Hi Bill, by now I'm sure you've heard that we've broken the all time record for rain in March. As if you needed a fact to back up your observations. I don't have anything to add except my own little garden drama which is truly just an annoyance.

We planted hundreds of muscari at the edge of the garden last fall. After the deluge a couple of weeks ago, much of the soil had washed away from the bulbs under the maple tree because they couldn't be planted very deeply and that area is at the end of the downward slope of the yard.

So we dug up more soil from various places and covered the bulbs again and this time put hay on top to soften the rain action on the soil. Well, the bulbs are under water and the hay is kind of floating away.

I also found beautiful wildflowers at New England Nurseries for about 5-6 bucks each (that's very reasonable) but they've been riding in the back of my car since Sunday because something tells me not to plant them now....

I confess our basement is mostly dry, but the house was built in the 1760s and would probably not be standing still if it had a chronically wet basement.

Anyone else have a monsoon related garden tale of woe?
(I hope this doesn't feel like a hijacking, Bill)
idabean

We had water pouring in the basement windows when the ground was still frozen. Thankfully, the thaw has kept that from happening again. But those dealing with flooding have my complete sympathy.

Here's a happy story...

This evening, I stopped on the landing on my way upstairs to look out at the empty lot next door and noticed that a pair of mallards had decided that the puddle, growing ever larger, was perhaps a pond. They were floating around merrily, dipping in for dinner here and there. I keep hoping that maybe all the water that collects there will dissuade anyone from building and I will always have that view of the pine trees.

Oh, Bill, what a mess! This rain is just something. Roads here are flooded - roads which I've never seen flooded in the 15 years I've lived here. And the roads which I HAVE seen flooded were REALLY flooded. Crazy!

So far so good on the basement. Several years ago we had it waterproofed, and it's worked quite well. Some tense hours last night when we lost power, but we installed a battery back-up for the pump and it worked. I was just laughing today, telling someone when they commented on my front lawn, that yes, I had lakefront property, didn't they know?

Hope you get your basement cleaned up Bill, and hope there's not too much damage. Good luck to everyone with basements, gardens, etc. At least our wells will be full this season!

:)
Dee

Bill (and others effected by the storm),
I was sorry to read about your garden and I am not sure what words may be comforting but your situation reminded me of when Ken Druse (author and radio host) wrote about flooding damage done to his New Jersey garden in 2007. As I recall he wrote and spoke quite a bit about his experience and the loss was palpable. I thought you might find it helpful to read about his flood damage in a piece on his blog titled "When Bad Things happen to Good Gardens", then of course check out the more recent photos of his beautiful landscape. Hope youÂre able to stay dry and positive.

Here is a link that might be useful: When Bad Things Happen to Good Gardens

Bill: I can only hope that this is a once in a lifetime event for you.

I am trying to take confort in thinking that events like this will not happen very often in my basement. I am not really near water, but my backyard and basement are down in a small valley, sort of like a bowl. Last week I had as much as 5 inches in parts of the basement, so I am waiting to see what I have when I get home. I have gard*ens underwater out back.

I loved the Ken Druse article.

I can repair the garden and clean up the yard and lawn, but the real worry now is that, after more than 36 hours since the rain stopped, water is still seeping into the basement coming UP from under the floor! Never in my life has this happened and I can't think of any way that it can be stopped. It is coming in much more slowly now, but we're still bailing for hours every day. I'm exhausted to say the least. President Obama has declared a state of emergency for all of Rhode Island, and there's a slim chance that I could get a FEMA grant for cleanup and repair in the basement. Insurance doesn't cover water in the basement, the cleanup nor the loss of items spoiled. So..........take a deep breath and get on with it.

I never want to see this again!

Bill et al:

I haven't been saying anything because the worst of the rains bypassed us and there's been no flooding near by. You're right, the garden and yard will recover, but the damage to your childhood (and present) home must strike very deeply, and the continual stress of fighting the flood must be wearying.

I sincerely hope the water goes down very soon and that the damage isn't too costly, And that all will dry out in time to still enjoy a beautiful spring.

Claire

Thanks Claire,
Unfortunately, the worse doesn't seem to be over. When I could finally get to the french drain, which had never needed to be used as long as I can remember, it seemed clogged. When I was able to start to unclog it, instead of the water flowing OUT, it came in faster than before, so the ground must be so saturated that the french drain has become a SOURCE of flooding rather than a solution. I give up. I am now truly concerned about the integrity of the foundation. If the whole area is water-soaked mud, I am really worried about the stability. I can only hope it stops soon. I can't do any more. Physically and emotionally at an end now.

