The Legacy Gardens

February and March, 2007 Unusually warm, mild weather. Rain and shine called the trees and flowers to wake up. The people went into ‘plant mode’ and were eager to get busy in the garden. Trees found leaf and blossom, while bulbs and shrubs bloomed early.

Easter weekend, 2007 FREEZE — like super killing freeze level temperatures. The leaves froze so deeply that trees were barebutt naked until a new crop of leaves could be developed. Newly formed fruit, like pears were turned into shriveled buttons. Just pollinated blossoms were shut off in their prime. Not quite formed fruit on well pollinated blossoms was history. Crops of fruit and nuts were cut drastically. The place looked like a terrible scourge had moved across the land. As ugly and discouraging as things looked and as quickly as they began to green again, we found the summer continuing to offer weird, uncommon surprises.

After Easter, we had enough rain for the first time in two years. Would the rain continue to fall and help growing things recover and thrive? We were filled with hope.

The second crop of leaves on the nut trees which were now without fruit was awesome. The leaves were larger and in greater numbers than we had seen. The early turnips were excellent as were the early potatoes. I expected the onions to be hot, but they were the sweetest and mildest that I could wish for. They dried nicely and husk out beautifully; art in nature.

Late June and July brought the HOT weather. There was no sliding into it gradually. One day the weather was decent, the next almost unbearable. The welcome rainfall dropped off dramatically. Just enough rain fell to keep us hoping. Light irrigation kept the tomato, tomatillo and pepper plants alive and blooming. Containers became ragged and difficult to maintain. One spot of beauty lay in the compost pile over a tangle of volunteer pumpkin and squash plants. The early morning golden glow of their huge blossoms made facing each day just a bit easier.

August brought the results of delivering a drink to those peppers and tomatoes. But not without issues. We couldn’t leave tomatoes to ripen on the vine. I talked to gardeners all over the region who had similar experiences. The tomatoes just wouldn’t ripen gradually. They went from almost ripe right to rot. We irrigated more frugally by setting up a soaker hose system and mulching with newspapers. Only the weeds thrived. Whenever I picked tomatoes in any amount, I canned half and fed half to the worms because of rot. The rain continued to be just enough to keep some in the rain barrel/tank, but not enough, especially for pastures.

September and early October saw more of the same. Unusually warm and dry weather. The tomatoes developed tough skins – more like a hide! The flavor was good and we used as many as we could. Green beans planted on August 1 grew despite the heat and produced better than any that we have planted in the Ozarks.

November has begun with the first frosts. Because the leaves and trees were so compromised during the hot weather, the leaves began dropping in September and we were apprehensive about any kind of fall leaf program. But, the trees are putting on their harvest costumes and setting a goal to make it through the winter knowing that next spring is another year and that most of them will blossom forth again with patience toward the weather. Trees and shrubs don’t have memories; they just grow or they don’t. Only the people are hunkering down wondering if they should invest in a generator to ward off the misery of an ice storm. Or buy one of those shiny new snow shovels being offered in the sidewalk bins along Main Street.