A Season of Extremes in the Garden

This gardening season has been one for the books. It started with endless weeks of rain, which left everything soaked and soggy. Just when I thought things would balance out, the pendulum swung the other way—into extreme drought. Suddenly I was spending countless hours hand-watering, trying to keep things alive under scorching heat.

The heat made it nearly impossible to work outside for long stretches. Projects I was excited about had to be put on hold, and I found myself losing interest in adding more plants that would only demand more water.

Still, there were bright spots. My hydrangeas didn’t let me down. They asked for very little and rewarded me with spectacular blooms all season long. I’m truly grateful for that splash of beauty in an otherwise trying year.

Now, as the season comes to a close, I’m tying up loose ends: planting lupine seeds gifted during a Nosey Gardener tour, tucking garlic into the soil for next year’s harvest, and finishing two new garden beds. Soon it’ll be time for fall clean-up and stacking firewood—rituals that signal the garden’s rest and my own reset.

Every season has its challenges. This one tested me, but it also reminded me that resilience often comes in unexpected forms—sometimes in the shape of a blooming hydrangea.

These are my hydrangeas, my most loved plants in my garden.