The month of June is the gateway to Summer. Here’s a glimpse of summer so far in the hardware life.
The Mountains are calling and I must go….
Other June Favorites
An Overview of Hardware Store Happenings in June
June Memories Photographed
Category Archives: Hardware Store Life
Summer Watering Tips
I walked up my front walkway after returning home from the hardware store one evening last week and I immediately noticed the difference in my grass. The grass looked drier and much to my dismay, a tint of light brown was mixing into the green grass 😬.
The stress of the heat was noticeable. The summer heat is gearing up. Sadly, with little rain in the future forecast, being proactive was a necessity. It was definitely time to take a moment to tend to a few plants that needed a bit of watering.
Rain water is ultimately ideal, for garden plants, and your blooming beauties. But, during the summer, the hot, dry days can make the lawn look like a brown crusty mess and those beautiful planters you worked so hard on… they can become a crockpot of dried plants if not adequately watered.
We are now in a long stretch without significant rainfall. The daily watering tasks can be done with a few simple steps to keep your plants or garden vegetables happy and healthy all summer long. I decided to share a few “tried and true” favorite watering tips that I have used over many years, now available on the blog today. I hope you can find something useful to help you keep your garden growing all summer long.
Summer Watering
1. Water in the Morning – The best time to water outdoor plants is in the morning when temperatures are less intense. This gives the plants time to absorb the water so they can get through a long, hot day. The second-best time is early in the evening.
2. Water daily if necessary-For your beautiful container plants, watering daily might be needed! In the intense summer heat, possibly even twice a day, for SMALL containers… these small containers act like a “crockpot” of sorts and it will cook the plants insides… if the plant dries out too quickly. So, my advice would be to use larger containers for outside. Go Big!!!
3. Keep a close eye on your newbie plants– Newly planted additions to your garden will need extra TLC. Be ready to monitor them closely and anticipate watering these new plants more frequently than an established plant in your garden. I often find myself watering twice a day with some plants if they need it!
4. If it’s Wilting… Water any plant thoroughly if signs of wilt begins. The plant is under great stress and needs an immediate boost. I also try to offer that plant a bit of shade as well so it can recover.
5. Where you water matters… Water plants and flowers from the base not from the top. Using a watering wand, watering can, or a sprayer that can help you achieve success.
6. Move your hose in place first before watering– If you are using a heavier water hose to water your summer blooms, move your hose in place before turning on the water flow to make it easier to maneuver. Enough said!
7. Soak it Up- Give plants a good soak… Hanging baskets often need a bit of TLC during the heat of summer. Consider using a 5 gallon bucket or old washtub to submerge the base into 5 gallon bucket or tub. The bucket allows for a good deep soaking to occur, leave in place until saturated. Another good watering option, consider adding soaker hoses into your garden.
8. During the Heat Stress, Find the Shade… If the stress of the heat is getting the best of your plants… Relocate your container/planter to a less sunnier location in your yard if possible. Obviously, if the plant is in the ground it will be much harder to do that and it is not ideal to move a plant in the midst of a hot summer. Moving an already established plant in the ground may not help your situation. But, a planter can be moved easily to shady spot in the yard to help it recover from the stress of intense summer heat.
9. Water your plants deeply– A brief shower around with the water hose will not be impactful. If your plants receive a good amount of water all around the base, it can soak into the roots, which the plant needs to keep growing deep roots. This will allow for less frequent watering to occur once the plant is fully established. I actually don’t water my established in the ground plants everyday unless they are dry or need attention and focus my attention on watering my container plants in the daily grind of the summer heat.
10. Perseverance- Gardeners are a hardy bunch of folks. They are very much like the gardens they grow, thriving in all types on conditions that Mother Nature gives. Regardless of the “drought like” conditions that the garden endures, it can still thrive with a bit of persistent attention in regard to the ongoing summer watering cycle. Just keep growing and watering!
Family Splashing Fun-Pool Days of Summer
School is out and the fun days of summer are upon us! Summer days can be spent with family and friends splashing in the sun by the pool. Those pool days can offer a bit a relaxation or a “mini”vacation day, even if it’s at your local community pool or home pool.
The calming mind-body response to a pool or a lake view creates, the “rest and digest” effect, originating in the parasympathetic nervous system. Think about it…connecting back to the water, the sounds of water … aids in relaxation, digestion, and can even lower blood pressure,and your heart rate. I’ll take that oasis of good health all day long!
But before the splashing of summer fun can begin, let’s address the elephant in the room. Owning a pool requires constant maintenance.
In just the last week, the questions are rolling in with the ever moving target of pool maintenance. So let’s take a moment to consider a few common scenarios and keys to safely have fun all summer long. Hopefully these pieces of information might be useful to you as a pool owner or even as a casual visitor to your local pool in search of a relaxing oasis for a brief moment this summer.
