Missed Us Again!

– Posted in: Weather
8 comments

On the 16th some of my kids went blackberry picking about 2 miles away (as the crow flies). While they were gone, it sprinkled just a bit outside, not enough to stop a determined berry picker. Well, when the kids got home, they were soaked! Apparently what was a sprinkle over here was a torrential downpour over there. I think they had a good half inch of rainwater in their berry buckets when they pulled up our dusty driveway.

We did get some rain on Sunday, but I wasn’t home when we got it. Those who were here seemed to think it was a decent rainfall, but when I pulled a few weeds on Monday, the roots were dry as ever. My friend Bub said she got 12/100 of an inch in her rain gauge (mine’s broken), but she’s a mile and a half away in a different direction than the berry patch, so who knows? Maybe we got a bit more. At any rate, it is still way too dry here. We have started our usual water conservation measures and are praying that will be enough.

But both the heat and the humidity have dropped significantly, which is a huge relief. It finally feels like a normal summer. Too bad it’s almost over. Goldenrod and asters have started blooming. Joe-Pye weed has been blooming for a while. In your area, would you call those plants late-summer plants or early-autumn plants (assuming they grow in your area)?

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

Now, the digging and dividing of perennials, the general autumn cleanup and the planting of spring bulbs are all an act of faith. One carries on before the altar of delayed gratification, until the ground freezes and you can’t do any more other than refill the bird feeder and gaze through the window, waiting for the snow. . . . Meanwhile, it helps to think of yourself as a pear tree or a tulip. You will blossom spectacularly in the spring, but only after the required period of chilling.

~Adrian Higgins in The Washington Post, November 6, 2013

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bill August 23, 2005, 8:51 pm

asters, eupatorium, goldenrod – none of those have bloomed here yet. but then it is still 100 in the afternoons here. but we are getting rain!

Kathy Purdy August 23, 2005, 11:52 am

Nothing substantial. On Sunday we got a half hour shower, but it wasn’t enough to cause a significant change in the appearance of plants or the level of the water table. We are rationing water for personal use and my peonies and lilacs are drooping. I have read of other mid-West bloggers whose drought has finally broken, but it seems that as those storms move east they also move north toward New England, and we only get the ragged edges and not the deluge. I can’t imagine having to grow all the family’s food under these conditions. Thank God we can still find food at the supermarket, and the prices haven’t risen as fast as gasoline prices.

jenn August 23, 2005, 10:19 am

K, has the rain come yet?

OldRoses August 22, 2005, 3:52 am

It’s still too early for fall here in “tropical” NJ. My asters aren’t even budded yet. I haven’t seen any goldenrod blooming along the roadsides yet either. I’m ready for fall, though. This summer has been way too hot and humid. We could have used some more rain too.

cyndy August 21, 2005, 7:05 am

Around here (base of the Catskill mountains) I think of Joe Pyeweed and Goldenrod as early autumn plants…they are usually the last to bloom, along with the cardinal flower (lobelia) around the river. When I see them blooming, it is usually a signal that the nights will be getting cooler, and the leaves will start to change color soon..so yea…early autumn…which by the way is starting to appear.

Sandy August 19, 2005, 6:13 am

Up here, on the coast of Maine, we have been having a stellar summer! It has rained just enough to keep the 200+ fir and pine seedlings I planted moist without having to drag the hose around. This is the first year for my Joe Pye Weed and it’s just now beginning to bloom, as are the asters. Goldenrod is starting to bloom along the roadways. We dipped into the 40’s last night, but the forecast is for warmer, humid weather again for the weekend. All in all, it’s been a great season for my garden.

jenn August 18, 2005, 4:11 pm

“It finally feels like a normal summer. Too bad it’s almost over.”

This is my lament, too.

And the water issues. I finally got extravagent yesterday and dragged the hose around to the borders, but not before the baptisia took a dive for the rest of this year. Sigh. That plant may never bloom at this rate. Have to look at moving it to somewhere else…

Tonight I do the drag-around to the pots again. (Most of these are big enough or sheltered enough that I can get away with an every/other or every/third day water schedule.)

Alice Nelson August 18, 2005, 3:51 pm

Goldenrod and asters are late summer-early autumn flowers in the U.P. The asters in my garden are not blooming yet, but goldenrod is blooming out along the country roads. Speaking of rain missing, last Tuesday there was a terrific storm just south of us. We were on our way south form Lake Superior to Lake Michigan and we were hit by a terrific straight line wind and constant thunder, lightening and rain.
Here, we understand, they got a little bit of rain, though my son who is a little south of us received an inch and a half. Frustrating. But we were glad the wind didn’t hit our area while we were away. In some places, quite a number of trees were down, and one was 3/4 across the roadway that we were traveling. But we are still watering! Looks like rain now, but who knows? Yes, it is a bit cooler, but humid today again.