This was the worst summer ever! I’m surprized I managed to get any crops at all. I also feel all I did all summer was moan about the weather. But I feel vindicated now. All the news reports are coming in with exactly just how awful it really was. A quick Google search reveals headings such as:
“Sunless: A summer in name only”
“Who stuffed up summer?”
“Is this the worst summer weather you’ve ever experienced?”
“Summer 2012 – Land of the long grey cloud?”
“Summer downpours to continue” and
“More dreary weather marks end of summer”
So I didn’t imagine it. My garden season was bad because the weather was bad. The experts appear to be blaming it on La Nina who just bought buckets and buckets of rain and cloudy days to our summer holiday season and everyone seems to agree – this was a particularly bad summer which is great news because my credibility as a gardener remains intact – the poor yield wasn’t my fault!
And autumn isn’t shaping up to be much better – we are in the middle of a Weather Bomb! So much for a quiet weekend pottering about in the remains of my garden, a fast moving storm with fast wind (in excess of 120k/h) and lots of rain and lots of damage. Throughout the country roofs have been torn off, trees uprooted and the power is out to many homes.
So I’m tucked up inside praying my greenhouse stays standing and that we get off lightly. I phoned the insurance company to see if my greenhouse was covered and they said probably not, because it’s not a content and not really a building, and they don’t think they could insure it because its construction of polycarbonate panels and aluminium framing makes it too flimsy, and even if they could insure it – they wouldn’t do it on the day before a big storm. But it’s worth a thousand hard saved for dollars! That kind of money doesn’t come easily. It’s not like a greenhouse is a disposable item – easily replaced. So I go back to praying that my greenhouse won’t blow away.
But the thought that has kept me sane is “there is always next season” and it runs through my head over and over. And just to confirm that a gardener’s hope always rests in the next season there are three small seed trays with the beginnings of the best winter crop ever, hiding from the elements in the safety of the shed.
Come again soon – maybe I’ll be able to actually share about gardening for a change!
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Oh, dear…I fear we may be in for the same thing this summer. The Midwest has already been devastated by tornadoes…unheard of in March…
I hope not, I hope you have a lovely warm summer! Today we have woken up to a perfect sunny day – like the storm had never happened! The weather has been so strange lately!
Southern California had a lousy last summer for gardening. It stated too mild. It never got hot enough for my peppers, pumpkins and watermelons to ripen. 🙁 And my corn looked exactly like yours. I’m hoping for a better season this year. Already it’s starting out better. You had liked my gardening post on my fashion/lifestyle blog, and since there were others interested in that as well, I started my own gardening blog. Looking forward to seeing your progress on your garden and getting some great ideas! By the way, LOVE your tagline! Lol. I’m doing the same here in California!
Hi there. I really hope you end up with a great summer season. Spring is always full of such hope and promise, and its great when it is all fulfilled and you end up with an awesome harvest. You have a lovely garden. Watching it grow through your new blog will be great and allow me to to have “garden time” during our winter! Cheers Sarah : o )
WOW Sarah What a brilliant site and so much interesting reading. I think you should write a book as you are already nearly there
Caroljane – Waikato
Thanks Carol. You know – I’d never written anything before the Yates competition and now I cant seem to stop! Cheers S : o )
Hey don’t stop you have a gift, nuture it. I do feel your words have attracted lots of people and it so much better than reading the newspaper and watching TV news with all the negative stuff. AND dont forget that book