“Too Much of a Good Thing”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
For weeks now, I have been lamenting the lack of rain and high summer temperatures – 100+ degrees. June was a horrific month. Well, of course, the old saying “Be careful what you wish for” has come true for us. Last Thursday, we had a terrible thunderstorm come through, and even though it brought much needed rain, it also included 70 mph wind gusts which knocked our electricity out for fourteen hours. We have also had downpours on this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It is predicted for one more day of rain and then back to hot, dry weather.
Needless to say, with over four inches of rain in such a short time, every thing is waterlogged. We have puddles in the yard now that will take a day or two to dry out. There is a big one by our oak tree.
The circle garden is soaked. This area has slightly raised beds, and so the rainwater has accumulated along all of the edges. I know these plants needed a good soaking, but this is ridiculous. It is a good thing the beds are raised because now there is standing water twelve hours after it rains. I wish I could send some of our excess rain to Texas where it is really needed right now.
I won’t even talk about all the mosquitoes that have shown up in just a few days of rain. Those annoying creatures must hatch in hours not days. I couldn’t believe how they were swarming around me this morning as I was trying to take a few photos.
It has been rather nice not having to drag the hose around watering all the container plants and borders ( I rarely if ever water the lawn). The cooler temperatures that the rain showers and cloudy weather brings are also welcomed and will be missed I am sure in just a few days when the sun is beating down again. But, I won’t miss the squishy lawn and the puddles that seem to be everywhere. We need to dry out.
Always Growing 
Shady Gardener said,
July 8, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Let’s see… a bright side? Not having to water is a Great Plus! We’ve enjoyed a great summer so far… with just enough rain that I haven’t had to water anything except the new plantings. Yea! Your bright orange canna is beautiful!! 🙂
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Shady Gardener, it has been either no rain or too much. I hope we get back into our normal summer pattern. With our hot temperatures, we do need frequent short rains to cool things off and keep the garden happy.
donna said,
July 8, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Mother Nature gets almost everything just right, except for rain. It’s either not enough or too much. Don’t like hearing about your high winds and being without electricity for so long. I’m sure the big oak tree is quite pleased with all the moisture.
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Donna, I think that oak tree was happy considering how little rain we had before this. We are still about eleven inches below normal.
Sweet Bay said,
July 8, 2009 at 9:48 pm
It’s always feast or famine with rain, isn’t it? I well remember what much of our county looked like after Hurricanes Fran and Floyd went through! Sorry you lost your electricity — that is *never* fun.
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Losing electricity is not fun, but it wasn’t too bad. I just hope this is the only time we lose it this summer. We are keeping our fingers crossed that hurricane season will not affected us at all this year.
Tessa said,
July 8, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I must say that is has been a weird year everywhere- I know it has here in Portland, OR for sure. I hope you dry out!
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Tessa, we have dried out for now, but this week more rain is expected. We usually get a lot of rain here, but a little at a time is usual in the summer.
Janet said,
July 9, 2009 at 4:41 am
Rain- no rain — ’tis a vicious cycle. We are due to get some rain tomorrow I think.
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Janet, it would be nice if Mother Nature consulted with gardeners before deciding how much rain to deliver. It seems she rarely gets it right.
Randy said,
July 9, 2009 at 5:58 am
Janet,
We have a problem with water sometimes too. It just floats the mulch right out of the beds. French drains in on my to do list. As for mosquitos, I can’t think of a single purpose they serve.–Randy
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Randy, floating mulch is one of the reasons I like to use pine needles as mulch – they stay. My daughter has a French drain in her yard which really helps with the occasional flooding from a hard rain. Mosquitoes, what can I say? We are waiting every night to hear the plane that sprays these horrible biters.
Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe said,
July 9, 2009 at 8:06 am
Well, we also got our fair share, torrential rain and almost gale force wind – a typical low-pressure from Poland 🙂
I agree with ‘Shady Gardener’ Not having to water is a Great Plus!
xoxo from Tyra in Vaxholm
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Tyra, it certainly is nice to be able to take a break from watering. In this heat, we really need a lot of water for the garden. I hope your garden made out okay with your storms.
mothernaturesgarden said,
July 9, 2009 at 8:54 am
I lived for many years in the delta where every time it rained, my garden flooded. I am happy now to live on a hill.
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I have learned to plant water loving plants in my low areas, but lately the puddles have been ridiculous. We don’t live on a hill, but we are the highest lot on our street which does help with drainage unless we get so much in a short time period.
Randy said,
July 9, 2009 at 9:45 am
Jan,
Please forgive my typo, I must have had Janet on my mind since she was the last post.
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:33 pm
That’s okay, Randy. Janet is my full name, too.
linnie said,
July 9, 2009 at 10:23 am
As you know Jan I live on the south of you across the lake. We have not had quite as much rain as you and this morning the temps were in the high 80’s so I was able to do a some weeding. The weeds seem to grow faster than the flowers after the rains. Made it for about an hour and the humidity did me in.
Linnie in Destrehan, LA 7/9/09
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Because of the heat, I have been able to do very little gardening, Linnie. I am waiting for the cooler temps of fall to get a lot of weeding and other chores done. I just can’t do much in the heat we have been having lately.
Jake said,
July 9, 2009 at 11:14 pm
We have recieved some rain this week as well. Not as much as they had said at the beginning of the month. I hate flooding, but I always think any rain you can get is great. I do complain if we get to much too.
Jake
Jan said,
July 14, 2009 at 4:43 pm
While these puddles lasted a long time, the rain really was needed. I just wish the same amount would have come over a longer period of time so that it would have really soaked in well.
Annie in Austin said,
July 15, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for offering your extra water, Jan! Floods are what will happen here if the drought ever breaks – moderation and weather don’t go in the same sentence!
In landlocked Austin what we really need is for rain to refill the reservoir lakes, so that even if we have to pay for it, enough water exists. All the boat docks are closed on the reservoirs now.
I’ve looked at Covington on the map and you’re really close to the gulf… never thought about where the water you used for irrigation would come from – is it wells?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose