What's the weather like at your place?

I can't believe what is happening to our weather! We returned Saturday from Kure Beach in NC where it was a balmy, sunny 82 to all this wet! I wanted to begin potting up stuff for the swap and my yard is a swamp! Well, not quite, but it's sure wet. I just heard on the weather channel it snowing in Altoona PA. Right now,here in Laurel, it pouring rain and it's in the 40's. Not good for a gardener who is already in withdrawal being away from her garden for over a week. They say it will be 70 tomorrow. I hope.

We had very high winds yesterday, it ripped off a lot of maple leaves, they are all over the beds. I want to start hardening off some plants but afraid the winds will kick up again and I won't be home to bring the plants back in.
Also rain and chilly but that is not unusual for my area.

wyldeflwr- I'm close to you so you know what my weather is like- the same.
I have a big metal tub in the garden with at least 5 inches of rain since this started about five days ago. I was relieved to see the babies I have out are coping OK with this. I did bring Plumie and Adenium inside.

School delayed two hrs due to possible local flooding- Yay -( local flooding here is rarely life or even injury threatening, just puts the traffic over the edge)

We are having cool rain as well. It has backed off some now, but it was a torrent in the night. The winds have died off as well. They were a terror all day yesterday and continued until the early morning. I haven't been out to check and see how everything has fared, but I think most of my new plantings are holding up, if a bit flattened by the wash. My seeds that have not yet sprouted though....perhaps they are at the bottom of my hill now. :(

Rain and wind toppled my angels last night.

I was jsut thinking when I got up this morning, "I wonder how much of my garden is going to drown.

Well, come summer, we'll all want rain: however, water is easier to add than to take away.

Blessings on your garden,
Elf

Very little rain here (.04") and very windy, gusts 40 mph. The few irises that have opened are taking it surprisingly well. I planted a bunch of hostas yesterday so I was hoping for more rain. Now I gotta drag the hose over there.

It started raining when we left the Mother's day brunch and hasn't stopped since - my planter full of roses toppled over last nite - we had some serious wind gusts - I am hoping this will stop and soon :-)

It's been raining here since Friday night, thunderstorms and downpours and then drizzle and then more thunderstorms and downpours. I got completely drenched yesterday getting groceries into the house.

I'm sure there are trees down somewhere because we've had brief power blips for the past couple of days, never for long thank goodness. Not from wind necessarily, it's just that the soil is so thin on the mountains, when the ground gets soaked trees aren't rooted in deeply enough not to topple.

I'm ready for some sun.

just seems weird that we can have such buckets in MD and VA and .04 inches in PA. Will I ever win the battle of trying not to apply logic and probability to things that don't follow the rules?

Guess that depends on which part of PA you are talking about. We didn't all get .04", some of us got over 1", perhaps 2-3 with flash flooding, when it is all said and done. So maybe your logic isn't so bad after all.

I just looked at the radar a little while ago and looks like the rain is finally passing us by but is still over you all to the east, northeast and southeast of here, especially around all of the other Northern Virginia, DC and a big section of eastern Maryland. I'm seeing a lot of areas in PA that are getting rain right now too.

I am sick of the rain as well......Seems the days I work--are all sunny and dry. The days I am off--are a soggy, cool and rainy.

My yard is all wet--when i walk outside on my lawn--it squishes in some places. Heard the forecast for tonight--38*-40*-something.....Scary! I still have all my seeded plants and flowers outside in pots and cell-packs. They have been outside for quite a while now--but it is getting to be a bit too long.....Sure hope i won't lose any of them.

Went out this evening and covered all the exposed flats and pots with some old sheets.
Last night's winds broke off half of the growing tip on one of my Brugmansias. BUMMER!
I stripped the big leaves off of it and stuck it in some dirt----all 2" of it. Hey! Who knows?

I can't even walk near my Tomato bed, as it is in an area where water drains towards the County Sewer Drain. It is always soggy wet when it rains like this. NOT so much the bed--but the soil along the side of it. There is, like, a French drain (gravel) underneath the ground just outside the bed.....It is a WET bed if it rains a lot.....Hope the Tomatoes appreciate it!

Tomorrow, a lady friend and I are going plant shopping to MD Flower and Foliage. That's all I need--more plants to buy when i cannot get to planting them---but-I don't want to miss having them (Persian Shield--for one)--and many of the premium Annuals for $2.50. --a lot of bedding plants....some Geraniums....etc....I will see what they have.....