Testing the Water
I can recount the numerous times that Dad asked me to go check and complete the quick pool chemistry test for the family pool. Dad taught both my sister and I how to do some of the basic maintenance tasks involved in having a pool. One of those necessary tasks, checking the pool chemistry basics…chlorine levels and PH.
Everyone pitched in and helped with keeping the pool water clean, and clear…all the while, maintaining that beautiful, wavy-blue color. We wanted to be ready to swim all summer long with NO green slimy algae growing. It was a lot of work! Scrubbing the side walls, vacuuming the pool, scooping leaves, whatever needed to be done🤪.
Dad made sure to stay on top of the necessary pool maintenance tasks so that our pool days were fun-filled to balance out all that work…Volleyball games in pool, floating around the pool, basking in the sunshine listening to the latest music tunes on the radio… life couldn’t have been any better! Those are some great pool memories and always look forward to the summer pool season each year, as it offers another way to unwind and relax, and spending time with family.
Chlorine Maintenance
Let’s get back to the task at hand.. Often, our pool customers ask Richard about their pool water and how to keep it chemically balanced all summer long. It’s a delicate balance of maintaining a clean sanitized pool. Having the right tools, equipment, chemicals, and knowledge is crucial to a pool owner.
Here are a few common key factors that will influence the chlorine levels and the PH of the pool water… sun, rain, and heavy use of the pool.
Knowing that these three factors (sun, rain, usage) dramatically influence your pool water chemistry, being proactive about your pool chemistry is key. Stay on top of your cleaning and maintenance routines in regard to your pool. Wilkes County Hardware has all the basics you will need for your pool swimming fun all season long… Chlorine, Baking Soda, Algaecide, calcium and more!
Pool Chemicals 101
Another common question thread that we get from our pool customers is how to use these chemicals correctly. Some pool chemicals require a process of stirring and mixing with water prior to pouring into the pool. This process aids in dissolving and a better even distribution of chemicals.
In order to use granular chlorine effectively, take a clean 5 gallon bucket add some pool water then add granular chlorine. You never want to add water after the granular chlorine, it could create a volatile reaction!!!! Always begin with water. Stir mixture … 15-30 seconds … with a suitable “stick” (wooden paddle, handle, pvc pipe). Pour about half mixture into pool and add in more pool water into bucket and stir again. Pour remaining granular chlorine solution into pool.
Pool Swim Safety Tips:
1. Never swim alone -swim with a buddy always
2. Be mindful of opening and closing times at your community pool or public pool. AND yes, even when you are on vacation as well! Pool chemistry is checked at least once a day (usually before opening each day). Chemicals are often added prior to opening/closing each day and time is a factor! Give the pool chemicals time to work properly and swim safely without the worry of harsh pool chemicals impacting your skin.
3. Obey all pool rules. This one might be obvious but definitely crucial for a safe swimming environment.
4. Be mindful of drains and skimmers. Stay away from these areas as you swim. Educate your children about these areas as well.
5. Protect your skin! Use proper sunscreen and enjoy your pool day.
6. Avoid night swimming… pool areas should be well lit and have lights installed in the pool for SAFE night swimming. This rule applies back to basic pool hours noted at your public swimming pool, community pool or your vacation swimming pool fun.
7. Roughhousing and running around the pool area creates safety concerns. This also includes the safety equipment, like hanging on the safety rope. The safety rope has to be in place at public pools to designate the shift from shallow to deep water in the pool. If it is damaged, the pool may have to close. 😬
8. Stay weather aware. Summer storms are frequent throughout our area. If you hear thunder, it’s time to get out of the pool.
9. Come prepared. Take the essentials: towels, sunscreen, phone (in case of emergency) water (hydration), first aid supplies (bee stings, cuts etc) and of course the best pool snacks!
10. Lastly, keep watchful eyes on all children in the pool, even though they maybe good swimmers. Accidents can happen can occur instantly.
May Days are Gardening Days… Garden Reflections
May is a prime gardening month. May flowers are in bloom, the vibrant colors are abundant. For me, the month of May means spending time in the garden preparing for the beautiful blooms of summer and waiting for the growth of each young tender plant.
I must confess and fully admit that my garden is always a work in progress… flowers coupled with growing weeds amongst them. This time of the year, the challenge is to keep up with the pace of weed growth, I usually fail miserably. But, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The memories and the sweat equity of what has been accomplished so far in the garden.
My style of gardening is a rustic cottage charm. The cottage garden style is less structured and not as formalized. The plantings flow seamlessly together. This style allows for a diverse mix of plants that I love. Viewing from a distance, the pattern of my gardening style is probably not evident to anyone but me.
The ultimate story behind the gardener and garden itself is revealed walking amongst each flower variety, enjoying the blooms, connecting each flower with its own unique story and legacy.
