Portland, Oregon has already exceeded the average annual rainfall for the current year. As in, it could not rain a single drop between now and October 1st, (when the weather year restarts) and we would still be above average.
A dubious honor.
This means that there have been very few sunny days that have inspired me to go outside and put my garden in order. It also means that my yard looks, well . . . rather craptastic. My friend Sasha was kind and called it “cottage-y.” But let’s face it, it’s starting to make us look like a family of creepy old men. Luckily, there is no neighborhood association breathing down our necks, so the problem is aesthetic rather than pricey. (Would hate to get fined for my garden!)
Think I’m exaggerating? Take a look:
My one sunny "plot" is filled with weeds and volunteer Valerian as well as a broken down wheelbarrow, which is filled with wintered over beets.
My side yard has been taken over by over-reaching raspberries, as well as more volunteer Valerian plants.
This area is supposedly where I'll be planting my tomatoes, but is so full of too-thick day-lilies and euphorbia to be available.
My front yard needs a serious thinning out. The Japanese Iris have mounted an all-out offensive that keeps any other plants from even thinking about thriving.
The sod we planted in April was not able to handle the combination of record rainfall and complete lack of sunlight and has been failing to thrive. However, the extreme pruning of the maple tree along with a reseed and fertilizing seems to be reviving it. However, on a positive note, my hydrangeas have a ton of new growth and are better than ever!
The dark wet weather has rewarded us with a bumper crop of moss, which covers the brick patio, as well as the retaining wall. My next-door-neighbors just bought a power sprayer, which we'll use on the wall, but it'll take manual scraping to remove the brick moss. (The bricks are set in sand, so I can't power wash it.) However, do you like my outdoor loveseat? I bought it for $25 at Goodwill!
My plan is to pot up all the volunteer plants, as well as those that need thinning and set them out to sell. I might as well make a buck or two for my efforts. Plus, I’ll need some money to purchase the almost mature tomatoes that I’ll need to be buying this late in the season.
Has nasty weather kept you from getting your garden going this year? Please share how your garden is growing in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
We are having a terrible time in Indiana with varmints eating our garden goodies…ie:birds, rabbits and deer. We have two beagles that I want to “dock their pay”…when I get up in the morning the bunnies are happily hopping around in the yard as the beagles are snoozing away. I am expecting some morning to see the bunnies snuggled up in the beagles arms. Geez:)! Also, it is getting so dry for this early. We have had unseasonably warm weather and things seem more like early July. Also a larger snake population than usual. That is a warm and fuzzy idea with me. But, with that said, we had strawberries…..enough to share a few, eat lots, freeze some and make jam. Also some lettuce, onions, radish, one head of cauliflower so far. Also lots of asparagus and rhubarb. Guess I should be thankful instead of sooooo gripey!!! And I am indeed grateful for the goodies…..just tired of fighting the varmints.
I meant the snakes are NOT a warm and fuzzy idea with me—-I detest snakes!
Wild rabbits sound so cute! But I guess that would wear off if they were eating my garden up.
Katy
People think deer are cute but we have so many that they sometimes take bites out of poisonous plants!
I had a baby deer crawl under my deck to get into my backyard last year. It takes them minutes to consume a plant I have been growing for months. I like to see them in the woods but am very NIMBY about them 😎
don’t forget that deer= deer ticks- we have Lyme all over the place in MA.
My yard has been overtaken by daisies, I just posted some pictures today. Though I’m not complaining. I love the daisies (deer don’t eat them) and we have deer problems. So I can only grow things that deer don’t like. http://valerieaheck.blogspot.com/2012/06/baby-deer-daisies-and-bonfire.html
I have the same problem here in the UK…the plants have grown like mad…my garden looks like an overgrown greenhouse!!! (Not a tidy one either…) We did tons of gardening yesterday before yet again, more rain…but to be honest, I’ve been glad gardening has been put on hold due to all the home improvements of lately. Its a bit of blessing in disguise, a bit like my hard of hearing…some much noise I manage not to hear…
As you have record rains, we have record draught here in the Southwest – we would LOVE some of your rain.
And in return we’ll take some sun of that incense New Mexico sun!
And some freshly roasted chili peppers, and some sopapillas and dinner at “Los Cuates.”
Then and only then can you have our never ending rain.
Katy
Let’s not talk about Los Cuates, that’s all I am going to think about all day!
So you understand.
Katy
I hate moss! It’s the bane of my existence here in Seattle!
My laziness has kept us from working on the garden this year! (And a little busy-ness too!) Our veggie garden is going strong, all started from seeds this year, but the flower part leaves a lot to be desired! We’re just taking it a little bit at a time, and putting down mulch to hopefully curb the insane weeds we have going here!
WI is having the opposite problem, a mild (dry) winter plus a dry spring means that any garden or transplanting of any kind needs watering every few days. Its going to be a long summer unless we start getting some consistent rains.
I’m in Seattle, so we’re having the same weather. Actually, I don’t think your garden looks all that bad. I have a terrible weed problem that I just can’t get under control. I don’t like using pesticides, and I just have a heckuva time keeping ahead of them.
I love that Valerian – I’m a fan of anything that is easy to grow, coz it helps choke out the weeds. I’ll have to look for some!
