Two of the last three summers have been severe droughts. The spring here dried up, and we have to depend on a well. I have tried to conserve water by watering sparingly this summer, and have been dismayed by the wilting and drooping. A Boltonia “Snowbank” I bought in June has withered on the weekly regime and is unsightly. The soil here is too sandy, and I will give it a chance in the alluvial soil at the Historical Society, which does not drain so quickly and is more often irrigated.
Future forecasts are for summers here to be drier than ever.
But last night a two day rain started and the forecast is for two to three inches. I do not care that I cannot go outside. I know the plants will look happy when this rain stops and the inevitable mushrooms sprout from the lawns.
I have never seen so much bug damage as I have this summer. It is dispiriting. But week after week of no rain is worse. The garden begins to look unenthusiastic, and I am depressed myself by the endless watering.
There are plants that soldier on and thrive in dryness. Yuccas, the aromatic aster “Raydon’s Favorite, the goldenrods, “Montrose White” calamintha, the hardy chrysanthemums, and New York Ironweed.
Fall is on the doorstep, and one of these mornings I will look for the hummingbirds, and they will be gone.
Now what I hope for most is that frost will hold off at least till mid-October for I find fall gardens the most beautiful of all and full of royal colors.
Gardening On Granite 