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amy_nj6

How are you coping with all this rain?

amy_nj6
19 years ago

I've been hoping to prepare a new bed in anticipation of plant deliveries in a couple of weeks.

But it's pouring rain. And the ground was already so saturated! How will the soil dry out enough for me to work on it before the plants arrive?

I am going nutso, here! Maybe, I'll swap my order and put in lotuses in the puddle that was once my backyard!

Instead of a day outside, I'm in doing laundry, filing papers and cleaning out a closet.

Well, I guess food shopping will have to be the highlight of this wet day.

Big Sigh.

I need some solidarity in my suffering...

How is everyone else coping with this rain?

Soggily,

Amy

Comments (6)

  • bogturtle
    18 years ago

    I really think it has slowed down Spring here. Some of the late Winter, early Spring shrubs I purchased with expectation of March flowers are only now beginning to bloom. A delivery of plants I ordered is delayed and the owner says cloudy weather has held the development of their offerings back. I wish there was some way we could retain all this water, as a society and with government involvement, so we can avoid the times when watering lawns and serving drinking water in restaurants are prohibited.
    Every one who builds a pond is probably making one infinitesimal contribution.

  • steve_nj
    18 years ago

    Much of my soil is fairly sandy. This is good transplanting weather. Today I dug up a good quantity of white Clethra alnifolia which grows wild here. I'm replacing it with pink and 'Creel's Calico' Clethra I'll be moving from another spot. I recently transplanted 2 fairly large Stachyurus praecox and planted a few things from overwintered containers. I fertilized the grass and many garden areas yesterday. I've been removing piles of leaves from various Colocasias and other marginally hardies. For Amy's information, Rudbeckia, Eleagnus pungens and Clerodendron bungei have done very well under a black walnut. Pollia japonica and Choisya ternata also seem to be growing well. Yucca schottii is doing well nearby also.

  • amy_nj6
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    This is great! Thanks for the info!

    I've grown quite fond of that walnut over these past couple of years. I call it my retirement tree -- if it's still around in 30 years and I need some $$, I'll call in a lumberjack.

    Until then ...

    I was going to transplant some Rudbeckia "Herbstsonne" under the tree's canopy and just see what happens. Now I'll move ahead with a bit more confidence in the outcome...

    I'm also planning to put in some Aruncus...

    and it's time to wrassle me up a Clerodendron bungei!
    The flowers may clash with the black-eyed Susans but there's joy in that too.

    Aw Nuts! I think I'm too cold for the Mexican orange blossom.

    (Clanking and whirling noises as I look up the Pollia japonica and the Elaeagnus pungens.)

    I'm back ... hmm, they look lovely in pictures. Some sources say Elaeagnus is hardy to zone 6, others say just to 7. Some say it has yellow-centered leaves but photos on the Web show green leaves. What's the deal with this guy?

    Anyway, when the wind dies down and the rain stops, I 'll, er, paddle across my small yard (I think I need to regrade -- quick tip: don't buy real estate during a drought!), grab a shovel and glory in that eternal connection with Mother Earth with renewed hope.

    Again, many thanks for the suggestions, you've brightened a stormy day.

    Amy

    P.S. Were you really out in this downpour transplanting?

  • njtea
    18 years ago

    I have a friend who runs a garden center and can confirm Bogturtles statement that growers are holding back on deliveries due to the cold and cloudy weather. March was almost 4 degrees below normal, at least up here in NW NJ, and that's a pretty significant number.

  • njcher
    18 years ago

    Were you really out in this downpour transplanting?

    I know that question wasn't asked of me but I was stopped by my neighbor yesterday and told to go back in the house because planting in the rain was not a good idea when I was sick with the flu.

    I think my husband, who's away for the weekend, told her to watch me.

    Cher

  • steve_nj
    18 years ago

    I was transplanting during breaks in the heavy rain. I have green leaved + 2 variegated forms of Eleagnus pungens. It's hardy in Doylestown (zone 6). I have plenty of Clerodendron bungei and Pollia japonica. I'll bring some to the swap. Choisya ternata needs well-drained soil.

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