Every year around the first of April I start getting the itch to grow things. I start my tomatoes and peppers (if I haven’t already–sometimes I’m impatient). I note the dates that the local greenhouses will open for sales, usually May Day or Mother’s Day and start planning how many plants I need for the various beds. I honestly intend to keep a record each year, but I never do. I guess I like the adventure of winging it.
May came and my mom and I went to Costco and bought their most excellent petunias–20 for her, 50 for me. We also visited the local greenhouses and purchased pot filling flowers such as snap dragons, pansies, zinnias and cosmos. My indoor flower storage area was getting full. Like, really full. The temperatures were unseasonably warm at night, the days in the 70s, approaching 80. And then, to really light a fire under me, my mother did a terrible thing–she planted! I told my husband that I was going to plant the very next day. I checked the weather. There was a 50% chance of rain and the low temperature was in the high 30s.
Guess what? Temperatures unexpectedly plummeted an on May 14th, I woke up to this:
I did not plant my petunias. My mother spent the morning tarping her planters and putting sprinklers in her garden. (She managed to save everything.)
The snow only lasted a day, but the cold hovered, and it’s only been during the past week that I’ve dared to set plants out. The sad thing is that it’s happened before, but I was so certain it wouldn’t happen this year. Not with temperatures in the 70- 80 range. But, my plants are out now and looking gorgeous. Now I just have to hope that we don’t get the June blizzard.
My question to you, for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, have you ever had unexpected weather disrupt your plans?
Jeannie Watt raises cattle in Montana and loves all things western. When she's not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing, making mosaic mirrors, riding her horses and buying hay. Lots and lots of hay.
Hurricane took our power–no damage–for more than a day and postponed a family reunion.
Thank goodness there was no damage, and glad you were able to have the reunion later. Hurricanes are scary.
When the movie Dudley Do-Right was new (08/1999) my husband and I went to the theater to see a matinee showing on Sunday afternoon. It was cloudy when we entered but the clouds released bucket loads of rain during the movie. To get home, we had to drive a very circuitous route and had to drive through some pretty deep water. Needless to say, we didn’t go out to eat or get coffee or anything but going straight home (this was a few days before our 9th anniversary, so was supposed to be more of a celebration). Praise the Lord, we made it home with no mishaps.
Thank goodness. Amazing that that much water could fall during a movie!
In western Colorado, planting before May Day is NOT recommended. I haven’t gotten to plant anything this year, but not because of weather.
Sorry you haven’t been able to plant, Ginni. I bet that Colorado has some surprise weather, too.
I’m sure I have and I’m sure it has been on multiple occasions but my memory Isn’t what it used to be so I can’t recall specifics. We have had snow in April and freeze/frost warnings so we aren’t supposed to plant anything until well into May or June because of it. There was one year, my family was going to go to my aunt & uncles for Thanksgiving(too far for me to travel 2hrs) and we got a lot of snow overnight. If someone with a plow didn’t stop that was going by, they couldn’t have been able to go. Then there would have been no Thanksgiving that year because I wasn’t making anything for myself & we didn’t have a backup meal planned. After that year, everyone stayed home for the holidays. Oh and my daughters school was canceled not because of snow days one year, but because of flooding in the winter. There were people kayaking in the roads in town, that was very unexpected.
Kayaking in the roads! That’d be something to see. I understand celebrating Thanksgiving at home. It’s a dicey time to travel some years.
I’m sure I have and I’m sure it has been on multiple occasions but my memory Isn’t what it used to be so I can’t recall specifics. We have had snow in April and freeze/frost warnings so we aren’t supposed to plant anything until well into May or June because of it. There was one year, my family was going to go to my aunt & uncles for Thanksgiving(too far for me to travel 2hrs) and we got a lot of snow overnight. If someone with a plow didn’t stop that was going by, they couldn’t have been able to go. Then there would have been no Thanksgiving that year because I wasn’t making anything for myself & we didn’t have a backup meal planned. After that year, everyone stayed home for the holidays. Oh and my daughters school was canceled not because of snow days one year, but because of flooding in the winter. There were people kayaking in the roads in town, that was very unexpected.
Flash flood totally changed our plans
As it would! Yikes, Rhonda. 🙂
Since I love plants, I especially appreciated the topic. Living in Zone 7, my planting season begins earlier in the Spring, but I have on very rare occasions been unpleasantly surprised by a highly unusual and very late ice storm. Cute Aussie Posse snapshot!
My Aussie girls say thank you, Catherine!
Yes, I’ve had bad weather interrupt my plans several times. The one that comes to mind most similar to yours was when I was flying to Missouri to meet my now husband for the first time. I had to switch planes in Dallas, but before I could board the next plane, the snow worsened, and with two inches on the ground and it still snowing, they cancelled all flights. Surprisingly, the airline put me up in an adjacent hotel, something they usually didn’t do for weather-related cancellations. I got out the next day.