The garden story is each flower itself. I have a garden of true memories passed down from generation to generation. My personal connections to my garden flowers and what I have planted is deeply rooted and linked to my personal life experiences and memories of those who I love. So each May I work to bring the garden story back to life, creating a garden full of beautiful memories and vibrant blooms. Nothing could be better!
All this being said, I do have a few plant friends that I love to plant each year. The striking colors, the scents, the aesthetics, and durability(long lasting nature) of the plant definitely impacts my decisions to continue to place these into my garden. But, many of the reasons why I pick the same type of flowers each year is due to my associated memories with these flowers… past celebrations, or memories of strolling through family gardens so many years ago.
So here’s to celebrating this month with a few beautiful blooms. Enjoy the bounty of the blooms that are amongst you at the close of May 2024.
Gardening Challenges this month:
1. Critters crawlers… snakes and lizards 😳 stories and more!!! Read more about them in the latest blog post, find the link below.
2. Rapid weed growth- May showers have brought an abundance of weeds! Yikes! Time to get out there and get some weeds pulled and sprayed!
3. Excessive Rainfall- My peonies and roses took a beating this month with all the rainfall. It was time to deadhead rose bushes after the rainfall, and I have cut back my peonies after they finished flowering.
4. Deer and rabbits oh my! – I have been extremely lucky this spring and little activity has been noted around my garden, but the nibbles have begun by the end of May😬! Time to grab the granular and the spray!
Gardening Successes:
1. New garden plants finds!
2. Garden totem pole in progress
3. Planting on the “good garden days”
Yes, I have read up on my almanac for the BEST days in May… find the link below for May Planting BEST Days. June best days are coming out soon on the blog!
4. Beautiful Blooms!
5. Tomatoes are coming soon!
I hope your month of May gardening has brought you joy, and great memories. No matter what state your garden finds itself in, Just get growing!
Critter Riddle
The morning car ride to work is a short drive for me. I’m typically running errands on the way into work, or making phone calls to family…catching up on the latest comings and goings.
This particular morning, I had just left home and the car radio was on and that’s pretty standard. The radio is soothing background noise. What grabbed my attention that morning was the intense discussion between the two DJ’s about the word CRITTER. The opinions were definitely opposed.
One of the DJ’s was intent upon using the word as a negative term in regard to describe an animal/pest situation, such as a mouse or rat. The other DJ debated the word CRITTER as a way to describe any animal. I was inclined towards the later view.
What I gathered from that brief discussion was I never had really thought about that word origin before… was this word, CRITTER a true Southern thing? What is a CRITTER???
According to the dictionary, the definition of CRITTER actually refers to any type animal or creature… all creatures, great and small. The word derives from the term, Creature, as a variation… in regional dialect format. The word first appeared in the early 1800’s in literature as a derivative of creature.
I’m not really sure what I think about this word after my last encounter with the critters of the belly crawling type… lizards and snakes this past weekend😳. My first encounter with a lizard was short, and shocking to both of us. As I dug into an old flower pot, digging out the old roots with ungloved hands, as I began to pull up and out with the old root system, a lizard emerged!!
He was stunned as was I. The “critter” lizard was simply lying on the driveway unmoved. As the shock waves wore off that I had unearthed a lizard, my lesson in grabbing my gloves was brought back to view.
My other “belly crawling critter” of the snake type, has been spotted in my front flower bed. Ugh!!! Action has been taken to hopefully keep the snake from returning. My eyes are constantly peeled to keep any crawling critters in full view as I walk up the front sidewalk. I think I would actually call him, Mr. Snake, a “varmint” or pest instead of a critter.
I must confess, my brain went to work quickly on this radio banter probably because we tend to deal a lot with pest control issues/ repellents inside the hardware store.
Folks tend to fall into two camps, as they are dealing with CRITTER issues… repel or embrace/make peace or coexistence with the Critters, making it a bit of Riddle. Which path to take???
Don’t get me wrong… Critters and PESTS are two different things in my mind. Pests can be destructive if action isn’t taken. The question, one must answer is the Critter becoming “Pest Like”??? In order to solve the CRITTER RIDDLE, and make the decisions that are necessary for all critters involved, both should be taken into consideration.
Case in point, Deer. What I have found is that some people welcome the deer into their yards by feeding these critters with offerings of deer corn, or other foods, providing a food source instead of hopefully letting the “critter deer” feast upon the tender garden plants themselves.
Others, repel the “critter deer” away from the delicate gardens in hopes that they will go elsewhere for a yummy treat. The Riddle… requires a bit of ingenuity of what will work well for that critter in order to achieve the desired outcome for each homeowner. Critter v. pest???
Which leads me to ask the question… How do you view that word, CRITTER??? It might not be mind boggling stuff, but maybe an exercise in how we view the outer natural world. A riddle of nature itself.
The Hardware Life - A wife's journey into the hardware business 