Or you could live in Western Washington where we have had an incredible 4 inches in the last 60 days. The only bad thing so far is that my roses went to peak bloom early so there are not many flowers left for the rose show next weekend.

Lance

Or, you could live in Southern California, where we have NO rain -- and water-rationing is imminent.

Jeri

You could live out here in tornado alley. The temps have been in the high 90s, almost that much humidity, excessive heat warnings, and be in a place where a thunderstorm went through with a microburst downdraft of 100 mph winds.

If you are not flooded, your roses will be okay in the long run, but they will recover better if they are on Dr. Huey or multiflora rootstock. Rootstocks other than those don't always recover as quickly and as well as I found out when I lived in western WA and had to deal with a flood from an earthquake. That was an experience to watch that happen.

Jeri, I think that dealing with temps in the mid seventies is just fine with me. We did have a spurt of temps in the low nineties which caused the rapid bloom growth which we do not usually have here. The albas went through their usual fantastic bloom without any of the dread rain which causes the dirty diaper look.

Lance

Yesterday I thought we were getting a break then at 5 o'clock a cloudburst and a flood warning. Chance of rain every day through the end of next week. This morning the sky was bright blue without a cloud... the first such clear sky in a month but a chance of rain tonight.

Hello from Texas, where we've got record-setting heat in the hundred degree and above range, and no rain in about two months. Lawns are crispy brown, ponds that water cattle are drying up, and the skies are made of brass. Thank God, literally, for my water well.
Laura

Jim,
Right now I am watching a literal river going down my long dirt driveway and feeling despair over all the lost rose blooms and broken canes. There is a thunderstorm overhead which continues on with a 1 1/2 hr. torrential downpour. Earlier today was no doubt peak rose day for the old once-bloomers and I've been calling everybody all week to beg them to come up and see the roses. I have been waiting a year for this day, peak rose day for the old roses. With all the rain, today was the one decent day and the buds opened up and were breathtaking. Only a couple of people showed up so I was out snapping hundreds of photos since it has rained everyday all June and they were predicting thunderstorms. Now the blooms are all floating down the 'rivers' that run between the rosebushes and most of the bushes have just toppled completely over from the heavy, waterlogged blooms. My brother just called me to say that they were coming over to see the roses (finally) and I said "are you crazy? You're going to need an ark to get here!" He says its sunny at his house and they've been in the pool. We both have homes on mountains and he can see my mountain from his upper deck, just 6 miles away. He says "Celeste, I can see a black cloud sitting right over your mountain and can hear thunder and the weather radar shows a bad thunderstorm situated right over your mountain but nowhere else. It is sunny all around you!" Great. Even God likes my brother more.

My roses are destroyed and my basement is flooded. Our bedroom is downstairs in the basement. It was already getting mildew down there from the constantly-wet ground, but now our carpet is soggy, our clothes are moldy, and the walls are damaged. Outside, the ground is so saturated from a month of rain, there is nowhere for the 3 inches that just fell to go and my lawn and gardens are under water.

The modern roses will recover and bloom again, but the Old Rose season which had just barely began, is over. There are fallen petals floating everywhere. I am usually an optimistic person, but this is just ridiculous.

Sigh.

Celeste

Jeri and Laura, I can't imagine trying to garden with intense heat and winds and drought (or Tornados!!) as so many do. I sure don't envy you guys.

Oh Celeste, it sounds like you have a disaster happening down there! I am so sorry. You have one of the most gorgeous gardens on these forums, I can just imagine how discouraged you must be. At least you manage to have a sense of humour, in the midst of all the chaos. And you even managed to get tons of photos before all hell broke loose! We're all looking forward to those, by the way...
I know it's easy for me to say, but keep your chin up...this too shall pass.
Judith

THANKS for the cheer, Judith! You're a doll.
Yes, I took hundreds of photos, enough to last the entire winter of longing. I will be sharing them until next year when I'll try again.

I just waded through the floods of my yard to get to my car and go down to town and lo and behold,
the road leading down the 'hill' is completely washed out and they had me turn around and go home.

I was looking forward to DH and I taking our annual trip
to Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Hartford, Connecticut to see the roses on my birthday, but alas, rain is predicted all of next week. I feel guilty complaining about the rain when there are those who have no rain.....
my apologies to you all who are desperate for rain.

I wonder what effect all this moisture will have on the japanese beetles which always arrive after the fourth of July. Does anyone know?

Celeste

Guys,

We are not complaining about the rain, Lord knows I feel very blessed to live in part of the country that almost never sees a drought, in some drier years and if you are on your own well, you might limit shower time and make sure you turn off the water straight away etc.. but we usually have around a inch of rain a week on average.

But please keep in mind that we go through 5 months of sheer torture of wind, ice, snow, we get half of a april, if we are lucky, may , june, july and august, alot of times the frosts start hitting us in september, if you are lucky, the hard ones will be put off until october.

You just get sick of winter, this june has felt alot like winter to alot of us, cold temps, no sunshine for weeks at a time. Its a little depressing. Yesterday was glorius a whole daytime of sunshine. So please, when we are venting, its alot less to do with the rain, than this extreme jet stream low, that has forced this weather, it just goes on and on and on, this will be its fourth week coming up.

Silverkelt

I agree with Silverkelt! It's been awful here. This was the first year Maggie was going to really put on a show, and now she's mostly flopped on the ground. Other roses sprawled all over too. I live near the coast, and it seems any time it hasn't been raining, it has been foggy.

I honestly can't remember the last time it rained here. We've had a cool spring, but I think I'd faint if I saw precipitation after January!

"Funny" how different the various parts of the U.S. can be with regard to weather.

It seems like everything is out of whack. I sympathize with those in drought but Silverkelt is right and it was a long cold winter for us. Even if you are not a gardener tack on this dreary, lousy June and it can make for one depressing year.

Celeste I am so sorry to hear about your gardens! Your photos inspired me to plant my own roses. I too have been experiencing my share of setbacks between the rain and the deer. Glad you got lots of photos. Look forward to seeing them! :)

30 plus straight days of cloudy, rainy days...
then, 2 nice & sunny days and on the 3rd day... holy crap! Here was Pocatello on Friday (photos taken from KIFI News 8)
I heard on the radio Pennsylvania got hit pretty hard too :(

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For those of you with doubts about Climate Change I think the weather all over the coutnry is proof that it is happening. I guess we need to plan how to get along with the change by our choices of roses and where to plant, etc.