- Author: Betsy Buxton
Trying to find an uplifting gardening thought is rather hard around here. Being constantly feeling under attack by fires, outside temperatures of 100 degrees or more PLUS the constant smoke in the air, can really wipe out any and all enthusiasm for being outside in the garden! Mask or no mask, breathing gets a little “close” out there. However, there are still things to do for the garden-to-be next season!
Getting a lot (and I mean up to 15 per day) gardening catalogs can take the better part of an afternoon; I mean, after all, the companies sent them to you – you should read them, right? Picking out the latest “must-haves” entails not only the plants but the new garden AND the new acreage on which to plant said goodies. Right now, I'm drooling over the latest daylilies to get and where I can put them and what plants are there now that have to be moved or discarded. These are the decisions why I don't go to bed early anymore.
And ferns!! Due to a “minor detail” of the weather last month, I lost the lovely ferns that I planted when I did my one side yard during the week that we had spring. They are toasted even though I checked before purchasing them at the last Arboretum sale. They looked wonderful in the shadiest places in the large bed, but several weeks of 113 + degrees, they are toasted! The same with the Japanese anemones; the same with the Astilbes that replaced the anemones; the only plants that are doing well right in that shade are the Italian Arums, which are basically weeds to me. Frustrating, indeed!
Some of the sun-loving sages have also kicked the well-known bucket rather unexpectedly – but such is the life of the gardener in these times!
Actually, I'm downright happy to be one of the “helping hands” rather than having to be the recipient of “helping hands”. Let's all do our best to help those who have really been impacted by the virus, the fires, and have had to go through the heat without air conditioning! There, I feel much better already!