Guest Post: Lornet’s mad as hail in Indiana
31 May
I received this e-mail from Lornet at midnight (her time), so she must’ve still been steamed, even after a hot bath:
Beautiful spring day in Indiana. Started digging in a sweatshirt, gradually warmed to tank top temperature. Worked on moving plants from an area around the septic tank because sometime this month we will have the grinder for the new septic system that nobody needs or wants hooked up. This involves digging a Y-shaped trench a couple feet deep and mostly through two flower beds and a grass path.
After having moved an ornamental grass, two large hostas, 14 coral bells and, of course, redesigning other beds in order to accommodate the transplants, I was about half done and feeling pretty good about the day’s work. Then it started to sprinkle. I went on spreading mulch. Then it started to rain and Little Girl ran to me and started meowing. We both ran for the porch thinking it would stop soon since the sun was still shining. Not so—more rain and thunder, then hail. BIG hail. Thought it might crack the windows. Of course BIG wind too. The big ninebark by the garage was bent double. Sheets of rain … are you bored yet?
After the storm, I decided to go back out and work some more. Now, I have well over 50 varieties of hostas. I know most of the names, depending upon if I’m having a good or bad day, memory-wise. It will be easy to remember the names now because they are all Swiss Cheese. The hostas are going to be really pretty when the holes start turning brown and the broken leaves die. I HAD a Sun Power at least four foot across. Half the stems were broken off. My red peonies, ponies, pineys were just beautiful this morning. The weeds look good though!
Oh, no! I’m so sorry. I know what a gentle rain can do to peonies, ponies, pineys, so I can just imagine how yours must have suffered. I’m so sorry. And the hosta – that would break my heart as I’m a serious hosta-lover, too. Mother Nature can be pretty terrible at times, can’t she? At least you’re safe, and the plants will grow again. I don’t know that even Mother Nature could easily kill a hosta.
Thanks for the sympathy, Kim. I guess the logo on my door mat says it all. Serious Gardening is not for chickens!