Oh no, the weeds are sprouting

A little rain and some unseasonably warm temperatures have resulted in weeds germinating everywhere in my gardens.  Something needed to be done immediately.  My neighbors rushed to my rescue, although they didn't realize it.

Because the weather has been so pleasant, all my neighbors have been graciously raking up leaves, and piling bags on the curb for pick up.  For the last two days, I've been driving around the neighborhood, stuffing huge black bags of leaves into the trunk, back seat, and even the front passenger seat of my car and then hustling back home with my treasure.

Once home, some of the bags went into piles for future use while I ferried most of them in my wheelbarrow to my gardens. 

My gardens are now well watered, thanks to some good, rainy days and thoroughly mulched with a thick blanket of leaves to keep that moisture in and those pesky little weed seedlings from growing up into a wild, weed collection.  

Ready for Christmas

Decorating the outdoors for Christmas has been a little challenging this year.  First there was the drought, which meant the ground was as hard as concrete; there was no way I could pound the anchors into the ground.

Then it rained (for which I am VERY thankful) and while I'm a dedicated gardener, I didn't particularly want to get soaking wet.

The decorations are finally up.  All we need now, are some snow flakes to feel like Christmas is here.

I'm particularly proud of the horse head greenery that I displayed on the gate out at the barn.  I decided to staple dismantled fake garlands for the body, while still gluing on the pine needle main, and using a pine cone for the eye.  This means that when Christmas over all it will just take a few minutes to peel off the mane and forelock and it will be ready for storage until next year.

  

And we have rain

The beginning of December has been wet and gloomy and chilly . . . and I am SO happy!!  My gardens seem to be smiling, and I'm pretty sure I have heard the sound of singing in the rain too.

The long term consequences of the drought are yet to be seen.  One of my drought victims has been my topsy turvy echeveria. 

The birds in my backyard discovered that eating succulents was a terrific way to get a drink when all their usual sources of water dried up.  It looked like I was serving a buffet on my back deck. Had I a faster camera to capture these meals, the photos would have been hysterically funny. 

This is how a topsy turvy echeveria is supposed to look.

This is what my topsy turvy looks like following several months of feeding the song sparrows and cardinals.  I don't mind, this one will grow back next year.

 

Thankful for mercy

It has been a busy holiday weekend.  I've entertained, cooked, shopped, ridden my horse, checked on my daughter's pets while she was out of town, and made room for a Christmas tree in my living room. 

What I didn't do was pay any attention to the container plants on my decks.    In central Alabama, we make trial runs at cold weather during which we have a night or two of frost followed by a week or two of cool, but not dangerously cold nights.  I collect all my containers in flat trays for easy transport and keep them on the decks, ready to move indoors for a frosty night.  They have already been indoors for our first chilly weekend about a week ago but for Thanksgiving week, they have been comfortable outdoors. . .until last night.

As I said, it's been a busy weekend, so when the forecast predicted we would be near freezing last night, I knew I should bring them all inside.  BUT, it was a lovely day yesterday, in the upper 60s with a nice breeze.  Since I was tired and it seemed hard to imagine that it could possibly drop more than 30 degrees overnight, I just left them out there and went to bed.

Much to my horror, when I woke up at 4:45 this morning, my backyard thermometer read a heart-stopping 27.5 degrees!  As I anxiously awaited sunrise, the temperature dropped to 27.1.  I contemplated running out in my slippers and bathrobe to retrieve my pitiful babies but realized that the damage was already done and I might as well wait for the sun and warmer temperatures to assess the damage brought about by my laziness.

Today, I am thankful for God's mercy.  Not a single plant died and very few of them appear to have any leaf damage.  I promise to heed the next frost warning.

We've got RED

I read in the news that the fall colors are muted this year because of the drought.  While this may be true in other places, my red maple tree was not informed of this fact.  This tree in my backyard is putting on the best show of red I've ever seen in my backyard.  The leaves are a deep, true red, and are holding their even after dropping.  Every day I take new photos, thinking, "the color is peaking today" only to discover it looks even better the next day.  Here of some of my favorite photos . . . so far.

Finding delight during a drought

It is difficult for me to stroll through my gardens during these days of drought.  I'm fearful of what I will see and saddened when I discover shrubs and plants that have moved beyond wilting to total dryness and significant leaf drop. 

When I look beyond the obvious, however, I can still find beauty in my backyard.  There are still fountain grass plumes contrasting with the stark white of my mailbox.  A lone canna lily in a container decided to grace us with orange blossoms that rival the brightness of the pumpkin sitting at its feet.  The persimmon tree's fall plumage is so bright it almost demands sun glasses.

This all reminds me that during personal seasons of drought, I can be become focused on the hard times that I often miss the quiet blessings that result from a closer look.

Fleeting fall colors

The only gardening discussions in Alabama these days are concerning the ongoing drought.  In my backyard, we are beginning our third consecutive month without rainfall and there is no rain in the immediate forecast.

The lack of moisture has affected my gardens in many ways.  Most of what I am doing now involves not doing things that might aggravate the stress such as pruning or transplanting.  Mostly, I'm just waiting for rain and spring to see what survives.

Even our normal fall colors have been seriously affected by the drought.  The arborists tell us that a dry summer often produces the most spectacular fall shows but this year has been different.  Yes, the colors are brilliant, but the leaves quickly wilt and fall to the ground upon their color change.  Even fall is fleeting this year.