The Kerby's Nursery E-Newsletter
August 6, 2020
A Hot Miserable Night
by Joey Bokor
by Joey Bokor
The night didn't start out that way. It started with excitement, anticipation, and dreams of outdoor adventures.
The girls have been begging to do a backyard campout for a while, but
between schedules and weather, it hasn't happened. We got a family backpacking tent a few years ago and have yet to
take it on its maiden overnight adventure.
With the nursery closed on Monday's over the summer and the girls insisting that they wanted to camp out, we picked a Sunday that seemed like it had a good chance of being dry and we went for it.
Once the girls knew it was a go, the preparations began. They ran around the house collecting various items that they deemed 'essential' for surviving a night in the backyard. They stuffed backpacks with the following items: pencils, pens, notebooks, dolls, a step-counter, and lanterns. Then Abby starts looking for medicinal items like Band-Aids and Neosporin. First aid is important, and I always have a little kit when we go out in the woods, but it seemed a little excessive for 25 steps out the back door. At this point, I'm starting to get nervous about what adventures they had planned.
So, in addition to their stuffed backpacks, we got the appropriate sleeping gear, made some smores (inside unfortunately because a rain shower dampened our fire pit) and headed for a night in the outdoors.
It was rough.
Hot and humid, without a hint of a breeze, expect for our own hot breath in the tent. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I was praying that the girls would give up and say, 'Let's finish the night inside.' Apparently, they were thinking the same thing about me and hoping that I would fold. Neither of us wanted to disappoint the other by giving up.
We toughed it out and made it through the night. Somewhere before dawn, the temperature dropped a little and it became manageably comfortable. We woke just as the sun was peeking up and Maddy, with a level of energy that only she can bring to the early morning, immediately led us on a lantern-light adventure around the backyard to check for animal prints and other nocturnal goings-on.
At this point, the girls aren't going to ask me to do a backyard campout again, at least not in the summertime. I promised them that when we backpack in the mountains, it will be much more comfortable and the reward of stepping outside your tent to a majestic mountain sunrise is hard to beat. I think they believe me.
But before we get to pumpkin-spice everything and the excitement of fall gardening, we've got to make it through August. See below for some garden tasks that you can do this month. I think I'm going to put a few of them off a little because I'm still recovering from one hot, miserable night. One that the girls and I will never forget.
With the nursery closed on Monday's over the summer and the girls insisting that they wanted to camp out, we picked a Sunday that seemed like it had a good chance of being dry and we went for it.
Once the girls knew it was a go, the preparations began. They ran around the house collecting various items that they deemed 'essential' for surviving a night in the backyard. They stuffed backpacks with the following items: pencils, pens, notebooks, dolls, a step-counter, and lanterns. Then Abby starts looking for medicinal items like Band-Aids and Neosporin. First aid is important, and I always have a little kit when we go out in the woods, but it seemed a little excessive for 25 steps out the back door. At this point, I'm starting to get nervous about what adventures they had planned.
So, in addition to their stuffed backpacks, we got the appropriate sleeping gear, made some smores (inside unfortunately because a rain shower dampened our fire pit) and headed for a night in the outdoors.
It was rough.
Hot and humid, without a hint of a breeze, expect for our own hot breath in the tent. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I was praying that the girls would give up and say, 'Let's finish the night inside.' Apparently, they were thinking the same thing about me and hoping that I would fold. Neither of us wanted to disappoint the other by giving up.
We toughed it out and made it through the night. Somewhere before dawn, the temperature dropped a little and it became manageably comfortable. We woke just as the sun was peeking up and Maddy, with a level of energy that only she can bring to the early morning, immediately led us on a lantern-light adventure around the backyard to check for animal prints and other nocturnal goings-on.
At this point, the girls aren't going to ask me to do a backyard campout again, at least not in the summertime. I promised them that when we backpack in the mountains, it will be much more comfortable and the reward of stepping outside your tent to a majestic mountain sunrise is hard to beat. I think they believe me.
But before we get to pumpkin-spice everything and the excitement of fall gardening, we've got to make it through August. See below for some garden tasks that you can do this month. I think I'm going to put a few of them off a little because I'm still recovering from one hot, miserable night. One that the girls and I will never forget.
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Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
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Vines are a great way to make use of vertical space in your yard. Grow them up a fence, trellis or over and arbor and enjoy being surrounded on all sides by foliage and flowers.
Cannot be combined with other offers.
Valid Through 8/12/2020
It is hard to believe that it is August already and we are well into the dog days of summer. But that doesn't mean that there aren't things to do in the garden. See below for some of the tasks that can be done at this time of year.
Keep Up With the Weeds - Weeds thrive with the regular rain and long, sunny days we experience in the summer. Sometimes it seems like they thrive even better than our plants. Be sure to keep weeds under control by pulling them early. That way, they won't steal precious water and nutrients from the plants that you really care about.
Prepare for Veggie Season - It isn't time to plant a veggie garden yet, but before too long, it will be time to plant seeds and starts. You can't do that if you haven't prepared the soil in your veggie garden. So pull out all of the spent plants from last season, clear the beds of weeds and debris and recharge the beds now with fresh soil if needed. Then when September starts to roll along, you'll have the hard work done and be ready to get your veggie garden growing.
Feed the Butterflies - Butterflies are abundant everywhere you look at this time of the year. Make sure you have plenty of milkweed to fee monarch caterpillars as well as the pentas, salvias and other flowers to provide food for all of the resident adult butterflies.
Water, Water, Water - Be sure that anything planted this year is getting enough water to thrive. We haven't been getting as much rain as normal and we've had quite a few days with record heat. That means that new plants need a little extra TLC and water to get through their first summer.
Prune Fruit Trees - While fruit trees don't always need pruning, if they do, pruning after harvest is the best time, especially for trees like citrus, mangos and avocados. So if you have a tree and you have finished picking the fruit, give it a prune if needed to allow the tree to grow in the shape that you want or to maintain a manageable size
Prune Landscape Shrubs - It is too hot to do a severe prune on landscape shrubs, but make sure that you maintain the size and shape that you want so that your bushes don't grow out of hand. A little pruning along and along is much better for plants than being severely cut every few years.
Plant Summer Color - Keep beds looking colorful with summer-hardy color like lantana, heather, and salvia. Just because the heat is on, doesn't mean your garden can't be beautiful.
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New Arrivals |
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Vermillionaire Cigar Flower Hummingbird Attractor 6" Pot - $7.99 |
Assorted Calathea A Pet-Friendly Houseplant Sizes and Prices Vary |
Dwarf Princess Flower Rich Purple Flowers 10" Pot - $19.99 |
Dwell at Kerby's - The Houseplant Shop
