This June has been a hard month for me, and we are only 2 1/2 weeks into it. Usually for me June slides in quietly, I know that planting sensitive plants before Rodeo Weekend is going to lead to a late frost failure and frustration. I know that the hardier plants are blooming like mad and I must photograph them. I know that setting up my extensive watering system could lead to frozen pipes and so I should wait…. We usually have a cool damp spring and I can afford to wait.
But this year is different. it has been much warmer. I took the panels that wrap my backyard deck for the winter, off in late May. I have been able to sit on my backyard deck and enjoy the quietness, listening to the birds singing and not the neighbor’s over loud stereo bass booming. Planning my next gardening adventure, I have pulled out some of my favorite garden books or barrowed more books from our local library. Photography, Gardening, Flower arranging, and home decor….I have bought more plants and planters. I have expanded my flowerbeds and created a mess with my garden watering system.
I found that I had to start watering early before I had my sprinkler timers ready. I currently have 6 different timers and all dependent on one timer. usually I have a couple days of the system not working and then I managed to get it all coordinated. It is not usually a problem because the temps for June are in the mid 70’s. Not so much this year, this year we have had temps in the 80’s and topping at the 90’s. I finally broke down and got the sprinkler timers going only to find one had quit and had to be replaced. A planned power outage for our local power company resulted in a request from the water guy to not water during that period of time. We are facing another drought year and I try to make my watering go further by watering at night, so I don’t catch that the system doesn’t work until the next morning when I have to manually water, during the morning before it gets too hot. All the while all the plants I have recently purchased are drying out because it is hot and they have not been watered. I have pushed myself to get some of the plants planted and only
had an occasional melt down because my sprinkler system wasn’t working as I want it too…
Finally, I have every plant I bought planted in the ground or the new pots I bought.
I have dahlia tubers planted and some are starting to come up. I am so ready to enjoy my gardens this summer but had to come up with a new watering plan because the garden ideas keep getting bigger…. Another order from Amazon should solve the watering problem, by splitting up the sprinkler timers….making each one individual and not dependent on the others.
I love gardening and I love photography. I love doing them in the early morning before the day heats up…. I love reading and I love shopping at thrift stores. Which leads me to the next installment of my story. The books bring me the ideas the garden provides me the flowers and the photography of the flowers in the vases I find give me the joy.
Except…
The studio Needs Work. Which is my next project now that the plants are planted. Assuming the watering system works right….
Deanne Dements Photography 