Ouch, Bill. I'm so sorry. You're probably going to need a good engineer to assess the condition of the foundation once the soil has dried out. All I can say is that our house was built as a cottage on a crawl space, and was eventually jacked up to allow a full basement to be built underneath. It's still rock-solid about 35 years later.

What a rotten way to start a new season.

Claire

We haven't driven to see our RI place since before that most recent set of deluges, and I'm nervous about what we'll see. Our cottage is like Claire's used to be: crawl space, no basement.

The garden beds were already sprouting shoots of perennials such as forget-me-not, chives, daylilies and bluebells, and I'm hoping they haven't been drowned.

I was sorry, Bill, to read about your water problems. What they've been showing on TV is depressing - that Fall River street all buckled and washed out, the overflowing dams around Freetown, many basements flooded. It's been a weird year in weather. And I won't even mention the H word yet.

Carol

Bill, so sorry to read of your problems with flooding into the basement. I hope it lets up for you soon and that the damage is minimal. It must be shocking to have water coming in after so many years. Rhode Island is getting hit very hard, and with record rain and flooding there must be many unexpected things happening.

The river that flows through my neighborhood experienced record flooding yesterday. There are 11 roads closed in my town, and neighboring towns are also being hit hard. Fortunately my lot is up much higher than the floodplain, and so the basement stays pretty dry.

Tereene,
Thanks for your good wishes. What's strange here is that my house is on a hillside, and in no way in any flood plain of any river. There isn't even a river anywhere close to where I am. So, I am well above any floodplain. But, somehow, the water from the saturated ground above me somewhere has been draining underground and more-or-less has decided to come through the basement instead of around it. It is coming up through the floor and at one point coming IN the french drain instead of going OUT it! Unbelievable. As of late last night it's still seeping in, but I think more slowly......finally. I have been using the garden hose as a siphon and at least I don't have to bail by the buckets now. It will be a long process to find out what's damaged and clean up...........once the water stops!

Cleanup of the lawn and flower beds and repairing the walls is another story for later...............

The word "condo" is starting to sound good!

So sorry to hear of the water situation at your h*ouse Bill. Been there, done that. Although not for years. We lived in a house that routinely got a lot of water when I was growing up. We had a sump pump in the basement but it didn't do much good. Every time it rained we would all have to go into crisis mode, with the whole family bailing and pushing water to the pump. I know how exhausting it is and I feel for you. I hope the forecast of clear skies and warm temps will quickly bring your crisis to an end. Hang in there. :-)

Thanks Ann. Looking a little better now. Next challenge will be to find someone available to steam clean the carpet. They are really busy right now as you can imagine.

Bill

Glad that is almost behind you, Bill. Hope you are recovering from all that work. I'm sure you are thrilled to be able to turn your attention to spring in the garden. I hadn't thought about how busy the carpet cleaners would be. I'm sure, just like a one armed paper hanger. [g]

So sorry to hear of the flood conditions at your house, Bill. The news video was frightening. I've been wondering how many RI folks on this forum are affected.

Our entire pasture and yard is like a giant green oversaturated sponge, and we need mud boots to walk anywhere. But I'll take that any day over water in the cellar or the house.

Hope you get the cleanup over with and this flood behind you.

Talk about irony.... today they posted a red flag Fire Weather Warning for parts of MA, CT and RI. I hope that means at least that the soggy areas will dry out faster.

----------------------------------------------------------
Fire Weather Warning
Statement as of 12:21 PM EDT on April 07, 2010

... Red flag warning remains in effect until 6 PM EDT this
evening...

A red flag warning remains in effect until 6 PM EDT this evening.

This warning is for much of Massachusetts... northern
Connecticut... and northwest Rhode Island.

There will be an enhanced risk of fire spread across the warning
area through this afternoon. Southwest winds are expected to
increase with frequent gusts around 25 mph. In addition... minimum
afternoon relative humidities are expected to drop to between 25 and
30 percent as temperatures rise into the mid 80s.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds... low relative humidity... and warm temperatures will
create explosive fire growth potential.
------------------------------------------------------

Claire