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Albemarle County, Central Virginia, garden, life, nature, spring, Virginia
Normally, May is one of my favorite months as a gardener. Normally, the gardens burst with color, texture, and fragrance. Normally, May is a time for celebration and a time to bid farewell to the cold of winter. To date friends, 2016 weather continues chafe the best of my patience and optimism. Is it time to throw in the towel?
First, late killing April frosts affected many precious plants. Early tender perennials became steamed lettuce mush. Can you imagine?
Relentless May rains saturate even the best soils, threatening bulb rot and setting the stage for massive fungal issues in coming weeks. Harvesting six-hundred stems of heirloom peonies while dodging rainfall is, at a bare minimum, unpleasant for both me and my flowers. So much for garden delight. Rain days at the farmers market greatly reduce revenue, as only the hardy shoppers appear, and they typically are not in the mood for delicate stems. So much for my May cash crop. Currently, my flower fridge is overflowing and another few hundred stems beg to be harvested. Do you feel my pain?
Typically, June brings relentless heat and humidity to my Virginia gardens, seasoned with biting midges, ticks, and mosquitoes…for months. May is normally the time before June’s wickedness — inviting blissful strolls, the discovery of transcending scents, and the ability to see the fruits of my labor. Ha! At least my automobile is not floating down some side street, as Texans endure the spring from hell.
Ok, enough misery.
Is it time for the “For Sale” sign? Or shall I persevere? My inner voice whispered many times recently, “if it ain’t fun, don’t do it.” Well, I ain’t havin any fun as a gardener so far this year. Yet I am not ready for a condo. Been there, done that.
Do I publish this or press delete?
How about some comments from my followers?
From a drenched blogger/gardener in central VA.
Is it time to hang it up?
You poor thing…I’m sorry you are so down but I can certainly understand why. You are a woman of much conviction and I know you will come through this trying period. Although I know this holiday weekend has been a wet one, I hope you were able to sell some of your beautiful flowers. Perhaps you could find buyers for your lovely flowers on Craigslist
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Thanks Karen for your words of support. Yes, May 2016 was a month to forget. As we nuzzle up to June, I look for more time indoors enjoying the AC and merely gazing out at the landscape…I have found peony lovers who will purchase some of my plants this fall. Further ways to downsize inside and out…Is there a move in my future?
Have a great summer and enjoy your upcoming trip…Diane
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Karen, check out my new blog post…
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Diane, I can’t imagine you giving up gardening. Other than this wretched weather, you love it, and not only that, the results of your efforts are so wonderful. Just the other day, I was telling a friend about your being a Monarch way station and helping bluebirds survive and thrive. She was deeply impressed. (She, like me, is in the animal welfare field.) When I look at the flower photos you send – not to mention the food – I am always amazed. I understand the frustration – it happens to all of us in our own fields, (that’s a pun :-), but I wouldn’t be so quick to throw in the pretty floral towel just yet. If this weather becomes a trend in your neck of the woods, maybe start thinking then. Meanwhile go out and do a sun dance, and do what you do best. 🙂 Jeanne
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Thanks Jeanne for your insightful words. Often I cannot see the forest for the trees and forget to step back. Perspective is the optimal path, and often this gardener stubs her view. 😉
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I hear you and offer my sympathy. I also wonder how farmers in your region are faring. They depend so much on the weather. Do you know?
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Farmers of all kinds are losing crops due to this rain. Many local orchards lost most if not all of their fruit crops when we had those late killing frosts…now rain. Ugly for sure and striking all of us in our pockets.
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Ugh. So sad.
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You Farmers Market vendors are a hardy lot & I believe you will work this out some how. Have you tried contacting local florists to possibly buy some of your inventory ? I have a friend that sells herbs & her greenhouse & storage areas are bursting. To top it off the market manager plans to pave the parking lot the 1st clear Saturday.
Good luck this Saturday & all the coming weeks, Joe
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Thanks Joe. Already tried local florists and they have no concept of buying locally. And the volume of flowers that I have in May must sell in May, not June or July, etc. We market vendors must be resilient, as Mother Nature constantly plays havoc with our bottom lines. Despite weather, bills do not wait.
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J: Well I think you should click Publish! Blogs that avoid negativity have their place, but it’s the life-in-the-round of others that I want to discover, to share their pain, without which I cannot really feel their joy. I want to read of others who experience ‘why do I bother at all’ days like me, as well as the accounts that re-affirm that days that make it all worthwhile are often those of simple pleasures and small achievements. Keep blogging. We’re there for you!
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J&D, Thank you both for your positive feedback! There was a moment when I thought I should sweeten the blog a bit, yet you confirm my decision to write like it is…more steady rain today, as the garden peonies continue to bow under the weight. Diane
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Hang in there! Just because this spring has been a soggy dud doesn’t mean that next spring will. Are there local florists you can sell the flowers to?
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Thanks for the support! Sorry to report more heavy rain today and local florists are not interested in local flowers…they don’t understand flower farming and want to pick and choose on this day or that. Direct sales at the farmers market normally provide enough folks who truly adore the flowers and normally buy all. This coming Saturday will be the real test, as I will take hundreds with me to market…fingers crossed. Again, thanks for your comments. Diane
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Hang in there. If not this year, then next will surely prove to be your dream May.
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Polly, The kid in me always hopes that life will get easier, not harder…this spring has given me a reality slap…hard. Thanks for your kind words of support. Diane
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What a shame to hear about your flowers… but .. don’t give up! We are on holiday in Italy and May has been a very wet month here … Quite unusual for Florence…so everyone is surprised by this spring. I suggest ..more cooking and less gardening for a while.
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Excellent suggestion! In fact I just viewed a program that featured Emilia Romagna and I am ready to pack my bags…ever been there?
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We went through that region by train from Padua to Florence … Very green & pretty .. And well known for market gardens… A perfect holiday destination for a gardener!
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Perhaps some nice person there would adopt me…now! 😉
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Just revisit and reread some of your old posts and let the joy that is so vividly communicated by your words and celebration of subject matter remind you that you love gardening. Mother Nature has just been tempering the steel of your passion for this activity over the past month. Of course, easy for me to say since May has been its typical delightful self in my part of TN. I hope June will have some surprises in the positive direction for you.
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Your words are a song for my soul M. Thank you, but perhaps I should consider relocating to TN. 😉
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I completely understand… I was ready to throw in the towel last year after 6 weeks of daily, non-stop rainy gray days… then came the hail that destroyed 50% of our client’s container gardens. I planted my own containers needed for 2 magazine articles under a tarp. By mid July life was feeling more like… mine. The container plants started growing and I stopped being overwhelmingly frustrated. I guess what I’m saying is to maintain your sanity, hold off on moving because odds are summer will come and you will find your smile! (And yes, I am wordy… but even though last year ended up being a success, I’m waiting for the other Denver weather shoe to fall in the next few weeks!!!) Attitude adjustment on the schedule 😉
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Sheila, thanks for sharing your pain and recovery…regaining my bliss remains to be seen. In my heart I know that gardening is not cookie cutter, yet when the carrot is snatched out of reach, I revert to childlike behavior and just want to sulk.
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