• 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

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Dear Friends and Gardeners August 23, 2010

August 24, 2010 By Carol Michel 15 Comments

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and Gardening Friends Everywhere,

I am not pleased to report that we are about to break a weather record that was set back in 1897. That was the year they had the driest August on record with just .47 inches of rain, less than half an inch for the entire month.

With just eight days left in August, we have had just .37 inches of rain and there isn’t any rain to speak of in the 10 day forecast. And we won’t mention that this is going to be one of the warmest Augusts in quite some time, too. Normally, our average rainfall for August is around 3.44 inches.

I have watered the vegetable garden a few times, which seemed to pull it back from the brink last week, though it was so hot when I was trying to get it back in shape that it nearly sent me over the edge. But it is better, and so am I. I am harvesting a few ripe tomatoes every few days, plenty of hot peppers, and as much okra as I’d care to eat. Not to mention that the squash vines have perked up a bit and started blooming again.

The whole garden could use another round with the sprinkler, and will get it tomorrow evening.

Elsewhere, the garden is a veritable plant laboratory, if one wants to study the impact of the third wettest June in history followed by what is likely going to be the driest August in history on plants in a zone 5 garden in Indianapolis.

The grape vine looks about the same as any other year. You would hardly know from looking at its leathery leaves, pictured above, that it is so dry out. The ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas, on the other hand, look like they are about to give it up for this year, perhaps for all time. I’ll spare you the pictures.

Another plant that looks great is the calamint, Calamintha nepeta spp. nepeta.

It is loaded with little white flowers and is attracting all kinds of bees, though I couldn’t for the life of me get a good picture of one to show you.

I can’t resist reaching down and pulling the stems through my hands to release its minty fragrance as I walk by it, but need to be careful to watch for the bees who might not enjoy ending up in my hand.

Speaking of bees reminds me that there is a ground nest of German yellow jackets beneath the red maple (Acer rubrum) in the front yard. Nearby is a Forsythia we transplanted this spring that needs water, but it makes the yellow jackets very angry if I forget they are there and get water in their hole. I’ve had to drop the hose and run for cover a few times now so I got smart this evening and set up a sprinkler over there.

I need to go outside now and turn it off, so I’ll close as always with…

Carpe hortus,

Carol

P.S. Pray for rain for Indianapolis!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: letters to gardening friends, vegetable garden

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gatsbys Gardens says

    August 24, 2010 at 2:29 am

    Carol, I had to get rid of Calamintha because it had so many balck wasps encircling it. It was on a pathway recommended by my garden designer!

    I brought it up to Wisconsin where it did not make it.

    I have a small up close garden, so this is something to take into consideration when making a plan.

    Eileen

    Reply
  2. Carol Michel says

    August 24, 2010 at 2:33 am

    Eileen… Yikes, I've never seen wasps on this calamint. Right now it is in a holding bed in the vegetable garden, waiting for the garden design to get going again so it can move to a new home. If it just attracts bees, I think it would be okay by a path, but if I see black wasps around it, I'm going to put it someplace a little "off the beaten path". Thanks for the warning.

    Reply
  3. Carolyn ♥ says

    August 24, 2010 at 3:18 am

    Prayin' for rain for you… and sympathy for your yellowjacket problem. We have more than our fair share here as well this year, haven't found the nest.

    Reply
  4. Kathy says

    August 24, 2010 at 3:35 am

    Hang in there, Carol, you've got GUTS!

    Reply
  5. Susan in the Pink Hat says

    August 24, 2010 at 4:25 am

    Yes indeedy. You've described a normal summer here. It seems the whole world is in bizarroland this year.

    Reply
  6. islandgal246 says

    August 24, 2010 at 6:37 am

    I am sorry that you are going through a drought. We had one earlier this year for several months. I will do a rain dance or sing…..my singing will definitely bring the rain.

    Reply
  7. Lisa at Greenbow says

    August 24, 2010 at 11:51 am

    My garden is under the same conditions Carol. Here in SW IN we have had only about 3/4" of rain this month. I hope this too shall pass and the fall rains will bring relief to both of our gardens.

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    August 24, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    You have my condolences on the rain. We just started getting rain this week, but it comes fast and furious. Not really penetrating into the soil, but no complaints here. We needed the rain also.I too love Calamintha for many reasons,but one. It reseeds with abandon and seems to grow just about anywhere.

    Reply
  9. Rose says

    August 24, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    I'm praying for rain for both of us, Carol. Glad you set up a sprinkler for your forsythia–running from a horde of angry yellowjackets may be good exercise, but sounds rather scary.

    Reply
  10. Frances says

    August 24, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Do be careful with those yellow jackets! We need rain here and understand your concerns for the garden. Your Calamintha looks divine, must try it again. We have only killed it twice here.
    Frances

    Reply
  11. Liz says

    August 24, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    We've had more rain here (Utah) then we do normally. (Okay, so maybe a couple good thunderstorms. But one dropped a whole inch of rain). Maybe it will return to you soon…

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    August 24, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    In Seattle, we've gotten .25" this month. Normal is a whopping .7 ".

    Reply
  13. Layanee says

    August 24, 2010 at 11:48 pm

    My Calamintha is also quite happy with dryness. It is a very pretty plant. Sending rain your way soon…

    Reply
  14. Maryse says

    August 25, 2010 at 3:00 am

    Pray for rain in Montreal as well! You have a very interesting blog. I love Indianapolis (been there a few times for work)!

    Reply
  15. Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings says

    August 25, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    Interesting. We had a really wet spring and then a hot and dry late July and August. Oy! I thought it would never cool off, but it eventually did. I bet our gardens look similar. BTW, I finally got my letter up.~~Dee

    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 (3,053)
  • 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
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

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

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT