Pages

Monday, April 25, 2011

6 Reasons to Garden on a Rainy Spring Day

Here are my reasons for putting on my raincoat, my already mud-caked shoes and gloves, and braving the sprinkling, trickling rain to move my plants around in the spring...

1. The plants are quite hydrated and shaded - less transplant shock to their systems.

2. The earth is soft - less muscle needed for digging and dividing.

3. Weeding is super easy - see #2.
4. No watering in when I am done! - less hauling of the hose is always a good thing.

(Then there are those days when it starts to drizzle and then promptly quits.  In such cases as these, I  am required to lug the hose around the house even though it is technically still "raining". When my neighbors see me watering my plants in the rain, I imagine they congratulate themselves on having proof for their misgivings about my sanity.   Of course I know the truth... that I am only watering the newly planted ones. This gives me comfort.)

5. Tea & cookies for a deserved warm-up/dry-off treat.  I am a dedicated tea drinker... the more flowery, the better.  My current favorites are Tazo's Berryblossom White, Tazo's Vanilla Apricot White and Numi's White Rose tea. I love white tea!
April 2009... Apricot Beauty tulips in our Driveway Garden
6. Because I would miss a day of gardening if I did not! - My husband forced me into confession of this point after reviewing this post in its early stages.  I am crazy (admitted of my own volition).

I am happier with rain dripping down my hood...
gloved-fingers heavy with mud...
hardly being able to hold on to the slick shovel...
getting my coat dirty like a toddler set loose in a mud pit...
as long as I get to be in my garden!

I am an all-weather gardener, you might say.

15 comments:

  1. You're my kind of crazy. =)

    ~ husband

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hear, hear! You've got to "make hay while the sun shines"....or the rain falls! A gardener has to do what a gardener has to do :-) It is so much easier on the plants for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your husbands comment =)
    The Seattle forecast for the next two weeks, you'll never guess...RAIN!! Great points you make, its like the Positive of gardening during life of constant rain. I'll be out there in my galoshes!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. haha - your neighbor's misgivings about your sanity really made me laugh! That's why I'm glad the neighbors can't see me! Cute post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Absolutely you are not crazy you are a gardener and we do this...I was out in the rain as well...although my yard is soupy from too much rain but I didn't care...I stepped carefully and finished the clean up in 2 hours...gardening in the rain is one of my favorites too

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fun post. Just remind those who garden in clay soil not to dig when it is wet or they end up with clods.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice. I spent the morning in the garden too transplanting and planting a few pots. We had sprinkles but nothing of any substance. Praying for rain!! I don't think you're one bit crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post! Your boots give you a legitimate reason #7: so you can wear cute rain gear! I like to garden on dreary days, for all the reasons you stated. I always try to transplant, as well as fertilize, right before a good rain.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very cute post! I definitely like to pull weeds after a good rain; that is what keeps me sane, otherwise it is futile to pull weeds from hard cracked clay. I like to reward myself after a hard days work in the garden with a little treat as well!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have those same gloves! :) :) And they are great in the rain, no?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've been out almost every day--even when its been COLD and RAINY looking at our flowers blooming!!
    I think you're rubbing off on me Julie:)
    ~Olivia

    ReplyDelete
  12. NellJean: I was going to make that point too! Digging in wet clay soil is really not fun and *destroys* the soil structure. Weeding though is fantastic, as is pulling out saplings. A little tree's roots that surely are wrapped around a boulder when the soil is dry just slide out of the ground after a good soaking. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was out today in the rain edging the beds for all the reasons you mentioned. The spade cuts like butter when the ground is moist.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love your new boots! And of course I love reading about your passion for your garden. Thank you for sharing it!
    - Your Friend, Angela

    ReplyDelete
  15. I agree 100% with everything you said in your post. There is no better time to plant than when it's raining and point #6 is the clincher.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.