Summer's Cooling Down

Yesterday, I woke around 4:15 am to something that sounded kind of like a quiet roar outside my window. As I listened closer, I realized that it was rain. As someone who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest,I should have recognized it right away, but around here, noisy rain like this is such a rare occurrence that it took a few minutes. I have always liked rain and believe in my heart-of-hearts that it is the difference between growing dahlias in Everett and Monroe, and growing them in North Central Washington. Lois Munroe of our society has told me that it is very hard to over-water dahlias, once the plants have pushed through the soil. I'm starting to believe her. I stopped by the Tony DeRooy Memorial Garden on Emerson Street later that morning, and found the flowers and plants to be sparkling and crisp with rain. Some of the blooms there (especially those by Ray Brain!) were as large as I have ever seen them locally. To water, or not to water, has been an ongoing "bone of contention" among members of our club ever since Dad passed away in 2006. I know that he always told me that dahlias should be planted in moist (not wet) rich soil, and after the tubers were in the earth, DO NOT WATER until after plants start to grow. After that, he believed in watering so that the soil remains moist enough for the soil to "ball up" in your hand. He always watered in the morning or at night, when the sun would not be a factor in the absorption, and he believed that the watering should be thorough, allowed to soak into the ground. We have had a difficult time figuring out how much water is needed here, especially when our summers here are often very hot, with a sun that burns the color out of our blooms. The club had been on a mission to balance those conditions, and this year, I think the watering sytem we have used has been the closest thing to success that we have seen in the past several years.

We are all watching our blooms closely, anticipating which ones will be ready for show in a little more than a week. Ray Brain, one of the true workhorses in the group, has been in the hospital for almost a week, and yesterday he had a pacemaker put in. He should be able to go home today, if all goes well. We sure hope he gets well soon, and if he needs help staging his blooms for the show, I know that many of us would be more than willing to help him with that. He has some blooms at the Memorial Garden that are as big as any I ever saw in Western Washington! Get well soon, Ray, and we will be keeping you in our thoughts and prayers as you get back on your feet!