The drought has been less than pleasant for all of us, I’m sure.  If you live in a rural area, you’ve had to watch the crops struggle in a stunted attempt to survive.  For the first time in my life, I wish for harvest to come, just to take down the sad, short corn.  If you recall, I planted one of everything this summer.  SO…you know…crap.  I won awards for “World’s Tiniest Full Grown Sweet Peppers”, and my “Not-So-Big-Boy Tomatoes”. My yard has very little shade; I watered, and watered, and fertilized, and watered.  But nothing would thrive in the 100 degree heat, day after day.  When the watering ban came, I just gave up.  Lori: 0, Thistles: 1 billion.

One day the girls came screaming from around the corner of the house where I had stopped going.  The crisp blueberry bushes were just too depressing.  The sunflower seeds that barely sprouted had grown to well over 10 feet.  What?  Living in a big, brown world, my friends would step around to the side of our house to see the “Amazing Thing That Grew In The Drought”.  They are a sight to behold, surrounded by the Midwestern Desert.

In May, a dear friend of mine from high school lost his Mother.  She had been my Landlord post college, and I loved and respected her very much.  I called her the Original in a “Hard To Kill” club.  She survived, well…one of everything.  Never with complaint, always with a smile, she persevered happily through her trials. Sylvia often took the time to share good advice with me while she planted flowers around the apartment buildings (and at age 23, I needed all I could get).  When she moved to heaven, I took this corner of my house, and spent a day planting in her honor.  The drought came and nothing would sprout.  Anything already above ground died.  The yard?  Turned into hay.  But I knew Sylvia’s corner would surprise me…I knew she knew:

The morning glories are hiding in this picture, but every morning, hot pink flowers flow all the way down our basement window wells.  Those oddly bright purplish flowers bloomed full force, no matter the heat.  The Butterfly Bush that I couldn’t get to bloom in years prior, brought every butterfly in the neighborhood.  The lavender didn’t rise, but I’ll try again next year.  And add some roses too!

It was so odd to stand in my brown yard, and look over at this lush green corner, cascading up and over the trellis.  There is a heaven, Sylvia is there, and these flowers are no coincidence.

I planted a mixture of hot pink and blue morning glories at each window well.  I mixed the envelopes, dug the trenches, and walked to each, sprinkling.  Only hot pink came up on Sylvia’s side, and only blue came up on the other side.  I guess she liked pink! The blue didn’t even arrive until August, and are about 1/4th the size of the pink side, but I’m hoping they find some strength and keep growing.

As for everything else?  The entire garden lined with marigolds?  The flowing bed of Shasta Daisies?  The gigantic bed of Zinnias? The Green Beans? The Herb Garden? The Peas? I’m going to stop before I cry.  We got ONE Zinnia. BUT, it is huge, and is attacking the rose bush next to it.  The girls and I decided if we were only going to get the one, this was the one to come up.  We’re trying to keep a handle on our positivity!

How did you fare this summer? Any luck in the gardening department?