After several years of drought we are having a bit more of a rainy winter. Unfortunately we are still behind according to the National Weather Service. This winter has also been colder. Nothing like our friends north of us but still chilly with twice as many nights below freezing as usual.

As a gardener and plant lover I am rejoicing in the rain. The lakes and aquifers are filling up and this is good news for Houston and SE Texas. As a landscaper it means many days of lost production.

This is going to be a lovely back garden with space for veggies and herbs, a pergola with a corrugated tin roof over an outdoor kitchen and a large patio. I will share pictures when it is done.

After a rainy week we did get all the 3 to 4 inch thick flagstone cut into the native soil. Today we will see how it is doing after a rainy weekend. While waiting for the soil to dry up enough to start the flagstone patio that abuts the raised bed we were able to work on an infill planting that we had been holding off on due to freezing temperatures.

Being a landscaper means watching the weather and being flexible.  Winters work is usually unpredictable but we work hard to keep it as steady as we can so that we can keep our crew employed year round and of course our own lights on. Having guys that stay with us and become experienced is part of our business model and essential to doing high quality installations.

Our good friend The Old Farmers Almanac is often a good source to check! Looks like more rain ahead. Truly a mixed blessing!

MARCH 2014: temperature 56° (3° below avg.); precipitation 2″ (0.5″ below avg.); Mar 1-9: Periods of rain and snow north, rain south; chilly; Mar 10-14: Sunny, cool; Mar 15-20: Rain, then sunny, cool; Mar 21-24: Showers, cool; Mar 25-31: Sunny, then showers, warm.

APRIL 2014: temperature 67.5° (1.5° above avg.); precipitation 4″ (2″ above avg. north, avg. south); Apr 1-3: Sunny, warm; Apr 4-10: Rainy periods, seasonable; Apr 11-15: Sunny, warm; Apr 16-18: Showers, cool; Apr 19-25: T-storms, then sunny, cool; Apr 26-30: Rain and heavy t-storms north and central; sunny, hot south.

We are not back to our usual 52 inches.

Here is the weather Database where you can check rainfall totals. http://average-rainfall.weatherdb.com/l/249/Houston-Texas

“The most patient people grow weary at last with being continually wetted with rain; except, of course, in the Scottish Highlands, where there are not enough fine intervals to point the difference.” Robert Louis Stevenson   An InlandVoyage,’Down the Oise: to Compi e’ gne’.