Yay for getting put up,, Janice. I’m trying to imagine the roads in Dallas with snow. It must be something.
Yes unfortunately a cold snap got 90% of my lilac blooms this year and shortened the magnolia bloom as well!
I’m so sorry, Teresa! I love lilacs and would hate to lose the blooms!
Yes, like you I love planting flowers and it’s very hard to wait until the right time. In the past I have put out flower and vegetable plants too early and had to cover them up, sometimes several days or nights to keep them from freezing. Now I do my best to wait.
I’m going to try to wait, too. Every year I say that, but it’s so hard!
North Carolina weather can change quickly, but the only thing that comes to mind is having plans for outside, but due to windy conditions, it wasn’t possible.
As a retired teacher, I can remember many field trips where rain disrupted some plans!
I can think of nothing worse than a rainy fieldtrip. Or disappointed students when a trip is postponed due to rain.
I have lots of little disasters, but this year my husband just couldn’t wait to plant veggies and perennials. I mentioned that maybe we should wait just a little longer. But he could not wait. He said that it is past Mothers day so we should be fine. He gets them all planted, and it all really looked nice. That night the temp. dipped and by morning, almost everything looked like it had been run over by a train. I did not say anything. I just helped him clean up what could not be salvaged. He waited for a few days and got the itch again. We went to the store and bought some more plants. This time he kept them in the house for a few days. Than out they went and they got planted. That was a few weeks ago. So far, everything is looking great.
I’m so sorry for the early planting disaster. I’ve so been there. I’m glad it all worked out, though!
Just this morning! Its my birthday and we woke up to a severe thunderstorm and rain expected to last all day. so much for my BBQ with family 🙂
Happy Birthday, Laura Michelle. I’m so sorry about your BBQ. I hope you can get together in another way to celebrate.
One year we had just planted rhododendrons, they were already big and beautiful! A few weeks later we had a crazy storm come through with heavy wind and rain. A huge tree limb landed on one, and the wind ripped out another.
That’s a heartbreaker, Sabrina. 🙁
Yes! Growing up in Wyoming weather was one thing we could never count on. Lol
I hear you. Wyoming is famous for the challenging and unpredictable weather. On the one hand it’s kind of neat. On the other, some predictability would be nice.
Living in the Great White North was challenging and required a great deal of strength and stamina. While I was at work a blizzard began. This was rather sudden even though it was early winter. I was not wearing boots and it took me hours to trek home. These occurrences were common in that climate and most people lived though it and lived to tell the tale.
The challenges of living in the north country are legend. It’s so cool that people adapt and learn to deal with unpredicted circumstances. That sounds like quite a blizzard. (I always keep my old snowboots in the car now. You never know.)
We’ve had unexpected cold weather come through and nearly kill our lemon tree. Since we don’t live in a state where lemon trees are usually grown, we need to make sure we cover it to keep it as warm as possible.
Hugs to your lemon tree! I’m so glad you have a way to protect it!
While driving home during a winter storm I realized that I would have to abandon my car and walk uphill in deep snow in get home safely. Difficult and slow plodding. A few days later I had to shovel out my car once the roads were plowed.
Wow, Ellie! That’s a story. I’m glad you made it home safely!
Here in the desert of Arizona, we have had unusually hot weather for May. It has done a lot of damage to my Geraniums.
Hugs to you and your geraniums, Joye. When I lived in Nevada we’d get hot Mays every now and again and it did set the flowers back.
Yes, I live in Michigan and was in my mid twenties when the blizzard of ‘78 hit. We couldn’t go anywhere for 3 days and I couldn’t drive for 2 weeks. (My car was snowed in at my sister’s work and my landlord didn’t get our driveway plowed for 2 weeks)
That was quite a blizzard, Karijean! It’s kind of cool to be on the other side of those events and say, Yeah, I was there… 🙂
One day while on a Colorado skiing trip the weather was so bad nobody could go out on the slopes. The day before had been very sunny and good weather for skiing. So we were looking forward to another such day.
It’s crazy how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. It has to be pretty bad to keep everyone off the slopes.
Constantly! And this year may be going for a record of number of consecutive rain days! A local forecaster mentioned that the month has had only one day free of cloud cover…
Wow! I love rainy days, but that sounds downright gloomy, Elissa.
Jeannie, a hurricane nearly disrupted my wedding reception, but our venue lost power at the very end of the function. It sure was a close call!
That’s a reception to remember! I’m so glad it was only a close call. That’s a unique wedding experience for sure!
I live in the Toledo Ohio area and unexpected weather is ALWAYS at play in the spring and fall. Winter and summer are usually a bit easier to predict but not always. Our highs currently aren’t reaching 70’s. Hoping for that to change this weekend. We have Ohio Bike Week! (well actually more like 10 days and with motorcycles)
That must make it difficult to plant. I can see where it would be like where I live—everything looks good until it doesn’t. 😉
Yes, sometimes it is snow late.
