Dog Days of Summer

August is turning into a bear of a month. The drought in the Bluegrass state is well into its 3rd week and everything is starting to show wear and tear. Although I am trying remove much of the lawn on my one acre property, I still have large expansives of grass - it's looking bad. There are places were the ground is cracked into wide fissures running along the ground.

I have been trying to keep the container plants, veggie garden and young trees watered, but even they are starting to show signs of giving up the fight to the drought.

All plans for my fall garden have been put on hold until we can get a good soaking rain to re-saturated the parched soil. I do have some seedlings started, but for now, I'm keeping them in pots until I'm sure they can survive in the garden.




Even with everything scrotched and dying in the garden, there are a few things that are thriving in the heat and drought. The Autumn Joy sedum is just coming into bloom and is showing no signs of stress. I have this lining my driveway and this area gets the full sun and heat from the road and driveway all day long.

The goldenrod and ironweed are also coming into bloom, and although the leaves are showing some wear and tear, the blooms have not been effected. I love the yellow of the goldenrod mixed with the purple ironweed - they make wonderful cut arrangements. The frost asters are also starting to bud, although there are no flowers yet. When the asters bloom, it looks like snow in the backyard, but that's a few more weeks away.

So, all in all, even with the long, dry summer, I have a few things to be happy about in the gardens.

To Weed or Not To Weed

This spring, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to mow my backyard - the riding mower is on the frits and I am not going to push mow an acre! So my backyard currently looks like a jungle, no kidding.

I have so many plans for the back 40, but I have limited time and resources. I have several garden beds layed out and I have been transplanting divisions from the front yard to the back.

However, with no way to easily mow the back, I have only mowed a few paths through the backyard; mainly to reach the water meter, pick blackberries and transplant divisions. What I have noticed over the past two months is that I am getting a VAST array of wildflowers, tree seedlings and shrubs.

Most people would be horrified to have such an overgrown yard, but I am in natural gardening heaven! The tall bluegrass and fescue I can do without, but some other plants are definitely keepers:

-Several different species of Goldenrod - the official state flower of Kentucky - have sprung up all through the backyard. This is my number one keeper!

-Ironweed, mostly seen in cow pastures and fields, ha sprouted up in several places. I love the purple flowers.

-Milkweed; most of you probably think this is a weed - but you would be mistaken. Milkweed is a host plant for the Monarch butterfly and I love butterflies in my garden. This one is also a keeper.

-Walnut tree seedlings; I am allowing three black walnut trees to take up residence at the extreme bottom of my yard. I love walnuts and if I keep them confined to the very back, I won't have to worry about walnuts all in my garden in the fall.

-Hickory nut seedlings; this is a definite "must keep". As I child I use to go with my grandparents in the fall to pick hickory nuts for the winter.

In addition to the new plant life, my overgrown backyard has become home to all types of wildlife:

-Rabbits

-Squirrels

-Foxes

-Bluebirds

-Red tailed hawks

So, if you want to attract wildlife or native plants to your yard, just leave a small portion of your grass unmowed and see what takes root in your gardens.