Rain, more rain....and weeds galore

It has rained so heavily and so frequently that all the gardens and flower beds are soggy and weed-filled.  Pulling weeds in this heavy, wet soil is apt to do more damage than good, since every time I try I uproot the very plants I'm trying to protect.  Even the heavily mulched areas are sprouting weeds, but the advantage there is that I can pull those without worry of harm, and because of the mulch they come up easily.   The advantage?  I haven't had to water anything except the flowers in hanging pots on the front porch, since mother nature has done it so thoroughly.  The disadvantage?  Plants that are normally carefree are experiencing fungus and mold attacks, including a real heart-breaker - one of our huge Colorado Spruce appears to have been hit by a severe attack of Rhizosphaera needle cast, and while the potato plants so far look huge and beautiful, having their roots (tubers) so consistently moist cannot be doing this crop any favors.  Sun yesterday and today, with two more days of rain forecast beginning tomorrow.  I'm starting to feel rather soggy myself.

Catching up in the garden

Returning home after a 10-day vacation at this time of year is a mixed blessing.  The rain and the heat took good care of my flowers and vegetables and kept most pests at bay naturally. Mulched garden and beds did beautifully however I was quickly reminded why it's important to mulch heavily and early.

Unfortunately, the weeds also appreciated the water and heat - BOY did they appreciate it! I've spent several hours each day since my return bringing order to the chaos in the sections of flowerbeds and garden which I did not have time to mulch before leaving on vacation.  There's an herb or two in there somewhere, I just know it....now to find it...

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2010

After a 10-day vacation absence I returned to find my gardens and flower beds full of healthy growth.  Lovely....except that the most prolific growth in my absence was the weeds, which will take days and days to get back under control.  It seems as though that's a relatively easy task when I'm cruising the yard daily and can catch things before they get out of control, but now I'm going to have to get out some of my more heavy-duty tools.  Still, it's satisfying to see the more-or-less weed-free flower beds emerge following my labors - seems I can almost hear the plants sigh in relief and wiggle their toes (roots) around in the now more spacious earth surrounding them.  I love to see how effectively the more established perennials have kept weeds at bay on their own.  Hopefully the other beds will soon catch up to that goal.   Here are some of the things blooming happily in my gardens today.