I do! I do! It's been awful, awful Summer, heck we have not even had Summer. After my first year WS'ing I was sooo looking forward to beds full of blooms. I also plan or SS'ing and WS'ing many more perennials, I have received 2 out of my 3 seed orders...let the sowing begin! Hopefully we have an extended Indian Summer.

It really is a bummer.
But I just got my order from Swallowtail Garden seeds. So some of those are going out by the weekend.
--and to complain some more: the Four O'Clocks that reseed with a vengeance for me all over the yard? I have two plants that came back from tubers. While I am really really happy that tubers survived outdoors in my Zone 5, I am really missing all my happy reseeds that I could plant everywhere to trap them darned JP Beetles-- oh those JP's aren't taking a break this year!
Oh well. I AM very glad that we do not have snow! :-)

Linda

On the other end of the spectrum, we've not been hit too hard by 90+ degree days yet. It's been cooler all spring and summer than usual. And we're getting rain again. NC seems to be the sweet spot this year. Sorry it's been so bad everywhere else. Normally we're frying by now.

Yeah, I'm having the same kind of growing season. All my WS plants from this year are healthy, but they are so small - most of the annuals are just now putting out flower buds, when they would normally be blooming like mad. I did get a late start planting stuff out, but that's not it. Right now, it's cloudy and looking like a storm is coming. Again.

I did get a ton of Laura Bush petunia reseeds this year; they are the only things that are really blooming, but they sure aren't as big as last year's crop.

I'm just hoping that it'll warm up in the next couple of months, and I'll have something to look at in August and September.

Guess the only thing to do is re-learn how to garden with this "global climate change". Bummer, indeed!

PV

My Salvia are doing great, but my Rosemary is half the size it usually would be by now. I think cuz it has not been hot enough. The WS'ed Lavendar is also snall. My vines are doing great, and so are Cal poppies and 4 0'clocks. But my herbs are just so-so. Maybe in Agust they will have a big growth spurt.
The season is so short in NJ, that I am impatient for them to reach their maximum.

el

First time I've grown perennials from seed and they're like little miniatures. Some blooming, but only on 10-12" plants.

Have Benary Giant Zinnia that have few quarter size blooms just openening. As an aside, they were deep RED on order from EBay and they're coming out orange. The one place I actually successfully combined colors and there the Orange blooms sit sticking out like a sore thumb.

Verbena bonariensis, which I had a heck of a time germinating, is blowing all over like a skinny swaying sailor. Guess I didn't pinch all of them properly for side branching.

Nary a Black Swallowtail for all the Bronze Fennel I grew.

All the things that don't like "wet feet" are not liking water up to their eyeballs...LOL.

Good old Joe Pye weed is standing tall at over 8' but all the butterflies will be gone by the time he blooms.

Grew 4 O'clocks for first time and really waiting for that "blaze of color". Couple in containers are much, much larger than ones in ground and have many buds but none opening yet. Yes, like an idiot, I do check them between 4 & 5 PM every day.

The Morning Glory finally started growing and is sending out twiners all over. It'll be September by the time it blooms...hopefully. Neighbors keep asking why it's so small this year.

Makes me wanna hit em over the head with the trellis...LOL.

Some Lobelia cardinalis are growing well but too fast for enough roots to hold them up with all the rain/wind. Klutz that I am, I snapped one right off at the ground when trying to prop it up with a "Y" branch.

Datura doesn't see to mind rain. Beautiful blooms so I'll do again for next year. When I cut them off in the morning they're hanging over pointing straight down they're so full of rain water or just nightly dew collection. Still beautiful blooms and intent on blooming rain or shine.

Violas are still blooming like crazy. They flop on hot, muggy days and get beat down by rain but pop back up with recent cooler nights and some sunny days. They're in containers on deck so critters don't eat them but this is first year I got them to germinate so I'm really happy even if no one who cares can see them on back deck but me. I've got 'Magnifico' in container with annual Heliotrope 'Marine" and it looks beautiful. I'm the only one who notices the great, heady Helioptrope scent too.

