(no subject)

[clarentine]

Back from three days in Lynchburg VA for a garden tour - as is our apparent curse, we brought record heat and humidity with us, which promptly broke not half an hour after the tour concluded. The couple of days afterward have been a real joy, however, our reward for enduring. I've got a few photos up on my Flickr page (here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8556491@N07/).

I can tell the point at which the heat got to me. The photo shooting really tails off. >:-)

How hot was it? These guys can tell you:




Arriving back home, I discovered this:



Baaaaaaby watermelon! As with the zucchini, the plants apparently have reached their magic tipping point and are popping out tiny watermelons left and right. The vines are getting so long I'm having to wind them back on themselves so they don't get stepped on in between the rows.

Comments

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

Baaaaaaby watermelon!

I need to make a post about my volunteer winter squash. Which is now bigger than *any* of the plants I've actually planted intentionally, watered, and nurtured.


By the way, are you still doing landscape design professionally?

[clarentine]

Yes, indeed I am. Is there something I can help you with?

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

May well be, yes... I find myself in potential need of a french drain (at least that's the best solution I can think of at the moment -- which is part of the question)

[clarentine]

French drains are a wonderful solution to a drainage problem. Without knowing the situation, I might suggest you take a look at rain gardens, as well. One we just saw up at Sweet Briar College was installed right on top of the sump for the French drain - sort of a two for one thing, since either can help with drainage issues. Rain gardens are generally designed to collect and slowly disperse surface water. French drains draw excess water underground and direct it to a specific underground holding area for dispersal. Also, be aware that the faster water moves on the surface, the more erosion you'll be dealing with (and the more silt gets into our waterways).