That’s not valerian! I know it’s something that begins with a v but I can’t for the life of me recall the name. Everybody in the world but me has fabulous luck growing it.
I just did a Google image search and it is Valerian.
Katy
Yes, it surely is Valerian. I too have more than my share of Valerian. I used to just cut it all back to the root every year but now let it linger because I noticed the butterflies and bees love it. Gotta make those guys happy too! So now I only cut it back when it’s stopped flowering.
I think your garden looks beautiful! Ok, maybe not that very first photo. But the others look so lush and happy! I’m trying to add flower beds around our house this year. It’s very slow going…
Our entire region is still recovering from last year’s drought. We are only allowed to water the lawn one day per week, and that is dictated by the last digit of your house number. We have flowering shrubs in the front that have already bloomed. Not muh else, too expensive to spend the money on water.
It’s pretty lush here in our part of NC. A mild winter and early spring, and lots of rain lately. Some cool weather veggies that we planted in early spring did not thrive due to temps being too warm. But otherwise our garden is doing well — with tomatoes just starting to ripen. Strawberries were amazing this year, starting before Easter, and I’m still seeing local berries for sale. More snakes that usual, also due to early warm weather, and there probably will be more bugs. We’re getting into the muggy, humid days of summer though. That’s the downside of living in the southeast.
Oh honey, you have NO idea what a bad garden looks like! Yours would be considered the prize of the neighborhood in these parts! Can you pleeeeezzzzeee send us some of that rain?
Done. 🙂
Katy
I’m in the Bay Area and we are FINALLY getting some nice, hot weather (80 the past two days). We’ve got 8 eating tomatoes, 3 San Marzanos, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos and peas going. Plus a volunteer squash that I think is a zucchini so it will probably take one look at me and die 🙁
Just bought 8 basil plants from trader joes to plant. I grow them all summer and we enjoy it in fresh tomato pasta and bruschetta and then i make pesto freeze it and enjoying all winter 🙂
BTW I think your yard looks lovely and I find your blog inspirational 🙂
I, too, think the gardens plots at your house are just pretty darn great and that your blog is Awesome! Keep meaning to tell you that, Katy!
We had several hot weeks in February and March, then had a bunch of rain, so all my cool weather crops failed. Then I planted the peppers and tomatoes, and it got really cold and no rain came. Things are finally starting to come together but I’m not terribly hopeful at the moment.
We get about 2.5 inches of annual rainfall– your garden is SO BEAUTIFUL!
I’ve got my fingers crossed for my garden plots this year. Last year was a disaster–they had to close access to the plots for two weeks before I could mulch, and when they let us back in the weeds were so thick that the plot was almost back to being a field. I’m not exaggerating!
Hi Katy,
I was wondering if you ever divide the Valerian? Was it the pink flower?
Let me know if I could get a start, I have plenty of starts to send your way if you need them.
Thanks
Elizabeth
Come on by anytime to get my volunteer Valerian!
Katy
The first pic isn’t so great but I think the rest looks lovely, maybe it was just a bad angle!
I have a homeless garden this year. All those extra (homeless) plants my industrious friends grew from seeds & tended faithfully & hardened off so patiently are sitting in my raised beds now where I am sure they will die a slow & thirsty death as I forget to water them all summer. You have to be a very sturdy plant to survive in my little “Garden of Benevolent Neglect”.
I think your front yard looks exactly like your neighbors, so either you are doing a pretty good job, or your block is full of creepy old men! 😉 As for the side yard with the overgrown berries, I think it’s very charming! I love moss on bricks, so that wouldn’t be something I’d try to tackle. Overall, I’d say things just need a bit of sprucing up. It’s hard to stay motivated about landscaping. The weeds never end! We live WAY down at the bottom of Mississippi on the Gulf, where it is presently in the 90’s with 150% humidity. Talk about having no energy to be out tackling yard work!! We also planted quite a large garden, which is struggling to make it. I hope the tomatoes do well, and butternut squash should be ready soon. My peas are done, waiting on potatoes and not so sure about the corn this year. Anyway, I’ve always wondered about those people who LOVE to be out in the dirt, pulling weeds and making magic with their landscape and gardens. I am not one of them, and it is a struggle. Happy gardening, Katy!
I had to smile when I saw your garden pics, as after days and days of rain here in the SW of the UK, my garden looks similarly ‘verdant’…we also have volunteer Valerian but I quite like it, so treat it as a welcome guest! 🙂
I had to give up my community garden plot this year. It’s near my workplace and I found myself shuffling the kids around to accomdate weeding last year. Instead, I was gifted some rose bushes for my birthday and they’ve already bloomed in my yard! I’m doing some little plantings here and there, trying to guide some wild roses around an old fence and keep up with the mowing.
It’s better for me to stop by the farm stand to buy produce and enjoy my kids and flowers in our yard.
Well, it may not look like you want it to, but, shall we say, it shows a lot of promise! Never give up!
It’s been fairly dry this year in Arkansas. My mini garden is off to a fantastic start. I’ve already been harvesting yellow squash and onion. The tomato plants are sturdy with golf ball sized tomatoes on them.
Yum, I love squash!
Katy