Hallelujah!  It's raining!  Today that statement is almost equivalent to "Houston, the Eagle has landed!  Hopefully, we all understand that this rain does not end our drought.  We will have to continue our diligence in preserving our water and trying to keep our plants alive at the same time.  In case you haven't thought of every option in meeting this challenge, perhaps some ideas in the following paragraph may be of help to you.
 
Get rid of any weeds you may, "by chance," have in your garden. They will no longer be depriving your plants of water. Loosen the compacted soil around those plants allowing water to penetrate more easily to the root.  Mulch.  Repeat on a frequent basis to keep the plants more viable.
 
Use an umbrella or similar item to create shade in the hottest part of the day for your most delicate flowers.  This will reduce the amount of water required to keep them in the best condition.   
 
Recycle all water possible.  Putting a bowl in the sink when washing a few items is an easy way to collect water.  A ready source of water is a dehumidifier, as is drainage from the a/c.  If you're like me and have a drip somewhere, it's a gold mine.  I put a bowl in my bathroom sink and in less than an hour I have 4 cups.  Four cups times 24 hours would be 96 cups or 768 ounces or six gallons of water.  However, even 12 hours of collection is nothing to sneeze at these days. Three gallons a day times seven days in the week is 21 gallons!
 
Saving any water we can is a help in the long run.  Rather than running the hot water to warm up the cold, boil some cold water on the range and add it to the cold water you didn't have to wait for.
 
Let us all pray we do not have to revert to Colonial times. If you remember, they only bathed once a week and everybody used the same water - with the women last.  We may all bathe in the same water again, but believe me, the women won't be last this time! 
 
The September meeting will be held on the 15th at the home of Deb Hahn for a program on water plants.  Those interested should be at the Presbyterian Church parking lot at 9:45.
 

Happy Gardening
Sandra Rocks