Canada Day 2010 was a day we will never forget. Approximately 120 mils of rain in such a short space of time, who could ever have imagined such a thing? Add this to the 13 or so inches of rain that we had in May and June, and it was a nightmare for gardeners.
The other day, we braved the mosquitoes and went out to survey the garden. It is a sad, dilapidated place! We didn't have much hail with that July 1 storm, but enough to damage the plants that were already struggling to survive in saturated soil. The rain pummeled them. And as we stood there, potato beetles crawled along, munching on what was left. How did they survive that storm? It's a mystery to me. They must be very resilient little creatures.
I would say that I am an optimistic person, but as we stood out in our drooping, broken little garden, I looked at it and saw the way it truly looks, not the way I wished it looked, and even I became discouraged. The end result is that the garden is struggling, so much so that I don't know if it can survive. Time will tell.
The scene made me think of the pioneers who truly depended on what they grew to feed them. We are in the fortunate position of time and place, with wonderful grocery stores that offer us fresh produce from all over the world. But imagine if that garden patch was what you depended on to feed your family for the winter ahead. Imagine yourself, say, one hundred years ago. You'd look up at the sky and see the dark clouds rolling in; you'd feel the oppressive stillness, the "calm before the storm". And in just a short time, all your hard work would be beaten or washed away by a fierce prairie storm. My heart goes out to those brave souls who had to endure such difficulty and disappointment. It's hard enough to bear right now, and thankfully, our gardens are not our sole source of food.
But as I said, I am an optimistic person, and we must look ahead and hope that we have nice weather in the coming weeks. If we had a reasonable summer, and a nice fall, our gardens could still surprise us! So that is what we must hope for!
I think there might be a few seats left on the bus for the tour to the International Peace Gardens on July 24. It will be a nice getaway, just for one day, and maybe that's just what we need after the Big Storm of 2010! If you think you'd like to join us, call Liz at 782-2830, and she can give you more information.
On Thursday, July 29, it's the Yorkton in Bloom Bus Tour. This is always a popular event, giving you a chance to see some of the many lovely prize-winning gardens in Yorkton. Glen is the man to speak to, not only about the competition itself, but about the bus tour. In conjunction with the City of Yorkton, Glen has worked on this delightful project for many years, putting in many hours and much hard work to help promote the gardens and gardeners of Yorkton. So if you have any questions about the categories or anything else you might need to know, just call Glen at 783-7040.
Till next time, let's not get discouraged about our gardens! They are still trying their best and so should we! Have a good week, wear a hat, and protect yourself from mosquitoes!
