Re: watering and dealing with the heat
- Subject: Re: watering and dealing with the heat
- From: E*@aol.com
- Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 15:53:28 EDT
In a message dated 8/15/02 1:15:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
bhayes@catskill.net writes:
<< p< So - what is your favorite way to deliver water to your garden? >
By carrying plastic water cans to the container plants after the sun goes
down. No hoses here, we have well water. If things get really desparate we
have to pump water from the pond. During the three years in a row that were
so dry we lost plants, pernennial plants, plants that actually did not
survive we learned to leave the garden alone. If it does not survive, it is
better if we do. The work of getting water to a large garden is more than
one or two persons can manage.
Some simply go dormant very early and return the following spring, some
actually die. Nearly all of the ornamentals are not native to our part of the
country so I am not surprised when one does not want to live.
Astilbe here in dry weather does not die, but it does not bloom. Heuchera is
surprisingly drought proof, pulmonaria also. There are a whole bunch of
perennials that while not looking good just now, will be OK next spring.
With the woody plants, you sometimes lose them the following spring and
wonder why. Three solid years of drought here, the last three of the 90's,
was a sobering session for gardener. Isabelle is right, I do not remember
coming home from work and watering gardens. It was weekend pleasure. The
last ten years have seen these rainless summers.
It does not seem fair that parts of Asia and Europe are suffering from rain
produced floods while a great deal of the US is much too dry. There are all
kinds of sites up now on this drought and how it is a natural curve in the
historical weather patterns. It is not a science that I am conversant with,
the rain part of the curve could return to us for a while, I should think.
And, Walter, we have a full page picture on deer in the paper today. A long
story with some history and same regulations you have. No more imports.
There are, so the paper says, 400 deer "farms" in NYS. I never knew that,
did not know we were farming deer for restaurants. I guess it had to come
from somewhere. With all the deer driving farmers crazy and gardeners to
tears, I never thought anyone would be actually raising more of them.
It is so hot here that bird activity ceases after sun-up. That is also
discussed by the bird guy in the paper. I have noticed this as we have a lot
of small birds in the garden. What do they do in the lower states when it is
this hot and the heat is what you consider normal? You must have heat
resistant birds! <G>
Claire Peplowski
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