Singin' n' Dancin' in the Rain, Finally

     Praise the Lord it is finally raining. From a wet, cool spring to a parched summer, what  a growing season this has been. I have been very busy outside trying to keep my gardens green. It has been a while since I did a garden update so I'll have to back track and bring you up to speed.

     I spent Canada Day, and the following week, at home on the farm with my parents. Well okay, I did so much visiting and poking around the old neighbourhood I didn't actually end up spending a lot of quality time with the folks. You know how it goes.

     I finally got some pictures of my aunt Barb's gardens.

The two "smaller" beds by the garage

The evening I was there visiting

there were so many fireflies in these gardens

I thought she had twinkle lights going

It was awesome

The long bed behind the smaller ones

Some of the highlights

Beautiful hostas by the house

The bed in the yard

Going down to the water

The view from the dock

In the spring that slope is covered in creeping phlox

Impressive

     This was at the start of the heatwave that lasted all of July for me here in Toronto. When I was home I was concerned about my own gardens back in the city and the lack of rain. My aunt Deb piped up "Relax, the roots won't be dead", insert big laugh as only Deb can.

     On my arrival back in the city, my poor plants were flat on the ground desperate for water and it has been a bit of a losing battle ever since. The roots might not be dead but.....

The long view, with far too much brown

     One of the big problems of not enough water is blossom drop. If the plants are struggling, they don't produce any fruit, so I lost an entire picking of just about everything. My peas went from bountiful to burned off, then the beans, the tomatoes, the cucumbers etc etc etc. Watering everyday only goes so far, sandy soil, raised lot, I can't keep enough water on my little 1/100th of an acre.

     That's right, 1/100th of an acre. I had someone ask how much I was gardening to have so much trouble keeping it wet so I measured. My six "spots" total 423 sq feet of garden. An acre is 43,560 sq feet.

     This was a thriving pot of lupin seedlings getting ready to be put in the garden for next year

Now it is just a couple of sprouts

     It hasn't been all bad news. My herbs have never looked better and my flowers are beautiful.

Grandma Fisher's Dahlias just starting

Mini Gladiolus, I have two varieties

They're edible too

A tangle of Morning Glory

Gorgeous Stargazers, and the scent...

More lilies, I think this one was called Meteo

Bronze Dwarf Sunflower

I still want those gigantic 12 foot ones Grandma Craig grows but I can never find seeds

      Although I lost a few things, peas, radishes and all my beans strangely enough, it hasn't been a total loss. I've had about 20 pounds of zucchini and cucumbers. The Swiss chard is thriving. My yellow pear tomatoes are coming by the bucket load, three pints of blackberries and a beet. That's right, a single beet has survived the squirrels and the drought. It better be a good one LOL.

     My biggest disappointment is the beans, green to eat and yellow for pickles. They are normally such great producers for me and almost trouble free. Maybe next year or Mom's ??

     Powdery mildew has also made its appearance but hopefully I'm prepared for it this year. We'll see and that is a whole other post.

     We've had a bit of rain lately, not near enough but it all helps. I'm hoping the rain all day today forecast is true. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

     So how is your garden faring, are you beating the heat?

     Thanks for dropping by.