The Ernesto Effect
I stopped working nights last week. This is my first "real" weekend in about three years. I didn't have any time to myself, though. Yesterday was Home Gardener's School and today was the Master Gardeners' Annual Picnic.
It was Pot Luck everything. Everybody brought their specialty so we ended up with a huge table lined with an amazing assortment of dishes. I baked cookies. We were also asked to bring a plant for the Plant Swap. I dug up a couple of bunches of the lavender iris that I have an over-abundance of and "swapped" it for some heuchera. I have the perfect spot for it!
We had a small ceremony honoring the artist who created our logo for us. We gave her one of our shirts that we wear at events identifying us as Middlesex County Master Gardeners. The logo is embroidered on the shirt. It's also used on our newsletter.
The picnic was held at Davidson Mill Pond Park. I haven't been there for a couple of weeks, since before Tropical Depression (originally Hurricane) Ernesto blew through. I had heard that there was a lot of damage to our herb beds from the 50 mph (80 kph) winds. Most of the taller plants were blown over and had to be staked afterwards.
Here is a "Before" shot of my herb bed:
And after Ernesto: 
The Basil bed that I helped plant and maintain didn't fare as badly. This is "Before":
"After" doesn't look all that different, does it?
Okay, maybe the zinnias took a hit, but all in all it looks pretty good.
My gardens at home were not damaged at all in the storm. For some reason, it wasn't as bad at my house. Lots of rain but very little wind.
posted by OldRoses @ 8:08 PM
3 Comments:
The Basil bed still looks very nice. If you don't get an early freeze, those herbs in the main bed may take advantage of the space and light to fill in where they've been separated. It might actually look more full and lovely by the end of September!
Wind has always been a big factor here in Austin, too, flipping over huge pots with ease.
Annie
These are the herb beds that were planted as part of the Master Gardener certification program. We will be clearing them out in a few weeks. A new class will be planting them next year.
The timing is off, isn't it! I was a horticultural volunteer at a park for a few years - we'd have the summer bloomers looking fabulous, just in time for them to be dug up in order to plant the tulips.
I hope someone gets pesto out of it before the next phase begins.
Annie
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