Because of my stupid Maples--I cannot just buy plants and dig a hole and plant them! I have to struggle to try to loosen the soil up a bit and maybe amend it with some leaves from last fall, even if all I can dig down to is a few inches. Then I have to install the plastic rabbit fencing all around the beds--or lose what I have spent money on.

I have only seen a couple of rabbits here--but they are hungry! Chewed all the growing tips off of all my Rudbeckias!
It is the squirrels that kill me! They want to dig into everything--toppling pots and cell packs and everything else.....I try to cover them with the same green, plastic mesh-fencing, but if I leave anything exposed--it is trashed! All this because they HAVE TO dig holes in anything they can to "look for" or to bury nuts and acorns and such. I really don't think they remember WHERE they burried anything last week----they just go digging and digging and digging.....sort of a natural Lawn aeration....:o)

Wish I had the stamina I used to have to haul all day--but I do not. I work about 4 hrs. out there non-stop, and that is about it! Old age DOES slow you down.....and my knees cannot take it.

Happily--I am on fairly high ground, so no "lakes" or "ponds" on my property! The rain gets absorbed fairly quickly by the trees and the lush grass......

WHAT happened to Spring????????

Gita

Well, I'll tell you how the weather is here: bright, sunny and 70 degrees. Perfect gardening weather-- and I have to be stuck inside at work! And tomorrow, when I'll be off, they're predicting an afternoon of wind and thinderstorms. Grrr... I feel your pain, Gitagal!

And--YEAH!!!! Every day I have off from work, it has been raining. NOT fair!

The temps are all great right now--I just can't get any planting done! There is a 'time-frame" for all this, so It better stop raining!

Gita

I am really going to appreciate this rain when it finally stops. Remember, we were on the drought watch last year.

Yes...yes.....I know! But does it all have to come down in one week????
Here I am off again, for the better part of the day, and it is raining again!

I guess I should be grateful for what we receive......as there WILL be days we will all be praying for rain!

Gita

Planted my garden finally yesterday...it was nice out. Started out cold but was nice....now it's raining....again

Gita,

I find it depressing when it keeps raining, but there is the silver lining of having enough rain, and not feeling guilty about having to water your garden. I try to balance that with the increase in slugs that have eaten the leaves of every seedling that I have planted this year. ( voice getting louder with each word said through clenched teeth).

Oh well. At least my worms are happy.

pennefeather....you are so funny! LOL....but I am sorry about your slugs but I know how you feel. One slithered in my living room somehow and then there was one on the door handle. ISH. I read they won't cross copper so I think I am going to get some copper thresholds and maybe find some way to put copper around my plants

Audra,

Buy dsome Diatomaceous Soil. It is made up of minute crystals of Silica and slugs will not crawl over it as they get all cut up. I know that Lowes sells it where all the garden stuff is.
Maybe a 4ib bag???? $6 or $7???

To us it may seem just like sand--but will last wherever you put it. I have also heard that ground up egg shells work for the same reason. Slugs underbellies are very soft---and they don't like sharp things....

Another genius idea--at least by your steps. I would not do this in your beds--but sprinkle some salt down. They go over that--and they are GONE! Big melt-down.....

Gita

Gita,

Would the diatomaceous earth hurt the catepillars as well? Most of my garden is a devoted to growing plants for butterflies and hummingbirds. I am consider getting some Escargo from Gardens Alive, but if the DE is safe, I could save a lot of money.

penne--I really don't know. I think the slugs get slashed up because they are all "jelly"....Caterpillars are more solid--no?

I am just guessing here.....I supposed it will have information on the back of the bag.....

Sorry! Gita

The DE works to kill ants and they have pretty hard bodies, so I think it would probably kill caterpillars. It's actually fossilized plankton or something like that. It feels soft to us, but to the bugs it's like walking on razor blades because of the tiny sharp edges.

Thanks, Gita!

I will buy some and definitely put it around the border of my garden. Keep those slugs off of my lettuce, spinach and strawberries.

That is some really great advice! I LOVE my wonderful gardening friends at DG.

its cool here today, was really windy too ;)

I am tired of it raining on the weekends. I really would love a nice warm few days to get out and pull weeds. I hate walking on my flower beds when they are wet! Was supposed to be hitting Sun Nursery tomorrow with my mom (hi mom!) but it is going to be raining. I am not complaining about the rain for sure because I see these places that are so drought stricken and on fire and since I live in the woods in a log house the last thing I ever want to see is drought and fire!

in the woods in a log house. That sounds so cozy and peaceful. Do you have any piks? I'd love to see it. How far are you from Baltimore area?

