I’ve been playing in my garden again. It’s been the rainiest June on record in our part of the country. Early in the year we heard warnings about another year of drought, so we bought rain barrels and set them up. Wonderful! After the first rain, we hurriedly drained them to be ready for the next storm. To set them up, my dear husband bought flexible tubing to replace the old downspouts, cut the metal ones, and replaced them with the plastic tubing. After a few storms in close succession, he had to divert those tubes to run away from the barrels. We have over 100 gallons stored in those barrels, and no need to use it. It seems that it rains every night. We are so grateful for the recovery from the drought. I hear the corn crop, which was late in planting, is flourishing now.

We’re getting a new fence and reconfiguring the back yard. In preparation, I’ve been digging up plants along the fence line and moving them. I’ve also contracted someone to come with a big machine, to grind up old stumps and root out weed trees. This has to be done after the old fence comes out, and before the new one goes in. The fence contractor will take out the old fence, but wants to set the new posts on the same day. So, I’ll be getting some help to partially remove the old fence so I can get those weed trees out, before the fence guy comes. By the way, the definition of “weed” is “a plant in a place you don’t want it.”

I’ve noticed that the ground is, so to speak, programmed to grow something. And, in the wild, or untended spaces, plants will grow in tiers: something very low to the ground, something about a foot high, something 2-3 feet high, and so on up to the trees at their various levels. I’ve noticed that a fine layer of close to the ground weeds has come up under the tomato plants, and I’m inclined to leave them there. They shade the ground and keep the water, not that we need any extra water this year.

Years ago, the science fiction novel “DUNE” included some little crystals to put in the garden to retain water during rain, and release it during drought. Great idea in the sci-fi world, and now a product on the market. I’ve put it in the garden, and I realize that it is absorbing the extra water and keeping the soil from being waterlogged. It looks like little clear marbles. I do have more than enough peat in the soil to absorb water, but you can’t be too careful in these matters.

We had planted two very small blueberry bushes in a raised bed along the old fence line two years ago. Dear Husband wanted to see how they would do in the “native” soil, in spite of my plea to amend that soil with peat. I can tell you they don’t do well in a drought year, no matter what kind of soil they’re in. They barely survived last year. Someone at the Y mentioned to him recently that they needed a lot of peat to thrive. Since we had to move that bed anyway for the new fence, and since I didn’t really know where to put them, I bought two large pots, two small bags of peat, and some special potting soil. Those bushes have doubled in size!

I’ve moved the frame for that blueberry bed from the old fence line over by the vegetable garden. In this bed I’ve planted a lot of flowers and set a bird bath in the center. I haven’t seen the birds use the water yet, but I keep watching. I wanted an unbreakable bird bath, so I got the copper one. It might be too warm for the birds, I don’t know. There are two cardinal pairs and some young ones in our backyard neighborhood. In the process of moving plants I found a dead cedar waxwing, which I buried. I was reminded of Matthew’s text saying that “Not a sparrow falls to the ground without God’s notice — and you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-30, paraphrase)