• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Creatures and Critters
    • Potted & Pruned
    • Homegrown & Handpicked
    • Seeded & Sodded
    • The Christmas Cottontail
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Social
    • YouTube
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Dear Cindy, How hot is it today?

August 25, 2015 By Carol Michel 3 Comments

Dear Cindy,

Greetings from the Hoosier State where we’ve been enjoying some rather mild weather these last few weeks.  And by mild I mean I don’t think we got to 80F today.

Even for us, that’s unusual in August.  How hot is it where you are, on your Corner of Katy down in Texas?  You mentioned in your last bloom day post you were desperate for rain and then I saw you posted after that about getting some rain.

Good for you! Good for your garden!

I thought of you the other day when I was taking pictures of flowers in my vegetable garden, including these red hot zinnias.  That’s one flower we have in common, isn’t it?  Or I assume you can grow zinnias because I saw some growing in Tucson a few years back.

What other flowers do we have in common?  Rain lilies? Yes, but I have to grow mine in a container and put them in the garage every fall.  I guess you grow yours in the ground year round.

Year round.  That’s how you seem to garden, with nary a break for the winter.

Sometimes I don’t know how you do it, gardening all year round. And in the heat. And with all the humidity. I’ve been in your part of Texas just once, on a layover at the airport. I stepped off that plane and thought it was the most humid place on earth. And hot, too. A sauna. And it isn’t all that dry here. I was glad to leave before I melted into a puddle.

Enough of that memory. What was I writing about? Oh yes, year round gardening. I’ll admit I enjoy my rest from actual gardening, usually from early December until late February.  Of course, I’m still outside some, I’m just shoveling snow whereas you are planting or pruning or doing whatever it is your garden needs in the wintertime.

I admire your tenacity, too.  I’ve read about your droughts and the heat.  After living through a couple of extremely dry summers, I don’t envy your conditions at all.  Wait. Check that. I do envy some of them a little bit because you can grow camellias, can’t you?  Well, I’m trying to grow a couple of the hardiest camellias I could find.  They are just whips right now, but they seem to have some good buds on them.  We’ll see how they like the winter time in Indiana.

Anyway, I am inspired by how much you work in your garden and the joy you get from it. I can tell from the pictures on your blog how much you love your garden and enjoy not only the plants but the art you’ve scattered through out.  I’m sure sometimes, especially when it is hot and dry, you are ready to move to a cooler climate, but then it rains, and you remember it’s home for you.

We share that in common, don’t we? A love for our home and garden, especially since we both have stayed more or less in the area we grew up in.  You probably wouldn’t last through a complete winter here, and I’d pine for snow if I lived there. But as I like to end my letters, we are bonded over our love for gardening, aren’t we?

With a shared love of gardening,
Carol

P.S.  If you have some extra rain lily bulbs, I’d love to try growing them, but I couldn’t do anything with them until spring.  What would you like from my garden?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: With a shared love of gardening

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy, MCOK says

    August 25, 2015 at 3:10 am

    I've been known to wonder aloud why the heck my ancestors settled in south central Texas instead of some more temperate spot. As far as I know, none of them came here to escape the Indiana winters! I hope the hardy camellias will make for you, as we say here in the South. I'll make a confession here: I only have 2 camellias! I know, with all the varieties of camellias that are touted for a Southern climate, you'd think I'd have more than 2. I'm just far enough south and west in the greater Houston area that I've struggled to grow camellias. My garden was once a prairie and the camellias tend to act like a Mississippi belle transplanted to New Mexico. I'll keep trying, though … maybe we'll celebrate our success together one day!

    Reply
  2. Dee Nash says

    August 25, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    I loved this letter Carol. Yes, it's hot down there. Humid too. We are having the best weather ever in Oklahoma, and I feel kinda bad for Cindy. ~~Dee

    Reply
  3. Gail says

    August 26, 2015 at 6:39 pm

    Carol, I didn't know Cindy's garden used to be a prairie! That makes so much sense now that I think about it! I don't know how she deals with the hot, humid summers, maybe she is strong like Texas bull! But, she has created a lovely garden on her corner of Katy!

    My dear, I have loved these letters and love your writing. xoxogail

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,012)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2022 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.