“In the Garden” is my monthly series of photos and notes about what’s going on in our garden. It’s a record of the seasons at Woodside: what we’re growing, the projects we tackle and, over time, a chance to look back on how the garden changes and evolves.
I’ve been away from both writing and gardening, so this very off-cycle newsletter is just to say “hello!”
It wasn’t intentional, but time kept slipping by and it’s just how things worked out. We spent much of the summer traveling. First, we were in southwest France in early July, where we own a small vacation home. Purchased over ten years ago, we haven’t been able to spend as much time there as we intended to, but we’re trying to do better. This visit was primarily clean-up and preparation for another trip later this year with friends. Then, a few days in Vancouver to see the city and watch Wrexham vs. the White Caps play, followed by a weekend to Cape Cod to eat seafood and watch the ocean. All lovely trips, but before we knew it, it was the middle of August.
In Tennessee, summer is challenging for the garden: it’s hot and humid, and we can go weeks without rain. There were extended periods this year when the temperatures languished in the upper 90s (over 35C).
When it gets that hot, any plant in a pot needs watering at least daily, and any shrub or tree still in its first year in the ground will need supplemental watering to survive.
We don’t have drip irrigation yet for our vegetable garden, so we set up a sprinkler on a timer while we were gone and hoped it would be enough to keep things going while we were gone.
Let me be clear: Watering your plants every day or every other day from above is a terrible idea. Wet foliage, especially during summer when it’s hot and humid, invites every bacterial disease and fungus that wants to kill your plants. It also does a great job of watering areas that you’d rather stay dry (like paths or mulched areas) and encourages weed overgrowth.
If you can, always water the soil, not the foliage.
But sometimes in life, it’s a choice between a very bad idea and letting all your plants die from the heat and lack of water. C’est la vie.
By the time we returned, the garden was an overgrown mess, and there were casualties. The cherry tomatoes - which had performed so beautifully last year right up until the first frost, were rotting and mostly dead. Weeds had popped up everywhere in the beds and out-competed peppers, watermelon, and squash. Our Zinnias had gotten a leaf spot fungus and were dying out. Something happened to our Dahlias, and parts of the plants died off entirely.
At least three shrubs we planted last fall got sun-scorched and may or may not survive, including a Rhodendron that I was very excited about.
To add insult to injury, weeds had grown in the cracks of the stone walkways and throughout every ornamental bed we had so carefully cleared during the spring.
We’ve done some triage in the week or so since we’ve been back, but honestly, it’s too hot and humid - even in the mornings - to do the serious work that needs to be done. Much of it will have to wait until the humidity breaks and summer shifts to autumn in earnest.
All of this is frustrating and disappointing, but it’s also a good reminder that the garden will be there next year, and so will I. Every year is a chance to start fresh, learn something new, and do something better. It doesn’t have to be perfect, no matter what the Instagram algorithm may serve up.
Here are some photos around the garden from August:
I love to travel, and it feels like we’re still making up time for those lost Covid years, but summer in the garden here is a rich season and one not to be missed. Certainly the garden misses us when we are gone, so I think next year we’ll stay put during those lazy summer months.
“Field Notes from Woodside Gardens” is a collection of stories about creating a garden. Most Fridays, I share what’s going on in our garden, along with tips and ideas that you can use in yours, wherever you are. Please consider becoming a free subscriber if you haven’t already done so.