Summer is finally here...maybe?

The rainy, cool Maine weather continued here until this past Thursday prolonging the anguish for us gardeners! The tomatoes looked sad, craving heat and other plantings from seeds did little, if not simply fail to germinate at all. The strawberry harvest began though and they tasted great This is late June and "normal" garden growth would be different but gardening is always full of surprises both good and not so good ones. My attention switched to other projects while I awaited the arrival of real summer weather. The partial family gathering for the Father's Day weekend yielded more help with weeding and pruning of the flower beds, which by the way, all seemed to love the rainy cool weather. A second hazelnut bush was planted near the grape arbor so that the two could pollinate each other, hopefully triggering a yield of nuts in a few years. A new Honeycrisp apple tree was planted near the pear tree that was now gone from disease and added to the wood pile. Ever though the rain finally yielded to the sun and some warmth on Thursday the ground was too saturated for plantings of replacement seeds so it was time to cut the long grass and do other things. A burning permit was obtained and the large brush pile was burnt, a five hour project! The tomato plants began to smile!