Roses last a day after they open since rain/wind take down petals. Got them fenced and recuperating from deer defoliation and black spot so maybe all this rain is helping them grow new foliage to save them over this winter.

Think I'll take a break and go home for a couple days since I don't think I'll have to water containers every day this week. Dad can fend for himself...there's plenty of homemade dinners in the freezer.

If I don't see my plants and what's happening to them I can rest much easier than staring at them getting battered by rain/wind or buds just sitting there for weeks without opening.

It's a bummer for those of us who wait for this time of year to see blooming all around us.

Muggy weather is forecast of several weeks for this area according to local paper.

Farms around here have deep standing water between their crop rows.

At least I don't have to depend on my plants for food and survival like some people and places around the world.

That's my left brain talking...I still want to see some decent sized flowers on plants standing up and not face down in the mud...LOL.

Wow! I was just going to post an invitation to my "pity party"!
-ws stuff still in jugs,slow growing perennials, and annuals swallowed up by weeds! And my dad is beating me in the Great Tomato Race!!LOL!!
It's mainly the grass that creeps underground that gets to me, I mean I've thought about putting my whole garden on freecycle just to get the yard cleared out and start over!! Has anyone ever thought that same thing??
-B

Linda,
May I commiserate with you? I do have a few shining stars - gardens which I can see from the kitchen and living room windows - but some gardens are simply lagging.

Piti brought the sun to Nova Scotia, but then she took it back with her when she went home. :O) Don't blame her. Yesterday we suffered through another heavy rainfall (1.5 inches in 1 hour) and the winds are whipping things up today with more showers.

Zinnias? I won't even bother to show you photos. They are 1 inch tall. Castor bean is maybe a foot tall. I am however surprised by The Asclepias Curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) which is thick and 4 inches tall. OK, I have a sense of humour... maybe.

We have had NO butterflies to speak of so seeing the Hummingbirds is wonderful as well as the Hummingbird Moths. There's quite a few of both so I'm happy with them but I would like to see my Monarchs this year.

Again, thank goodness for the gardens along the front lawn that I can see from the windows. They are full of Poppies, Lillies, Veronicastrums, Heliopsis, Rudbeckias, California Poppies, etc.

Here's hoping to a better last half of the growing season!!

Can I join the pitty party?

Most of my sprouts are really small too...

I sowed some zinnia last week and some alyssum today just hoping I can add them to the areas with less color.

Karen

No Linda, it's not just you!

Same situation here. Too much rain, not enough sun or heat, too many bugs/slugs. Annuals and veggies are way behind, although my squash and rudbeckias are doing well. Everything else is still small and pretty far from where it usually is at this time of year.

Perennial PLANTS are doing well, but the BLOOMS - eh. Earlier this year, all my iris, rose, and peony blooms resembled wet tissues, and the current echinacea blooms are ratty looking.

I don't know what's worse - the behind-schedule annuals, which are small and late but have a chance to catch up and give a shortened season, or the perennials, which you wait so long for the window of bloom and they're a big flop.

I'm already thinking ahead to next year, for the most part. Although I am hoping my zinnias and what's left of my slug-eaten dahlias will get up to speed soon.

:)
Dee

I would say I am on schedule as far as perennials go, blooms are probably longer as there is no heat to get it down. I have some primulas going second round...
violas and pansies are still going full force so my coleus still sitting in the trays, impatiens are going crazy and look great together with petunia. Love this weather- can't tolerate heat well... we did not have much of rain lately so had to water for couple of days.... good time to transplant and move plants around
tomatoes are doing good, finally am bringing home decent amount, plenty of cukes and zuccini. No, can't complain

Same here. Cold, dreary, no sun, too much rain. Rain the past 3 days knocked over 2 5ft. castor beans and several zinnias are smooshed flat in the dirt. Almost everything is leaning over from weight of the rain. Two more big stems of Yvonne's salvia bit the dust in the rain, too. Nasties, lacking sun and heat, are turning yellow and setting seeds, trying to die off for fall it seems.

