled. I have watched the bees and even wasps pausing for a quick drink.  Though I don't care to encourage the wasps around the house, I do appreciate that all of creation needs water.  I'm sure that is the reason for the chipmunks coming so closely to my kitchen door.  Looking at the selective leanness of my garden areas I truly can appreciate that less is more.  Embracing that Japanese mindset I am not afraid of open space.  It allows one to appreciate the selections that are there, uncrowded by too many varieties of plants.  This is a good year for replenishing of plants.  This is a good year for replenishing the soils and for mulching.  the Farmer's Almanac is calling for plenty of snow this winter, so protecting the roots of the plants that survived the drought will be paramount. 
      Since it has taken me two days to write this blog entry, let me just say it is raining today.  It is the kind of rain we need, a gentle, consistent rain that will give the parched ground a chance to absorb the moisture.  It is a gardener's rain, a light rain that allows persistent gardeners to work in the garden under rain gear to transfer plants from pots to garden at a good time for the plant's success.  A little we garden therapy goes a long way with me.  I guess I needed watered, too...