Diary of a worried, traveling plant nerd

Friday, June 22: I spend the day watering tender plants. The grass is crunchy and going dormant. Some plants look stressed and unlikely to make it much longer after weeks without rain and temperatures in the 90s. We are about to head to Branson, Mo., early tomorrow morning. This afternoon, my daughter’s friend comes over so I can explain the locks, the cats’ food and water needs, and how to turn on the sprinkler for two specific areas in the garden. I’ve placed all my potted plants under the arc of one of the sprinklers. The forecast looks a little better: highs in the low 80s for the first part of next week. But next to no precipitation in the 10-day outlook.

Saturday, June 23: We hit the road at 5:30 a.m., for a full day of driving through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri—heading to a family reunion. I eagerly anticipate reconnecting with aunts and uncles, cousins, their kids and grandkids, and my nieces. My garden is mostly out of sight, out of mind. But there’s a nagging, minor worry just under the surface—I always think about the cats, but this time I worry about the plants, too. The weather is not looking good.

Sunday, June 24 – Wednesday, June 27: Family activities and Branson attractions keep my mind occupied. It’s too hot to hike or spend much time outside. We observe a new plant that the northerners among our clan aren’t familiar with: Crepe Myrtles. They look like Lilacs from a distance and come in various shades, from pink to mauve and purple. Not hardy in zone 5. Thoughts about my garden start to creep back as I watch the weather forecast for Branson and home. It will be 107 in Branson on Thursday and 97 at home. Neither location has had much rain since mid-May. I don’t sleep well—thinking about traveling home and what I will find there. Will the cats be OK? Will the plants be dead?

Thursday, June 28: We spend most of the day inside. It’s so hot, we feel stressed walking from the condo to the gathering room. Still, lots of laughs and fun times with the family. Plants are drying out here in Branson. The sprinkler systems come on in the evening, reminding me that my garden is likely equally stressed and out of my control.

Friday, June 29: We’ll leave for home tomorrow morning. I spend the morning photographing Crepe Myrtles and various other plants around the condo property. I take a quick dip in the pool, and by noon I’m ready to head inside for lunch and, later, a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. I don’t think about the plants much today, because I’ve convinced myself worry won’t help (took me a while, didn’t it?).

Saturday, June 30: Up at dawn again. The trip home is rushed, but thankfully mostly uneventful. When we get home, I do a preliminary assessment. I’m relieved, for the most part. Cooler temperatures at the beginning of the week and my daughter’s friend’s care have kept most of the tender plants alive. Still, two plants are flat on the ground and I’m not sure whether they’ll survive—a Hydrangea bush that I forgot to ask her to water, and a new Hellebore that doesn’t seem to have benefitted enough from the light watering. I water both liberally and aim the sprinkler on the perennial garden. And then I retreat to the air-conditioned house.

Sunday, July 1 – Wednesday, July 4: I don’t like to baby the plants, but without water, many of them will surely die. The Hydrangeas, in particular, suck up the water so fast and need to be watered every day in this heat. Our area has had 0.31 inches of rain since June 1—the driest June on record. We might tie the all-time record high of 104 on Thursday, July 5—and the humidity (around 50%) is much higher here than in Branson.

The Crabapples are stressed. Their leaves litter the dormant grass at their base.

The Mayapples are burned up and long-gone for the season. I don’t water them because they’re in the wild, wooded part of the garden.

The Fiddlehead Ferns are drying and look horrible. But they can be a bit invasive and likely will bounce back later in the season, so I don’t worry too much about them.

My cut flower/kitchen garden is thriving. I’ve planted sun-loving, heat-tolerant plants here, and a few waterings while we were gone kept them all satisfied.

The potted plants are fine since they were watered, too.

The setting sun seems friendly and threatening at the same time.

Still, not much rain in the forecast, but the temperatures will cool to our normal low-80s highs on the weekend. I smelled rain when we drove through a storm on the way home from Branson, and now it’s a smell and a sensation I can’t wait to experience here at home. And the birds, animals, and plants are looking forward to it, too.

(Note: I thought long and hard about how to write this post. I can’t really complain, with fires, strong storms, hotter temperatures, and power outages in other parts of the country. But one of the purposes of this blog is to document what’s happening in my garden over time. So, a diary format seemed appropriate. Many of us in the U.S. will remember the growing season of 2012 for a long time to come.)

(Oh, by the way, the cats were fine during our absence. They received excellent care and attention, and had a nice, cool basement to escape to.)

Happy 4th, and stay cool and safe!