Vacillating Weather
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HEADLINES THAT COME TO MIND
SPRING SETBACK
Fickle April Up To Her Old Tricks!
100-Year Record HIGH Temperature Matched in March
Kentucky’s Fluctuating Temperatures At It Again!
The local-yokels have the saying: “If you don’t like Kentucky’s weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change.”
In this region, 2006 November, December, and 2007 January, February, March and into early April were far too warm for normal. It was supposed to be cold!
The high temperature of March 26, 2007, tied our 100-year record high for that date (March 26). The record high was 80 degrees F (26.6 C).
Saturday night, March 31 (2007) P.M. into early morning Sunday, April 1 A.M. -
RAIN (We needed it.)
Monday, April 2 –
Lovely day, but too wet to garden.
Tuesday, April 3 –
Tuesday was absolutely perfect and beautiful!!! A beautiful, perfect day! It was one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen and the garden was at its peak of blossoms and expanding new growth. The sky was beautiful, the white clouds were beautiful.
Tulips and other flowers were flown wide open to sun and bees in voluptuous wild sexy abandon bouncing and waving like flags in the strong breeze, and the birds were practically screaming their joy at the top of their lungs. I lived for a few hours in a perfect world. I knew those moments were what I had worked for throughout the previous year. What a deeply appreciated dose of beauty!
But, all the day I knew the “strong breeze” was blowing up a rain. By evening the clouds turned thick and very gray. Temperatures were predicted to plunge come night. We rushed to gather potted plants into the garage – my only holding space. They had spent the winter out of doors in a dormant state, but now they had new tender top growth that would be killed.
Constant in my mind was the date: April 3. That night would be the anniversary of terrible tornadoes in 1974 (I think it was.) and this year it spawned tornadoes about the country again. Very stormy, unsettled weather!
Wednesday, April 4
The day dawned cold. The flowers were all closed up tight and everything had a cold and pinched appearance. A cold wind blew. It was cloudy.
A friend called that morning to say she needed to finalize the article she wanted to write for the local newspaper about garden blogs including me and mine. They had given her “the go ahead” - finally.
I told her if they wanted photos of the garden they better get out here and get them before night - for it was going to drop to 20 degrees (F), and everything would be gone by the next morning (Thursday). One of the photographers was available at 3:00 o’clock, then they changed it to 4:00, so they barely made it before dark. That was really pushing it.
Of course, everything was all closed up and cold looking and I was wearing my big ole' bulky down coat and old red felt hat. I couldn't find my better hat - the brown one - and said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to wear this OLD RED one crammed down on my head!" (I really, really wanted my brown one, but couldn't find it.) One of my Helpers laughed and said, "Well, that's the way you always look!" Of course he was correct, but I didn't want to look like that in the paper.
The photo session came and went. It did get colder that night.
Thursday, April 5 –
Brrrrrr! Plants are freezing! I try to cover a few, then uncover, then cover again.
Friday, April 6 –
April is known for (and is supposed to have) nice liquid “April Showers”.
It is 27 degrees F now (five degrees below freezing), at the time of this writing. And has been in the twenties at night most of this week. Three young men were here helping me today and we worked in heavy, thick snow flurries - getting colder by the minute! By morning there may be nothing left as far as pretty blossoms. Some years are like that, phooey! Well, never a dull moment. Something different most every week - never know what to expect.
The three helpers worked until almost dinnertime and then called it a day. They usually work on until dark, but the wet and the cold was getting too much for all of us. They left and I wanted to take a drive in the falling snow. We did - it was beautiful - and we had dinner at a nearby restaurant.
When we returned I waded out across the back yard to cover a young clematis vine. On the way I discovered red tulips full of snow. When I told Husband/Best Friend/ Chief Photographer, he grabbed the camera and out he went into the snow again.
Now, the leaves on trees and shrubs hang dark and limp like old dishrags. Most everything is frozen because new growth was well on its way when the cold hit. I am very concerned for the young plants that were planted last year as this was their first spring and they were filling out nicely. The frozen tulips are bowed over kissing the earth. I have no idea what will have the vigor and strength to re-grow and try again. Dear plants, forget about flowering – just live!
BAD April!!!
"April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow,...."
(From “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot)
But Enough To Be Pretty
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