Well Pardon this Gardener as I have been slacking again on keeping up with the blog.

It was a hot, dry, drought filled Summer here in the Southwestern Suburbs of Chicago.  We spent more time over 100 degrees than I can ever remember in my life. 

My Gardener's garden made it through the heat & drought.  The lawn took a beating from the heat & the grubs this year.  Last year's warmer than usual Winter led to a bumper crop of insects in the garden this year.

We are still in a drought having gotten less than 2" of rain in September.   The temperatures are cooler than normal right now & the trees are losing their leaves quickly.  I am hoping we get some meaningful rain through November & that we get enough snowfall this Winter make up for our brutal Summer.

I am going to try to remember to post here at least once a week.

Keep on gardening!

Pardon My Garden for being so happy.  We got some more rain this morning & the garden is quite happy. 

By my count we've gotten about 3.5" of rain in the last week.  We certainly have needed it.  My water bill needed a break too.  Though I still maintain to Mr. My Gardener that it is cheaper to water than to replace plant material or turf if we let it die during this drought & heat wave.

This hasn't been a good Summer for garden projects because of the heat & drought.  This is the first time...maybe ever that I haven't divided & moved plants around almost daily.  It's been more of a try to keep it alive holding pattern this year.  All in all My Gardener's garden has come through the worst of it pretty well & keeping the garden watered & happy has been a full time job in and of itself.  I will have to plot & plan My Gardener's plant shuffle for next year.  I have a lot of plants that need dividing & moving as the trees have grown & the amount of sun in different parts of the garden has changed.  It will give me something to do this Winter I guess.

Happy gardening!!!!

Well Pardon My Garden, but my plants are cross breeding all on their own.

It's always a fun surprise to find something new in your garden & this year My Gardener's garden is creating some funky Tradescantias( Spiderworts).  I have several different varieties in My Gardens.  Tradescantia 'Zwanenburg Blue', 'Red Cloud', 'Concorde Grape', 'Osprey', 'Snowcap'.  I 've had them all for many years now & they've never crossed before but this year they did and now they're making their own varieties.  The one pictured here I fancy calling 'Cotton Candy' because it reminds me of the cotton candy you get at the fair.

Happy Gardening!

Well Pardon My Gardener for being content despite the drought.
The garden is in a good holding pattern & I can't complain given how crazy this year's weather has been.  

I had high hopes of moving some plants & dividing perennials this year but I am glad I didn't with the extreme heat & drought.

I guess there's always next year.

Good Morning!  My Gardener's garden is a buzz with activity.  The bees are everywhere in my garden enjoying the flowers.

I've had a bumper crop of bees in the garden this year.  A neighbor raises Italian honey bees & they are always in the garden.

I have mason bees, honey bees, bumble bees or all sorts. 

Believe it or not I have never been stung by a bee despite my many, many years of gardening.  Wasps, yellow jackets & hornets, sure.  Bees, never.  I wade into the flowers pruning with reckless abandon & they never bother me.  I like to think we have a mutual appreciation for each others job in the garden.

And that's today's garden buzz.  Happy gardening!

Good Morning!  Pardon My Garden for being so out of control despite the drought.  We have water restrictions here & I I follow them.  Even with the water restrictions I have managed to keep My Gardener's gardens alive & looking good.  During the worst part of the heat wave I took great pains to water each of my plants with the hose( I took the nozzle off) and let them soak in deep drinks.  Getting deep watering to the roots is what helped them survive the extreme heat ( almost 4 weeks at 95-105 degrees) & the lack of rain. 

My water bill went up a bit but I figure it's less expensive than replacing all my gardens & my lawn.  As you know if you follow my blog,we finally got almost 3" of rain the other day.  The ozone from the lightening & good rain perked all my plants up that much more.   It's a beautiful morning out so I'm going to go do some fussing & weeding in my gardens.  Have a great day & happy gardening!

Well we finally got some much needed rain last night.  We were 6" behind on rainfall for the year & got 2.5" in one fell swoop!   I know my gardens were happy.  There is no substitution for rain & the ozone from the lightening always gives the plants a boost.

My Gardener's garden is much happier today after the rain!  Happy Gardening!