The month of August – is a test wrote Richardson Wright in The Gardener’s Bed-Book.
Anyone will garden in the spring, for there is no resisting the allure of it, and in the autumn, it is likewise no effort to arouse interest, but August is the time when many a gardener’s enthusiasm drops to zero. So much of the month’s work is merely the grind of routine—keeping down the weeds, . . . and seeing that plants do not lack water. (page 204)
Lack of water isn’t a problem this year, so far. Maryland has had record rainfall in just two weeks, but with it, other problems: flooding, debris in the Bay, and mosquitoes. Keeping the saucers of the pots emptied has been an unexpected chore, when I am letting many others slide.
Dealing with an August Test
It isn’t that I am stuck indoors, the way wintery weather sidelined me; I choose to stay in cooler, drier air. Seriously . . .
But the rain and humidity are just what the plants and weeds need. They are luxuriant! So much so, if you squint, passing our home, you couldn’t tell what’s a weed, or what’s intentional!
“Let me ask you,” Doug began. “That large green thing growing outside the front window, do you think it is a sunflower?”
It is.
A Test: What is It?
But, it pays to ask about what’s growing where in our beds.
The side beds have several large and sprawling plants that I am not sure about what they are.
What’s more, the neighbor’s yard, which abuts our yard, encroaches boldly into the bed. They prune, but do not cultivate. So, something is always blooming in unexpected places. Kind of like finding God’s fingerprints in unexpected places.
May all your weeds be wildflowers. ~Anonymouse
What Gives Me an Inferiority Complex Most?
What’s more, I went overboard with wildflowers that are bee and butterfly-friendly. However, I did not carefully mark what I put where, and having disposed of the seed packets, I am not sure what’s what.
I am sure about the sunflowers, though. The problem, though, is I didn’t allow for elbowroom, and they are knocking into each other, as raining days knock them about.
But here’s a reward for any test August may pose:
If you are a gardener, you can always put “Plant Manager” on your résumé. ~Author Unknown