Wintersowed 2 kinds of tomatoes, silver fir tree and Black Krim. Only got one sprout of each. No ripe fruit from the silver fir tree yet and Black Krim is just starting to turn red. But I grew white cherries, Matinas and Neves azorean red under lights and they're doing great. We've been eating those for weeks, now have so many we can't give them away fast enough. This was definitely a year for inside toms.

We have had 12 days in July with highs only in the 70s, some days only 70 or 71. July 4th was the coldest ever recorded. We've hit lows as cold as the low 50s. Our normal high this time of year is 87.

Linda, we can't relearn to garden to accommodate the climate change. For heaven sake, 2007 was the hottest, driest year ever here and 2009 will probably be the coldest, wettest one. We'd need a year advance warning of what kind of year is to come!

Karen

I am happy to find people to commiserate with! I was thinking that if this was my first year WSing I would never do annuals again b/c they are just now getting going...but last year was great so I will keep faith. My sulphur cosmos last year were so great and huge that I sowed sparsely this year...and they are duds! oh well...it got me to try summer sowing at least since I am trying to find ways to improve my blooms.

Over the years I lived in the northeast, I watched the weather patterns in my non-scientific way. It always seemed to me that a brutally cold winter like this past one was followed by a cooler than average summer. If I'm at all correct about this, you'll have a longer and warmer than average fall, followed by a milder winter, and a hot summer next year. Don't give up on those sprouts yet!

Thank you for the company-- I don't feel so bad now :-)
-- and ditto what you said on the butterflies, Tiffy.

Does anyone have the Farmer's Almanac from the past two years? Does it seem to say that this was how the season was going to be? Because if it does properly predict the past two summers, I'm going out to get one for 2009-2010.

I am holding hope for a warmer fall. Til then, I upped the ante on types of root veggies and different greens, and, well, keeping my fingers crossed that some annuals will pick up speed soon.

Linda

A weird thing has been happening with us and rain. We keep getting a "lake shadow" where the lake deflects the rain. So it has been raining all around us, but quite often, not us. So we have been getting a nice balance of rain while around us is getting drenched.

I find all of the cloudy the gray days a little depressing, but I sure like the rain we've been getting. We needed it after almost 3 years of drought and it has been great that we've had a year with decent rain the year that I WSed thousands of containers. It's been a huge help in getting the perennials established.

Too bad all of the rest of you end up soaking and up to your ears in mud. But I'm sure we'll soon be back to more drought years here and you all will be back to sunny days and occasional gentle rains. I'm just so glad that THIS year is the year we finally got rain.

Lynda

Seems the regular rains have returned to my neck of the woods too. Not sure how Carrie is being affected, but we've had quite a few storms over the past week. Almost 6" of rain has come down, usually in only a few hours.

We keep getting a small sprinkle of rain...
I seem to live in a bubble where the rain skips us and down the road it gets a good soaking!

There is lots of sun today and hopefully all weekend!

I think my flowers just need some sun and warmth!

Karen

I'm with you all in this miserable weather pattern also. I winter sowed some parsley (which always does great for me) after germination I stuck them in a few window box thingy's on my deck, (2 months ago) and they are still the same size they were when I put them in there. The few other parsley plants that I put in the ground were skeletonized by slugs. So yeah, its been a crappy year all around.

Alberta

This has mostly been a miserable gardening year. First I was unable to garden for 3 months due to tendonitis in wrists/elbows. The arms are slowly getting better, and I can do light gardening and weeding, but there are still sprouts sitting in containers!

