Here in Central MA, we have been in drought conditions for a very long time. Rain is sporadic at best, altho we got 1.5 inches last night thanks to a storm. Most welcome!! We have our own well, and I have been watering my gardens carefully and deeply, as right now is peak season for lilies, daylilies and some coreopsis, hosta and some phlox. I know that in a months' time there will be little in bloom until end of summer/fall, so I have been babying the blooming stuff now.

I have one variety of lily that is related to Jack's Beanstalk -- it measures almost 9 feet tall, and will bloom soon. Can't wait. Oriental lily (pink) has begun and smells lovely and looks gorgeous. Then there are the Asiatics -- 'Kaveri" to be precise, that I planted last year and they are stunning. I don't normally care much for red/orange/yellow -- have always gravitated to blue/purple/pink, especially in the spring, BUT! This lily is one that makes heads turn. I have it planted next to presently-blooming soft yellow daylilies and some orange ones ditto, and one lovely true red one. The effect was unplanned (I rarely actually plan things, lol) but the result knocks my socks into the next county. =)

After the usual heavy late winter/early spring rains and April hard freeze, things got off to a good start - I've been surprised at the large number of seedlings from heuchera and hellebore. But very quickly we've also gone into very hot (days of 90F temps in May!!), very dry (my gardens and yard have developed deep cracks) that are stressing many plants, caused the loss of a lot of my fruit (most of my bush cherries dried up despite my efforts to water) and my budget for water. But others are doing very well - like an ornamental quince which is growing (too) vigorously.

I also have a plant that has made a surprise reappearance - 'Husker Red' penstemon that I planted many years ago, that disappeared many years ago - and this year, reappeared in the same spot!

I have boasted in the past that I rarely have to do much weeding in the flower beds because of my mulching - but this year, just as with the desirable perennials, I have a bumper crop of weeds sprouting, some of which I swear go from nonexistent to 2 feet high in 2 days.

My garden is a hot mess.

Literally.

Between the excessive rain and the heat my weeds are out of control. I usually get a second pass of weeding in after my initial spring go-round, but this year I even have one area that I haven't even done the first time this year.

Seems like every year my garden "features" a different weed as my main opponent and for some reason this year is it huge grass clumps that cannot be pulled but have to be loosened first with my Hori knife. I can (and do) pull weeds all day long without wearing out but when I have to dig them out it kills my aged wrists and elbows. Poor me, lol.

I have too much garden for my age and I knew it when I started here, just didn't count on my weeds being so... prolific. My budget required that I buy a million tiny plants and waited for them to grow and that's going well. I just have some empty mulch areas showing and that means weeds, especially around here. I am this close to throwing up my hands and just waiting for the fall cleanup.

This spring was SO nice- I didn't have even one late freeze this year. And while spring was long and cool it felt like we went from spring to Africa-hot dog days with no acclimation period, so my heat tolerance just didn't develop this year.

That's what I'm telling myself anyway- don't dare admit to getting old. But there's just so much sweating I am willing to do in a day despite attention to fluids and electrolytes etc. it can be dangerous out there for old ladies. If I feel like I'm going to die then I stop for the day, weeds be damned.

cearbhaill - how old are you? DH and I are now in our mid to late 60s and are starting to feel the garden is a bit too big :-) but we are not yet ready to give it up...! I am doing more though to move to lower/easier maintenance plantings. It is certainly easy though to see that weeds would quickly overtake the spaces if we had to stop for an extended period. We had the big, old, sick white ash tree taken down this spring. I thought that should eliminate the ash-tree-seedling weed problem but there are still quite a few seeds in the soil, plus buckthorn tree seedlings are now a bigger problem than they were. *sigh* always something to deal with.... My maternal grandfather (we lived with those grandparents when I was a kid) gardened into his 90s so he's my role model for garden work :-)

Woodyoak, I'm a fair bit older than you & your DH (76) and I definitely know that my gardening days are slowing down, even with a willing helper to do mainly the weeding. I believe that the pandemic hit me early, tho not confirmed, but I did test positive back in May this year. So I was not at my usual level of enthusiasm or ability/stamina fo the past two years. Just lost interest to the point that last summer I never went outside to view my gardens at all. Not once. Most unusual for me.

I now do what I can when I can. At least this year things have been glorious IMO -- sunny days with low humidity (also not normal for June/July here in Central Mass.) and for some reason, without any intervention from me, the daylilies so far have been more impressive than ever. And the oriental & Asiatic lilies are presently showing off in spectacular fashion. Spring bulbs were especially prolific and lovely this year as well.

roxanna - a neighbour in her 70s is still going strong in the garden but does have help with weeding. We need someone to help with weeding too :-) In the last two years, we have been using paid help for spring and fall chores - he and his crew actually know something about gardening, not just mow 'n blow :-) The pandemic situation makes it hard to find someone to do the basic work too.... On the one hand the garden is a good way of staying active as one ages but, on the other hand, there are times when you lack the stamina and really do need that hard-to-find good help. Aging sucks :-)

I'm 68 and not leaving. I'll crawl when I can't walk, and my much younger husband has offered to wheel me around in a wheelbarrow when crawling becomes impossible. I've seen old timey contraptions that allow workers to lie face down and extend their hands down to work underneath them- even saw one on rollers for planting stuff. We're creative, lol.

Seriously, my yard is easier every year as things fill in and shade out the weeds, so I have high hopes about being able to keep up with it as we move forward. It's about working smarter, following the shade, and doing smaller stretches of work instead of marathon sessions.

I did a marathon yesterday and will do so again today- I have my husband home for several days and I make full use of him. Actually, without him I wouldn't be able to do it, he does the cleanup and heavy lifting. I go through the yard willy nilly pulling weeds and tossing them onto the lawn, trimming shrubs and tossing cuttings onto the lawn, even sawing limbs off and dragging them onto the lawn.

I make enormous messes, then sit down under a fan with a cold drink while he gathers it all onto a tarp and drags it off to out compost pile in the woods.

For me that is the greatest luxury imaginable!

Another unknown plant popped up this week - it seems to be an oriental lily (based on its height, bloom size, scent....) but I have never planted one! It is just in front of where the unknown deep purple clematis appeared. I don't know whether the birds, the chipmunks, or something else is bringing these things to the garden but it has been a very odd year on many fronts!