Just a girl with a hammer

Officially ready for rain, damn it.

Written by

Heather

in

Guys, I’m so sick of watering the garden. I’m sick of sunshine and warm weather and the hard rocky soil that prevents me from putting my new grasses in the ground.

OH I KNOW. I know. I should shut up.

I just want three days of light but steady rain, enough to recharge the ground a bit. I’d also like to test out our new gutter situation. Since I built the rain garden in front the size of an Olympic swimming pool, I’ve determined that it can handle all the gutter outflow from the front of the house. The only problem is that the gutters on the left side of the front of the house all tip toward a downspout here:

I need the gutters to tip toward the right side of the house, to the downspout that leads to the buried PVC pipe that carries the water to the rain garden. 

So these guys came out, removed the gutters, cut them down, then repositioned them so they tip to the right.

They also removed the downspout there, so we need to do some touch-up painting.

They left the gutters a grimy mess but otherwise everything looks fine. Now I just need some rain to make sure they work properly. I spent the weekend ignoring the sunshine and making a freezer full of empanadas and contemplating sewing projects.

I am ready for cool weather. I’m ready for long sleeves and homemade pasta and movies and pining for spring. Let’s do this.

Comments

  1. Loree Avatar
    Loree

    I don't know if I can read your blog anymore after this post, the next thing I hear you'll be ripping out all your cool plants and replacing them with petunias and pansies. You know once the rain shows up it's gonna park here for the next 8 or so months…

    Reply
  2. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I've naturalized! I miss the rain. Stupid, I know.

    Reply
  3. Scott Weber Avatar
    Scott Weber

    I'm so ready for the rain too…I'm tired of it being hot and sunny…it's just so monotonous after a while. If I liked the sun, I'd have moved to Phoenix!

    You can make fun of me, but I planted my grasses last weekend…I actually drowned the area with 3 buckets (5 gallon buckets) of water…let it percolate overnight, and planted the next day. I bet you won't see THAT strategy on HGTV 😉

    Reply
  4. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    Did it work? I've been thinking about getting out the soaker hoses. I just don't want to have to drag the hose to that part of the yard yet.

    Reply
  5. Scott Weber Avatar
    Scott Weber

    Amazingly, yes! It wasn't as easy as planting after a few days of nice, soft rain…but it was workable. I just poured out the water, let it soak in for a few hours, then repeated 2 more times that day, then let it sit overnight…on Sunday morning, I was in business. Granted…this area did get some water this summer, so it wasn't pure cement…pretty close, though. The trick is to cover the area with mulch (which mine was) or something else to keep the water in place and slow it down…otherwise, it just runs off the soil.

    Reply
  6. Jason Kay Avatar
    Jason Kay

    Awfully dry here as well, though it is much cooler.

    Reply
  7. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I know we really shouldn't complain here, when your part of the country got it so much worse. It's just so weird to have it get dark while it's still so warm out!

    Reply
  8. Jane / MulchMaid Avatar
    Jane / MulchMaid

    I'm clearly the only holdout that loves this weather. If it does have to rain, I think it should be "Camelot"-style, you know, only after sunset (and by 8 the morning fog has disappeared, la la la.) Don't worry, you'll get lots of time to enjoy your new gutter perspective too soon for me!

    Reply
  9. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I would totally be okay with rain from midnight to 6am and then sunshine for the rest of the day. Can we order that up?

    Reply
  10. Ricki Grady Avatar
    Ricki Grady

    What did you feed your Castor Bean…small rodents? It has to be the most gorgeous evil plant on the planet.

    Reply
  11. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    It got watered every day and I did give it some fish emulsion toward the end. Isn't it crazy? I bought it at the Rare Plant Research sale–I'm guessing that has more to do with it than my care. I'm going to be so sad when I can't replicate this next year.

    Reply
  12. Loree Avatar
    Loree

    Okay my new favorite quote for the week "If I liked the sun, I'd have moved to Phoenix!"…OMG, so Portland! And I really like your "just do it" solution to planting.

    Reply
  13. KarenAnne Avatar
    KarenAnne

    I just saw, catching up, your rain garden posts. I love rain gardens.

    I've put in a rain garden/swale to handle to handle the rain that runs off the street into my yard (which is the low point for several houses width.) I'm on my second excavation, because it silts up with winter road sand. That would not be so bad, but it grows weeds like green bay trees. Did you use landscape fabric or something to control weeds?

    Reply
  14. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I never use landscape fabric. It doesn't block weeds, it never stays in place, and it stops you from moving plants, feeding the soil, etc. I hand weed and I applied three inches of mulch. I reapply mulch (fine dark fir or hemlock) every year, which seems to keep everything manageable.

    Reply

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