Second, Summer has never really come! June, July - a preponderance of cool, cloudy, drizzly, rainy weather. When the sun does shine, it barely goes above 80 degrees F. It was hotter in April than July!! So the weeds and slugs are out of control, some things are growing to gargantuan proportions, others are eaten to sticks, weeds are everywhere, and the heat-lovers are growing slowly.

And like Tiffy, I miss the Monarchs. I have not seen a single one in the gardens yet this year!! :(

The highlight of season 2009?? There are Bluebirds nesting in my back yard in a dead pine tree for the first time. They are on their 3rd brood. It has been incredible fun to watch the activity of these beautiful birds.

Last night we got hit by more heavy rains and the winds were devasting. The gardens look like mish-mash. UGH!! No sun all this week. I NEED MY VITAMIN D!!!!

Terrene,
If the Monarchs haven't made it to Massachussetts, then I'm S#!& out of luck for this year. The Asclepias have grown very well in this cloudy/rainy weather though so hopefully the newer seedlings will be very ready for the beauties next year.

We may not be seeing many monarchs, but we sure have plenty of mosquitos! Holy moly! I went to work outside yesterday afternoon (before it rained again, lol!) and I had to come in because I couldn't take them any more. I spent more time slapping them off my arms and waving my hands in front of my face to get them away, than I did doing any garden work. I finally figured it wasn't worth it and came in. It's been like this for weeks, and not just in the mornings or evenings, but all day.

Tried again today and they're back at it. How annoying. At least the sun is out today, which doesn't help me much since when I came inside I decided to clean out closets, lol.

:)
Dee

Tiffy, I am really sad about not seeing Monarchs. There may be some in Massachusetts, but they aren't in my garden. I keep hoping one or two will show up and lay some eggs. Although my Asclepias hasn't done well this year, there is still enough to raise a few butterflies.

Hopefully this is just a bad year and not a serious sign of decline in the Monarch population.

Oh boy. So sorry to hear that all of you but lindalana & token have a rather bad growing season.

But, you see, I arrived home on July 16 to the most spectacular garden I have ever, ever! It has never ever been this gorgeous, and absolutely beautiful! The rain we had must have done the trick. Unfortunately, I went straight to the hospital the very next day and could only enjoy the sight in my memory. Sigh.....

Got out of the hospital yesterday and most of the Lilies are gone. The rest is still there, but the backyard is a bit less of a beauty. The front still looks great minus the lilies. I would like to take some pictures but have no energy at the moment.

Truly sorry about your garden. :-( :-( :-(

Tiffy, so sorry the weather turned nasty. :-(
It was so nice while I was there. Hope things will recover.
I did see a Monarch and a black swallowtail before I left for Nova Scotia, but have not seen any today. Hope they come back. I got a lot of dill, Asclepia and Queen Anne's Lace for them. I need to get some prettier Asclepias. I only have the swamp ones.

Considering that about the only thing thriving in my garden is a peanut plant I recieved in a trade with a tree rat.... yes, this year is quite depressing. :(

Token - I see where you guys over by Charlotte and up the 85 corridor have been getting 'training' storms. Over here in the 95 corridor it has been on the drier side. It has been an OK season so far but very hot and humid and the mosquitos have been horrid. We did have a short violent storm about 3 nights ago that flattened my amaranthus, Yvonnes salvia, broke several tomato plants. We staked up what we could and commented that things could have been worse.

My heart goes out to all of you that have had such a depressing summer but please don't get discouraged. We are pulling out of a very severe multiyear drought and your weather will turn also hopefully in time for a beautiful fall season ......

Lynne

It hasn't been very warm, and we've just had three straigh days of rain. The first week of august last year, my cannas were blooming, my brugs were as tall as i was (6ft) and my daturas were at least 5ft tall. This year, the cannas haven't grown more than three leaves, the brugs are just sitting there, and not a single datura came up from my WSing (they reseeded too much last year and I was complaining about having to pull them out). The only thing to bloom well are violets (johnny jump ups) and heliopsis. Everything else if just sitting there. Even my mint is sitting there. I usually cut it all down to the ground at least three times during the summer. I cut it down once so far about three weeks ago, and it hasn't grown back yet. And I've seen absolutely no butterflies. I've seen quite a few ladybug larvae, and tiny bright flies that hover around my blooms, but not a single butterfly in sight. Earwigs are just destroying all the milkweed around here.

