Sprinkler Standoff and Other Garden Chat

September! Yesss! My favorite gardening time is nigh upon us! We are racing towards fall despite the extreme heat and humidity! This morning, I spent a wonderful time in the garden. I weeded, pruned, fertilized, and watered. I was hot, sweaty, muddy, and wet by the time I stopped, but I loved it. I felt like a real gardener again. I’m going to try to do a little every day.

I’ve had an epiphany. I’ve been at war with our sprinkler system since its installation ten years ago; we had it installed when we first moved in. It’s never been enough. No matter how many tweaks, additions, changes, improvements – call them what you will – and no matter how much money we have poured into it -- a ridiculous amount, I might add -- one area or another goes without water. Plants die, seeds fail to sprout, edibles wither on the stems when we’re not looking.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Gardeners should always be looking. Why have a garden if you’re not going to spend time in it? For a gardener, it’s a joy to be out there. So – crazy thought -- why not water the raised beds myself? Imagine that! I don’t think it’s unreasonable of me to expect our sprinkler system to work. But it is unreasonable, not to mention stubborn, to deny myself and my plants to spite… what? The sprinkler system?

I did ask my hero if he might consider attacking the problem himself rather than hiring it out again. He agreed! But Joseph is busy…so busy. I will be watering with the hose until he has time. Once he’s solved the problem (which he will if it’s at all possible), I will continue to monitor and not be a baby about watering my plants myself, as gardeners and farmers have done since forever.

Watering issues aside, I’ve ordered more seed packets! In case you missed that post, I’m currently obsessed! In all my years of gardening, I’ve sown plenty of vegetable seeds but very few flowers. This summer, irritated by the poor performance of bedding plants, I tossed some zinnia seeds around and they grew! I became a seed monster overnight! I plan on buying very few potted plants this coming season.
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It's just so fun.