This past week started out great for gardening, and then the rains hit. I was able to get outside for some gardening, but the humidity came back with a vengeance which did not make for a fun outdoor experience. My gardens did need a little rain, but this has been overkill, and more is in the forecast. In fact, in looking at the week ahead, (if they are correct) they are predicting over a half inch of rain every day with thunderstorms! I hope your soils are well-drained, or your plants may be swimming. With storms also comes some damage occasionally. I had a couple of limbs drop onto my garden from one wind event this week.
Luckily it only broke a few small branches on underlying plants, so not bad.
I finally had to break down and turn on my sprinkler system a couple of weeks ago, and lo and behold, another burst pipe. This one had to be the result of a stake in the yard to hold Christmas decorations.
Who would have thought? There was no sprinkler head anywhere near where I had a gusher, and Matt found a huge whole in the pipe when he dug it up. If you need a great sprinkler guy, call Matt Collins.
He was a little slow to respond this time, but he lost his phone with all his contacts, so if you thought you had left him a message, he didn't get it. He has a new phone and is prompt and reliable. He knows his stuff. My sprinkler is now working, and the monsoon season is here!
My gardens are growing quite nicely. I have a few new beds where the plants look a tad anemic, so I assume the new soil needs to catch up. I am harvesting blueberries, lettuce,
kale, mixed salad greens, garlic, and peas now. I should have some squash
and peppers this week, and my last broccoli is coming on strong. I do love going out to the garden to harvest whatever herbs I need. My cilantro is bolting quickly so I will have to start buying it again soon.
I am letting some of it go to seed to hopefully self-sow.
My gardenias have started blooming
and to add to their fragrance I have some blooms on my Confederate jasmine
that is slowly rebounding from winter damage. My Little Gem magnolia that Master Gardeners in Magnolia gave me many years ago is in full bloom
and fragrant as well. This was a 3-4 foot plant when they gave it to me. Look at it now!
I also have blooms on my sweet bay magnolia.
The garden is coming along nicely.
My summer annuals are filling in (notice a few pansies are lingering!)
and the summer perennials are putting on a show.
Randy would be surprised that I planted a yellow butterfly weed instead of orange, but it is lovely. I also planted 2 of the EveryDaylily varieties
that I talked about at the River Valley Nursery talk.
They are supposed to be as long blooming as the Stella d'or daylily, but with some lovely new colors. I had a black-eyed Stella that was huge, so I dug it up and divided it
and replanted part, and will share the rest with UAMS. My containers are doing great on the deck and I am loving all the color.
The only benefit to all this rain, is I haven't had to water too often. Get outside and garden around the rain this week, and enjoy your last week of May. Time is flying by in spite of our social distancing and fluent calendars.