I have to agree, this summer has been a disappointment for me as well *sigh* It's my first season WS, and I had high hopes for a lot of new (to me) blooms in my garden. Instead, the wild weather swings here--rain for a week straight, then searing triple digits for the following week--have made it all but impossible to see consistent progress. As soon as the storms subside and something starts to take off, I do my *happy dance*--then the blistering sun returns and fries my babies to a crisp. My driveway is still full of jugs waiting to be planted out (I WS roughly 200 containers in all), but the conditions never seem to be right (for long enough to make a dent, anyway!) It's so frustrating!

I had an awful thought yesterday...that gardening is supposed to be more joyful (it certainly was last year!), and not such a chore. It made me really sad, because working in the yard is how I find my "peace". Some days, it would be so easy to throw up my hands and say, "Arrrrgh, I am DONE...I'm going to catch up on my reading/housework/craft projects instead." But I refuse to be a quitter; I keep on keeping on. I had a lovely garden already in place from years past, so I know I should be grateful for that...I just sooo wanted to add to it with all the new seeds/plants I bought.

Here's hoping for an easier time next year!

Susan in Kansas

Susan, I remember feeling that way - at one time, every time I lost a container or plant already planted out, for any reason, I agonized over it. Then I became an incredible seedaholic (it's cheap if you trade a lot :)) and started more containers in a year than I could really get planted out. Over time - 7 or 8 years of wintersowing - I have just come to accept plant losses, even from my own negligence, as there are always more seeds. Just a little while ago, I took the shears to a whole formerly nice container of mustard & collard greens - I enjoyed some of the earlier leaves in salads, but this lush garden had become caterpillar food. Ah, well, time to replant.

The losses are hard the first season, but they become just another part of the whole process in time. You WILL add new plants, and next year WILL be easier!

Thanks for the encouragement, drippy...it really helps. Oh, and it's already too late for me; I'm a seedaholic as well *grin*

Today's weather, true to form, was sunny-cloudy-torrential downpour-sunny and unbearably humid, in that exact order. Still, I have a covered porch, so I started going through my remaining WS jugs...trimming yellowed/weak leaves, trying to decide on a good spot to finally get the rest of my seedlings into the ground within the next week (while I'm on vacation). I made some plant markers (thanks to the person who suggested cutting up old mini blinds--it works perfectly!), staked some of my floppy plants (foxglove, glads), collected seeds from my wilting pansies, worked on my soil bins...all the while telling myself, "Tomorrow will be a better day for planting." And yes, the containers lost to my own negligence or poor planning are definitely the hardest to take. I need to learn how to work within my time/energy limits, for sure!

Caterpillars are not an issue here, but the grasshoppers were chewing certain greenery into shreds, accck! I hate the idea of using pesticides in the garden, but I broke down and used an Ortho spray recently...seems to be working, at least.

Thanks again for the kind words!

Susan in Kansas

It's raining again now, has been for hours. Pouring rain, dark, dreary, temp 68. Our 10 day forcast is 81 degrees one day, the other 9 days in the 70s. Rain 6 of the 10 days :-(

Never seen anything like this. It should be hazy, hot, humid at this time of year with highs near 90.

Meanwhile, my son lives in Seattle where they getting highs near 100 degrees. This is definitely weird.

Karen

We seem to be back to gray here again too, the big change is the temperature. I had been cool and rainy and gray till the beginning of July, then we've had a bit of a break (some sun, finally got the zinnias blooming) but this week is humid and gray. Sigh. Some plants just seem to need the heat more than sun (soemthing I didn't know) and zinnias and petunias are starting to thrive.

