August 2006
The July weather has been truly wonderful. Hot, yes, at times, but the rains
came and cooled us down almost daily. What a joy a daily rain is and what a
saving grace to the bent-over gardeners working through the middle of a summer's
day. The heat can suck all the energy out of a body in a very short time. With
the prospect of climate change and uncertainties in the weather, July was a
pleasant relief. We may not always be so lucky and August looms hot and dry
ahead. Still, July is usually hotter than August, so the worst of the heat may
be behind us now.
Today I am getting ready to return to the mountains of Basalt, Colorado, for
another year's class of eager permaculture students. I look around my Manitou
gardens and try to imprint the flowers inside my head. The sunflowers are just
beginning to bloom those happy faces and I know they will be long past blooming
when I return. That makes me a bit sad. I haven't seen my gardens' glory in
late August since 2001 and each summer has a big hole of the missing weeks of
my garden in it.
I guess I'll replace those missing weeks of Manitou with the abundant visions
of the permaculture forest gardens in Basalt. The apple trees will be loaded,
the plums heavy, the grapes ripening, and the tomatoes red with fruit. Edible
flowers grow up everywhere in the garden; lettuces, peppers and beans grow for
the kitchen salads. The fig tree in the greenhouse will be ripening fresh figs
everyday. We may not be able to keep up with the harvest, resorting to freezing
and drying the excess bounty. Such a problem!
While I am away, my mother, Donna Elder, will be tending the Blue Planet phone
messages and she will forward on calls to either John Staman or Robin Shankman.
I will be available in Basalt in the evenings, IF the cell phone works. We are
not anticipating any problems in your gardens. August is a hot, low demand month
in the garden of brilliant fall flowers and the turning of the season becomes
tangible by the end of the month. Very little critical issues crop up in August.
It is a month to enjoy the ending of the dog days of summer and embracing the
cooler temperatures of fall, right around the corner.
I send you my affection and fondness for your gardens and again, we are so honored
to be your gardeners. If any issues should arise, please do not hesitate to
call the Blue Planet phone - 685-0290 and leave a message. We'll take it from
there. And thank you for the pleasure of your gardens.