Idy--
I feel the same way! I work at HD--right now, 4 partial days a week. Doing Sunday AM in the garden as a favor to my Manager--because I know a lot about gardening......
I so look forward to my days off to plug away at getting my Garden planted. Then, when i am off--it is always raining.
Today was not raining--but the wind blew all kinds of things over and broke off some big leaves from my Brugmansia. Toppled one of my older X-mas cactuses off the plant stand too. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Gita

We are about 25 minutes (depending on the traffic) from downtown Baltimore. Once you hit our gravel lane though, you wouldn't know you were anywhere near anything!

Gita I haven't put my house plants out yet! I was going to and then it dipped back into the low 40's. We got up one morning and it was 37 out! I decided to wait a while yet to put them all out. I put my hibiscus out too soon last year and one of the cold snaps stripped it of every single leaf, I thought it was a goner. It has since come back but doesn't have as much variegation on the leaves now ...

Idy--

Love your secluded house!!!! so nice.....

Thanks Gita! It is so peaceful here, most days it is easy to forget that there is anyone around. I drive my mil crazy because we don't use blinds or curtains for most of the windows. I mean who is going to peek in the deer or the raccoon lol! We are surrounded by woods on all sides so I don't worry too much about neighbors, plus I have an alarm system, her name is Zoe lol...

It got so dark and rained so hard earlier that I had to turn lights on in the house to see! I like the rain but can't we have a warm rain please...

I just lost a whole nest of five baby bluebirds because of this &**%&&^& weather!!!

It's too cold and too wet for them to find food. I tossed the nest and guess we'll try again.

I don't even want to tell you what kinds of things I'm thinking right now. :-(

That's awful :-(

So sad. Maybe the weather will take a turn for the better now. I sure do hope so. My yard is squishy.

I'm predicting beautiful weather and flowers after Memorial Day. That's our reward to all the rain.

I know- I'l go plant some spinach. That is a sure way to get the weather to turn HOT

It's lovely here, the ground is still wet in most places in my flower beds. I had to go around and empty the water out of the flower pots so they don't drown! Now if it would just stay like this a while!

Idy.....I'd be scared that big foot would be looking back at me when I looked out. I just get freaked that I can't see out and someone else could see in.

When we lived in Illinois, no one lived around us, but my dad and I would close the blinds even though my mom wanted them open.

that's funny, big foot lol... I just think of the deer looking up at the light and thinking "wonder why the sun shines in there?"

So do you ever sleep with the windows open? We have been I love hearing all the night sounds and nothing better then smelling the roses that are growing right outside my bedroom window at night....

AHHH! Yes! The weather is near perfect right now! A bit cooler in the evening and night--and, yes! I am also sleeping with the window half open--right next to my bed.

I am in the last couple of days of finishing things up in my Garden. Of course, we ALL know that there is NO end--but I will relax more when i can say my beds are all planted and mulched, etc.....

By the end of this week for sure!!!! Can't wait! My house is in shambles--but, you know, we ALL know what out priorities are this time of year!

I am HERE--because I am taking a break and having a cold beer. Then--back outside--anf then--to work at 3PM-10PM. YUK!

Gita

A trio of my "Sweet Surrender" Rose for you. talk about fragrant!!!!!!!

LOVE my Roses this time of year! They will never again be as beautiful. The next bloom-wave will be fodder for the Japanese Beetles, and the last--if the Roses survive the Blackspot Fungus--will be just so-so.....

Greetings Gita!

And al of this rain!

Black spot everywhere, and I even pre-treated.

I have a little Mary Rose Rose, and she was so lovely this spring. In fact, the day before yesterday, seh was lovely. I walked out this morning to water my baskets, and she looks just awful!

The blooms are gone, so all that is left are the spotty leaves. Beatles are on the way. I sure hope she makes it through the summer. The roses got a really early start on the black spot and fungus this year.

On the other hand- the knock outs are still lovely! The individual blooms are nothing to sing about-- but they are still a mass of beautiful color.

And they don't get sick!

I still don't have everythinbg in from the swap. Maybe tomorrow. It's really long hours to close out a school year. Teachers regularly put in 12-15 hour days in June, and all I want is to be in the garden!

Blessings on your garden,
Elf