We certainly get our share of gardening challenges here in New England, and I was discussing that very fact today with a member of a garden club I was speaking to when we both came to the realization that there is no “normal” year here. Early snowstorms, late snowstorms, untimely frosts, very hot summers,unusually wet/cold springs, too much snow, too little snow, you name it, we get it.
The weather du jour that is causing us concern, is unusual in it’s timing. Although we are no stranger to it, it is usually in summer that we are subject to its effects, not early spring. The problem is ,…… it is dry,dry,dry.We have had 7 fewer inches of rain than is “normal”, and that, combined with heavy winds and the piles and piles of brush from the damaging October snowstorm we had,is making the risk of brush fires is extremely high. Brush fires are scary and the people who are currently dealing with acres of burning land around here have my sympathy. Sigh.
Another unusual happening for this neck of the woods was the “record breaking” or as the local newspaper called them in an article today”record shattering” string of temperatures occuring over the last month. Did you just hear me laugh out loud?? Let’s see, the Earth has been around for what ,like give or take 4 BILLION years ,and we humans have been keeping temperature records for about oh say, 160 of them, I fail to see the reasoning behind the hysteria. Call me crazy, but I am a moderate in all things, and although I can appreciate climate change and have read volumes and volumes on it , I do not think we have enough info to even comment, much less react yet. And frankly, since our food sources are adapted to growing at warmer temperatures, and are threatened by lower ones, I will take warming over an ice age any day. (yes, that is overly simplistic, please stop yelling , but our climate here on Earth has changed and changed and changed and changed, it did long before we got here, it will do so long after we are gone. )
Anyway , back to the dry……it is weird to have to worry about watering spring bulbs, yet today I am probably going to do just that. I have also started transplanting things, which spring is a perfect time for given the consistent rainfall, but not this year. So out will come the hoses and the grumbling. Sigh again.
On a happy note , there are oh-so-many things in bloom outside that I will be taking photos of and posting on later this week, and one wonderful happening inside, where in the living room , the lemon tree looks like this.
….. causing me to erupt into giddy laughter every time I walk by!
In a month I may have my first home grown martini garnish .Happy sighs for that!