Re: strange gardening year

I agree, the weather has been odd the entire growing season, at least in
my area. Here in SW OH (was z5, now called z6), the weather is inclined
to have "mood swings" more than seasons. Spring is mostly wintery, with
cold rain and probably one last snow in April, and multiple thaws and
freezes that heave plants out of the ground if you're not careful.
Summer comes on suddenly, hot and very humid, and it seems that spring
is cut short, because the pleasant, sunny and mild days of spring are
few. Autumn arrives more or less the second half of September, and the
cold comes on in short bursts until the second half of October, when the
chill normally settles in to stay. Thanksgiving is usually too warm for
me to build a fire in the fireplace without driving the family out of
the house. From November through December, we have a lot of cold rain,
alternating with days that could pass for the most welcome part of fall.
I recall many Christmases that were sunny and warm, and all one need do
to go outside in comfort was throw on a light jacket! There's always the
possibility, from November on, of freezing rain. Our steadiest winter
weather--cold and snow--typically arrives in January, but doesn't hold
sway long. By February, we're seeing cold rain or freezing rain again,
and there are even days warm enough that I'll put on a heavy sweater and
go out to work in the garden.


What's been weird about this year so far is that we're having distinct seasons!  <LOL!>

That, and we had a comparatively mild summer with lots of rain. Yes, the
weeds loved the extra moisture even more than I loved how little I had
to water <s>. I swear I have never had more weeds to pull, and I don't
know if I'm going to catch up before it is too cold out there for my
bare hands. Especially notable this summer were the number of volunteer
trees that came up where they weren't wanted. I've had maples, mulberry,
and sumac popping up in every corner of the garden. Oh, yeah, I also had
volunteer CORN in my flowerbeds! First time for that!


Wendy

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