Observations with a glass in need of a refill

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Our crabapple tree in a better year.

I am a “glass half full” person but lately I find myself waiting for the “other shoe to fall.” Each good thing seems to be counterbalanced.

We are having a strange spring. February brought warm weather that pushed plant growth. March brought a snowstorm and freezing weather that killed it.

We lost most of our flowering tree blossoms. Trees that always have abundant bloom are looking skimpy. Early leaves got burned too. Hopefully there will be new growth soon.

These aren’t mine but I did have years when my bushes were this beautiful. Source: Garden Direct

On the other hand, my blue Hydrangea plants which have had their buds frozen off the last three years appear to be thriving with healthy buds. Maybe it was that talk that I had with them last fall. I used words like “pulling you out” and “taking you to the dump.” Never underestimate the power of words. It works better with plants than with people.

This sweet little plant will soon grow up!

Growth is amazing. It can be people or critters or plants, it’s a miracle. One day something is small and innocent and the next day it’s large and opinionated (maybe that’s just for living creatures).

 

My tomato plants have started the hardening off process. They spend time outdoors weather permitting and come in at night, much like adolescents until they are ready to plant their roots and properly blossom.

It’s time to fill up the glass and enjoy the good. If a shoe drops, I’ll deal with it then.

59 thoughts on “Observations with a glass in need of a refill”

  1. It should come as no surprise that the weather is out of sorts. The greenhouse gases are really affecting atmospheric distributions of solar energy! I can wax for ages about the changing climate, if interested. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one mourning the loss of color this spring. Our pear tree usually has beautiful white flowers in the spring but only a few showed up this year. Our perennials are practically non existent and our cherry tree only has a few flowers.
    The weather played nasty tricks this year. Hopefully next year will be much better. Enjoy your refill..:)

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  3. Hydrangeas are my absolute FAVORITE flowers. My mother had our entire yard lined with them, and the were the envy of the neighborhood. Sadly, the new owner BURNED them all to the ground because they were too much to care for … yes, he did. My plants would take themselves to the dump if they heard that horror story.
    There is something in the air Kate, I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there. Cheers to new growth, this world could use some right now.

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  5. Glad to hear your putting-the-fear-of-god-into-’em talk with the Hydrangeas appears to have born fruit. So to speak. Born flower.

    Yours is clearly a big, bountiful, generous heart, and it feels such a privilege to witness, whether you are talking, plants, one-eyed critters (and also two-), or family gathered at a wedding. Thank you, Kate, for this gift.

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  6. Spring came too soon this year. I’m surprised all the flowering things didn’t freeze. I’ve noticed the cold weather did not seem to bother the weeds at all, though. They are thriving despite my efforts to rip them all up by the roots.

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    • Technically you need extras. You can have fungus like damping off come in wipe out the crop. I kept my group small this year. If I get wiped out, I’ll have to start over but so far looking good. I lost maybe 4 plants.

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  8. I learned that we can’t grow tomatoes in the soil in Arizona, but that Arizona is one of the biggest producers of tomatoes in this country. Know why? OK, I’ll tell you ;). Hydroponics!!! I also learned about aquaponics this week. I’m so excited with my new farming knowledge that I don’t know what to do with haha. Love hydrangeas. One of my favorite flowers. And your crabapple was gorgeous in a prior year. I’m sorry this spring is so weird!

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    • I didn’t know that either! I thought most of our off season produce came from California, Florida or in with the drugs from Mexico. I am glad that we are finally getting more moderate weather. March was our coldest month and that’s too late for that.

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      • California produce has very weak taste. I got sick recently from Mexican produce. Florida produce might be good, but I rarely see it out here. Arizona has warm weather and lots of worthless land, so I guess hydroponic is good except it’s more water we need here.

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  9. Our plants have also blossomed and then been snowed on during the last two months. We’re using that as our excuse if our garden isn’t looking its best this summer!!

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  10. It is heartbreaking to see newly formed buds either blown off a tree in the wind, shrivel in the heat, or freeze. I hope your area has seen the last of the cold weather and can now get busy producing the margarita weather you love – and you know what to do when your glass gets half-empty when drinking those!

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  13. Our plants seem to take turns. Last we we had a glorious lilac bush filled with fragrant blossoms. The buds this year must have frozen, as they are still there, but tiny and not growing. On the other hand, the wisteria has outdone itself. It’s flowering profusely. I suspect I will just accept what comes and be glad that I haven’t killed everything in the garden.

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  14. Maybe it was too cold for the squirrels this year, but they ate only one of the tulip bulbs I planted this year! The rest are coming up very well. Last year I got one and a half tulips!!! One grew about 4″ but never formed a bloom!

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  16. Our Geraniums have bloomed like crazy all year with appropriate rain each week- normally they are winter plants here and fade in hot weather…I try to shelter them until it’s cooler.
    It has been the oddest half full year in so many ways
    But, yep, we’ll deal with it. Enough gloomy

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  17. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the weather the rest of the year will be normal. So many of our spring flowers didn’t do so well either. Don’t know if that puts me in the half full or half empty glass category. Just happy to have a glass, I guess.

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  18. I’ve always been a glass half full person. Saw an interesting thing on Facebook the other day about a guy who lost his son and he was talking about the glass half full, but also about the glass half empty and instead of being depressed about it, thinking of ways to fill it up. It’s all a mind game anyway. We don’t do plants around here, although we had hydrangeas when I was growing up because my dad was a florist.
    Janet
    N is for Stevie Nicks

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  21. CH tells me I am a glass half empty person and I agree. But I am a glass half empty person with lots of hope… 🙂 Happy to hear that your Hydrangeas are filled with blooms! I am inclined to be concerned over the other shoe taking a tumble. For right now I am just enjoying every day of spring… I wouldn’t mind a bit more sunshine.

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    • I love them too but in my area the big leaf are iffy. A very cold spell will freeze the buds and they bloom on old stems. I also have two other varieties that aren’t as touchy but they don’t be the beautiful blue color!

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  23. I feel so bad for the defoliation of plants due to early spring and later freeze. Part of it is me feeling cheated out of the beautiful blossoms, but I also feel culpable – global warming and all.

    Hoping that when the other shoe falls, it will be a soft landing. Cheers, Kate.

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