Hello again friends! August has been a roller coaster of excitement, but also a month of long periods of downtime. The month kicked off in high gear as we were actively preparing for our garden tour visitors. And, what a truly delightful group of garden enthusiasts they were! Thank you so much to the entire Imatran Puutarhan Ystävät ry 🙂 Lots of great questions, and very knowledgeable plants people! Pekka and I wish to offer you our sincere thanks for including our garden in your Länsi-Uusimaa garden tour!

Nearly everything in the garden was performing as it usually does, but unfortunately none of the Limelight Hydrangeas were in flower. The Annabelle were blooming away, but I can only think the lack of rain stunted the bloom cycle from starting when it should have. Of course they looked fab eventually – but they popped a week too late. What a shame. As for many of the roses, it was much the same situation. The first flush of blooms was late, and for any repeat-blooming varieties, that meant the second flush would also be delayed. So it goes.

Every spring, as I watch the remains of winter fade away, I wonder if this is going to be the year when everything comes together for once, in the garden. And every year, we instead have to overcome something which sets everything back. Whether it was a brutal, damage causing winter, or it was a late spring or some other freak weather event that holds up development or has created destruction. Then compounded upon seasonal fluctuations, there are the periods which now seem to becoming regular, of extended periods of drought-like conditions and increased heat during the summer months. It’s tough to keep suiting up with so many odds against success.

For about 10 days after the garden tour – it remained sunny and warm – everything looked good, even if it was still parched from the lack of rain. Amazing how the plants were able to cope in such conditions. I know it does take a toll on the vitality and long-term health of the plants and trees to go through extended periods of stress. You cannot know how relieved I was when significant rainfall finally arrived – and now lately – with real gusto. In the last two days, we have received 45-55 mm of rain – it was raining so hard, there was 0 chance of going out to empty the rain gauge – that’s on top of the nearly daily rain that had already visited us over the ten days prior. With the heavy rain that pelted us all day yesterday, some high wind also blew in and toppled a very tall tree on the council side, just meters from our fence line. Currently, the tree is listing at a sharp angle, has snapped about 50 cm from the ground, but hasn’t fallen to the ground as its canopy is tangled up with a clump of trees adjacent. Pekka will need to notify the council – it isn’t safe for anyone walking over there. No way of telling where the tree could eventually fall, either!

So, how is everything in the garden looking, you might be wondering? Well, frankly, it’s a LOT soggy just now! Grass is long, and is unlikely to be mowed anytime soon. While today is forecast to be rain-free – the “sogfest” starts right up again tomorrow, straight through Sunday. So, much more of the same. 🙂 I slipped on the wellies and ventured into the wilds and returned with these photos.

Thank goodness we are fortunate to have gravel paths around the house now! Mud-free and the yard is remarkably in super shape. No ponding, runoff troughs, etc.. Although, it’s fair to say summer appears to be on the fast track of decline. The sunlight hours are noticeably shorter, and there’s a coolness in the air this morning that seems more akin to autumn than summer. Enjoy it while it lasts!!!

Hopefully, you haven’t had to overcome freakish weather or unseasonable conditions where you live – although I know a few of our friends have dealt with even worse this year. As always, thank you for stopping by, and for your comments. They really do feed the machine, with which this ol’ gal takes incentive to keep suiting up.

Until next time,

❤ Vanha Talo Suomi