I'm learning a lot about my plants this year, so I guess thats a good thing. Nasties, Butterfly bushes, even coneflower seem to disregard temps and sun and really thrive on lots of rain.If I am going to do dahlias from seed, better start them early,early,early. I am learning which plants are most feasted on by the deer, beetles and ground hog.But I am seeing soem postitives - weed grass will subside if you get on top of it early in the season, pulling the clover before it flowers really does eliminate most of the next generation, a circle hoe is a wonderful thing.

Nan, I'm trying to look at this season as one big learning experience, thanks for the reminder. I have learned a thing or two this year!

Never use moisture control potting mix for w/s! Toilet paper rolls do not wick away moisture! Save the moisture control stuff for those clay tipsy pots! Dang they are hard to water!

If a plant says it is best in zones 5 and up, it may not do that well in my zone 4-ish garden during a very cold growing season.

If I am planning on installing new beds, I might want to wait until I see a touch of green in my w/s containers, otherwise I might have empty beds for a full year.

Just cause this year sucked, doesn't mean the process is flawed, it just means Mother Nature has other plans for my garden.

I have also learned that as cute as they are, squirrels really are tree rats! They just love, love, love to trample my window boxes and any other open container on my patio! A peanut plant will NOT make up for the damage done!

Just cause it doesn't grow, doesn't mean it won't put out a flower. What the heck is up with THAT?

Save a few seeds for next year. Just because this year sucked, and it didn't grow, doesn't mean it won't grow next year.

Share. Whatever does grow for you, share it. You never know what it might mean to someone else, and when you do share, a whole lot more than a plant will grow.

***Share. Whatever does grow for you, share it. You never know what it might mean to someone else, and when you do share, a whole lot more than a plant will grow.***

It's been drizzling on and off all morning, so I'm cleaning up a huge pile of Helenium Mardi Gras seeds for a friend who just bought an old farmhouse in the next town. I told her if she doesn't mind me bringing along all my gear (ha!), I'd be happy to help her get some flowerbeds started.

I needed this reminder today...thank you!

Susan in Kansas

Hello... :-) I haven't posted on the Winter Sowing forum for awhile. I didn't do very much winter sowing this year. I just stopped by and could identify with this thread. I have been saying for awhile now, that I feel like I missed the summer this year. I can't believe it is almost August 1st already!

I've had plants blooming late, coneflowers started about 10 days ago and phlox 'David' is just opening today. Casa Blanca Lily has buds and none of them have opened yet. Nasturtiums in a hay rack have only just started blooming with the recent sunshine. They do look better than I ever remember them right now though. Begonias are doing very well with no mildew, which surprises me. Hydrangeas are having a bang up year, but my Annabelle has been on the ground from the weight of wet blossoms since it started blooming. Four OClocks just started blooming a few days ago. Oddly, asters are doing terrible, looking puny in one area, but in the front, my aster is already starting to bloom. Way too early, maybe it is confused by all the cloudy weather.

I haven't seen any butterflies this year yet either. My butterfly bush is just starting to bloom. That's really late too. Haven't seen many bees either.

The garden is actually looking pretty good right now though. I have a lot of Hydrangeas and some Astilbes and Ferns that love this weather. The grass never looked greener. I hit a sale for 3/$5 six inch proven winners the other day and I potted up two large pots that I hadn't gotten around to in the spring. They look great! Best of all, I have hardly had to water anything or turn on the A/C! It's been a strange year but I'll take it.

Lucky terrene to have Bluebirds! How fun!

Pitimpinai....what happened to you? Hope you are doing ok out of the hospital.

pm2

Glad to see you post here again, prairiemoon2. You have been missed.

Me? Long story. I wrote what happened to me on the Conversation side:
My harrowing saga

Thanks for your concerns.
Truly happy to see you here again.
:-)