2013: Damp & Cold

To paraphrase Steinbeck's East of Eden, February of 2013 was a year heavy with water. And it has been; at 10”, Nashville is 30% above average precipitation for the year. We have also had several wind storms which caused downed trees and power lines. My neighbors had two cars totaled after a recent wind storm; the ground was just too saturated to hold a large precarious tree, which luckily missed their house when it fell.

The wet weather has been great for any new trees planted this winter, and for all early blooming trees, shrubs, and flowers. It’s a relief to see Flowering Quinces, Daffodils, Hellebores, and Cherry trees blooming, only 21 days till spring! This year’s Vernal Equinox is on March 20^th. And just one day after is a lecture on native plants and rain gardens at the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center by Mike Berkley of GroWild, more info here.

In my own garden I am cutting back anything yet to be cut back, mulching, and planting. I still need to severely prune my butterfly bushes and camellias, as well as plant a new Rhododendron. There are still several weeks left in the ideal planting window to get any last minute trees or shrubs in the ground before bud break. I am so looking forward to longer days and weather better suited to spending time outside!

hot as hell with a side of drought

Black-Eyed Susan

Nashville saw its hottest day ever June 29, at 109 degrees. Throughout this summer we have shattered existing high temperature records and last week we had multiple 104-degree days. Not only was June one of the hottest months on record, it was also one of the driest and we are in the midst of a full-on drought.

Pretty much any plant not being watered regularly is a plant that is struggling. We will lose many trees this summer due to the high heat and drought conditions. Species that appear to be struggling the most include Sycamore (Platanus), Tulip Poplar (Liriodenron), and Redbud (Cercis).

These ArborRain watering bags will help newly planted trees and shrubs. The peppers and herbs are doing great. Of my tomatoes, only the Super Sweet 100, Yellow Pear, and Romas are performing well. A native Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is pictured above, and is the only thing alive in that scorched field.

green peppers

tomatoes

With all of the blackberries I harvested from the backyard, I made a blackberry-peach cobbler that wasn't too shabby. This is the tried and true easy-peasy fruit cobbler recipe I used; simply switch out the fruit for whatever is in season or (in the freezer) at the time.

got water?

Ironically, since the great flood of 2010, the city of Nashville has been short on water. One of our two water treatment facilities was badly damaged during the flood. In addition to our reservoirs being wiped out, our treatment capacity was down 50%. Since then, we have been on various levels of water restriction.

It rained last night for about 30 minutes, thank goodness. We are still under water restrictions and unable to water landscape plants. However, since my boyfriend ‘outed’ my illicit water usage to a neighbor at a cook-out last night, I will freely admit here that I have watered a few plants with tap water in recent weeks.

The plants I’m illegally watering happen to be my (4) tomato and (3) pepper plants which I’m hoping will be excused since they are ‘crops’ that we will draw nourishment from. Besides, I’m merely using a Yazoo growler which I carry by hand from the kitchen to the garden. There are no hoses involved!

I still remain vigilant in all other realms of water conservation and plan to use any water caught in outdoor containers to water the garden. I wasn’t even going to mention the time someone I live with forgot about the water restrictions and cleaned out his cooler with the hose in the driveway…

But in all seriousness, this water restriction has had a huge impact on our local community. This week, car washes in Davidson County were allowed to re-open for a few hours each day. Along with car washes, many other businesses have been hit hard by the water restrictions. If you own or work for a pressure washing company, pool company, irrigation company, or landscape company, your livelihood is probably in jeopardy.

I was talking to a neighbor from Australia last weekend about the water restrictions. She said that water restrictions like the ones we’ve been living with for a few weeks are a way of life in parts of Australia. In fact, the local government tests the amount of water in your soil and will fine you if the water content is too high!

Our water reservoirs have stabilized to 85%, and they say the other water treatment facility will be operational within the next week. I sure hope it is. But in the meantime the water restrictions have been a good reminder of what we should be doing anyways, conserving water.

the flood of 2010

My city, Nashville, is recovering. Last week, 15 inches of rain fell in less than two days, leaving much of the city underwater and without electricity or phone service. I’m told that Bellevue and Antioch got the worst of it; but directly across the street from me, my neighbor’s home became engulfed by a raging river of flood water.

I am one of the lucky ones with little to no damage. Some of my neighbors have spent a week cleaning up the debris and destruction. A lot of people are living in temporary housing while they work on their homes. Most people have electricity restored and they are making strides toward re-opening one of our city’s two water treatment plants.

Eight families in my immediate area lost all they have. When you drive down the streets, it looks like a war zone. The streets and cars are covered with a layer of mud. There are spray-painted X’s on windows. Waterlines come up halfway on some of the homes. Peoples’ whole lives are piled up at the curb, ruined. Fallen trees and debris are scattered everywhere you look.

In light of this, I’m taking some time off from blogging about my garden and would like to remind people of ways they can help Nashvillians. In the photo, you can see Anderson Cooper wearing the ‘We Are Nashville’ t-shirt by CoolPeopleCare. You can purchase these to directly support flood relief in our area. Find out more on their website.