I actually don't mind being in the garden in the rain if there are tasks I can do without walking on the garden soil. I suit up in rain pants & jacket and put on waterproof foot gear, and I am good to go. I spent today touring 4 Garden conservancy Open Gardens in the pouring rain. Except for one garden, I really only saw the owner and one or two other folks, which is tough as a fundraiser, but was lovely for those of us who braved the weather.

This week in my own garden I pruned dead branches from my hydrangeas and did some weeding. I've been putting in edging around a couple of new beds, and I really don't care if the lawn and the soil around the edging get compacted.

What I dislike most about gardening isn't the weather, it's the ticks, mosquitoes and blackflies.

I just checked and it's 43 degrees here...and windy, on top of the rain. I'm really worried about my tender annuals, even tho they are not planted yet.

It's 43 here also and supposed to get to 34 tonight! I think I shouldn't have planted my tomatoes . . .

My tomatoes and I want to know where the sun and warmth went...

It'll make thinning things out for saturday's swap in Wapole rather more interesting, too!

The tomatoes are currently safe and relatively warm in the garage. Oh, the advantages of procrastination.

It has been dry enough that we can use the rain, unlike a lot of years when the unending rains of May have flooded out more than one garden.

I was thinking this morning about how the weather is kinda lousy for a holiday weekend that is supposed to be the unofficial start of summer. Wet, breezy, and cold! Also, I think this weekend is one of the busiest out of the whole year for the nurseries, and when the weather is lousy it puts a crimp in their sales.

But after such a dry April and early May I am thankful for the rain. And it is great weather for planting seedlings and doing some transplanting - which I've been doing a lot of in the past few days. Just needed to wear a wool cap in the garden for awhile today.

I started my seeds late so they are still inside. I think this rain would have taken a toll on them. I'm glad I removed my cherry trees. This is exactly the weather that cherry trees don't like. It's a good time to go to the nurseries because they aren't busy in this weather.

We managed to get 3 hours of work in the garden yesterday and today. We had pots to wash up, lawn furniture to clean, Four batches of potting soil to make in the wheelbarrel and the drizzle actually helped in that regard. Maple seedlings in the hundreds that had to be pulled out of mulch and a layer of new mulch added to
a pathway. I also remembered to sow more seed right before the rainy cloudy weather started and that gave me a head start on them without having to fuss over them with the hose.

Today the rain cleared out and some sun came out in the afternoon and we were able to plant out a couple of tomato and pepper plants. Although it's pretty cold out there and will get colder tonight, I just couldn't wait any longer. I still have a half dozen waiting to go in and they will come into the house for the night, but will probably be planted tomorrow. Still haven't planted pots of annuals, but the pots are clean and filled with new soil, ready to go. We even got the lawn mowed this afternoon after some sun and a lot of wind dried things out enough.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warmer and weeding and mulching in shady parts of the garden is on the schedule. All together we had 2 inches of rain over the past few days. VERY happy to get that, we needed it!!

I'd really rather work on a sunny day with a little breeze, and dry air with temperatures in the high 60s. But how many of those do you get? There's just too many things to do in the spring, to wait for comfortable weather. I want to get it all done before it starts getting hot and humid. Which will probably start next week, at this rate. (g)

I didn't plant anything tender before the rain but my wisteria pseudo-standard got clobbered. All that new leafy growth and the opening flower buds combined with the inadequate support I gave it, meant that the wisteria got bent over by the weight of the rain and all the vines were all tangled up and lying on one side.

Usually when the winds bend it over I can just push it back up but not this time. I've spent the last few days untangling the vines and propping them up so that I can get it upright and balanced again. Picture a wisteria standard leaning on five shepherd's hooks for crutches.

I know I could just prune it severely and it will come back, but it took years to get to the point where the vines will flower and I refuse to cut off those beautiful blooms. There's a lot of petals dropped now but most are still intact (sort of) and I can see the recovery coming. Now if it doesn't rain again and no strong winds blow I may be able to get s good support system in place....

Claire

Claire, so sorry to hear about your Wisteria! After all that work, too. I hope you can get it back to where you want it. Weather sure has an impact and often times, it's just bad timing. A week of rain like this always coincides with something that's blooming, too. The iris had just opened before the rain and now most of the blossoms are mush. Oh well, there are other things on the way.

We are supposed to have clear skies for a few days, maybe as long as a week. Fingers crossed.

I like it. I planted some saplings at my Mom's place around Mother's Day, and won't have a chance to water them. The rain was perfectly timed for me. Does anyone know whether we are behind or ahead on rainfall in Massachusetts?