Late snow annoys me, lol.
A freak snowstorm in Big Bear Lake, CA interupted my plans to take a walk with my friend and a really good looking guy. It worked out ok, I married him.
Congratulations! That’s a cool story, Becky!
Every time a hurricane hits!! Other than that, not really!! Oh, and a thunderstorm delayed a flight out of Orlando when we were heading to Vegas for a weekend trip.
I can see where a hurricane could disrupt just about any plan.
On more than one occasion, yes! if it wasn’t the rain it was the snow disrupting travel plans.
Don’t you hate that? It happens here, too.
Good afternoon Jeannie, good thing you looked at the weather before you went out and planted. And oh yes the weather here in west Texas is a little unpredictable especially during tornado season, more than twice since we have been living here I planted our spring flowers and hail from a tornado being around somewhere near destroys them , all I can say to that is Thank God it didn’t decide to land here and that it only destroyed plants that can be replaced. About 40 years ago we went to Mazatlan for our family vacation with our 2 kiddos who were 6 and 4 at the time, well, Hurricane Tico decided to make an appearance the evening we got there, needless to say we cut our vacation short and came back home unharmed, Thanks be to God. Weather is very unpredictable. Have a great rest of the week.
Thank you, Alicia! I’ve heard that west Texas has its share of challenging weather. I don’t think I could handle having a tornado disrupt my planting! Yikes. So glad you missed the hurricane!
Oh my yes it has been raining so much this year we can’t even get our ground plowed to put our plants out yet! Have a Blessed Day
Thank you, Sarah! Rain is so tricky—too much and too little are equally bad.
One year when our two older daughters were in grade school the three of us flew to New York State to spend Thanksgiving week with my parents and siblings. The girls didn’t like it but I made them do their school work so they wouldn’t be behind when we got home. It started snowing as we left Albany on the way home and we had flight changes due to snow all across the country. It took us twice as long to get home from Spokane in the car because of snow, ice and freezing rain. The thing the girls remember most is the next week in school they were way ahead of their classmates. A blizzard came two days after we left for the East and school had been canceled all week.
That’s so cool that your girls came back ahead of the game! Good for you. I’ve driven to Spokane in freezing rain many times and it’s a knuckle biter. Also had some challenging flights from Geiger, which is the foggiest airport in the nation. So glad you made it home!
Living in Florida, summers always bring concerns regarding hurricanes. This has resulted often in changes in plans, such a traveling as well as outdoor activities.
A hurricane would certainly change my plans. I hope your summer is hurricane free!
Living in PA you can get all 4 seasons in 1 day that’s exactly what happened started the day with beautiful sunshine then we got rain and wind then it switched over to snow then to Ice then to make matters worse lost electricity so that meant no heat, no internet, no phones, no TV talk about an eventful day
That’s a real weather adventure! Sorry about your electricity in addition to everything Mother Nature could throw at you!
Yes, many times. I end up just doing what I had planned to do even if the weather does not cooperate. Thank you for the opportunity. God bless you.
You are so welcome, Debra!
Hi Jeannie, You & your Mother were lucky this year with your flowers. Thank goodness!!!!
Yes, here in Indiana; we have had the same problems with weather on our garden & flowers. One, year after we planted the garden & everything was looking good, then we got 7 inches of rain & the garden was gone.
This year, the weather like yours has been up & down temperatures. We planted green beans & then it turned cold & nothing germinated….we, are now replanting the beans. Just, like the farmers & their crops it all depends on Mother Nature. Have a blessed year!!!!
Thank you, Lois! I had no idea that the weather was so fickle there. Seven inches of rain! Yikes!
yes
It has happened frequently. The rule of thumb here is to wait until after Mother’s Day to put your plants in, and I do follow it. This year we had temperatures in the high 80’s breaking the old records by 4 degrees, then it was in the 30’s with frost warnings two days later. I keep a stack of old sheets for covering plants both in the Spring and Fall. Recently, we have been having drought issues for good portions of the summer and Fall. Our gardens are late this year because we are so far behind in weeding. When Helene hit Sept. 27 last year we were out with the Red Cross for about 6 weeks. The damage at our house was minimal, but we never got into the gardens to clean them up and prepare them for winter. This Spring has been wet, too hot, and too cold to work in them and an auto accident stopped any work being done for a couple months. We have had trips interrupted by floods, torrential rains, tornados, hurricanes, and blizzards, the biggest was one that stranded us in Iowa for 4 days when we were moving from Northern NY to Colorado one January. Few of these events were expected, mostly because we weren’t familiar with local forecasts.
In 2000 my oldest son was graduating from high school & our family was packing preparing to move to a new town, the weather was gorgeous,…in fact very warm. So I planned an outdoor picnic! Yikes, the temperature plummeted & it was so cold & rainy… my hot beans were a ‘hit’ but my ice cream cake, not so much!
Yes it happens frequently where I live