I can’t believe that the day after a major earthquake hit my little corner of the world – a 5.9, with the epicenter just about 70 miles from my home – I’m writing about hurricane preparations. But we’re looking ahead here on the farm to the weekend when Hurricane Irene is expected to climb the eastern seaboard of the United States. The current track has her hugging the coast, making landfall in North Carolina, then churning up the Virginia coast before making a beeline for Long Island, New York City, Boston and points north.
We’ve heard stories from our neighbors about the last major storm to hit this area, Hurricane Isobel, and given our mostly nonchalant, ho-hum attitude towards hurricanes from the comfort of our sturdy suburban dwellings on Long Island, the amount of storm preparation one must do in the country is amazing. One important but often overlooked aspect of storm preparation is garden preparation.
In my flower garden, there are many objects that can be easily picked up and tossed about by a strong wind. I have a plastic resin decorative bird bath, for example, that stands in the rose garden. A strong gusty wind doesn’t blow it over, but winds in excess of 60 mph will probably knock it over. I’m guessing that with hurricane force winds, my little birdbath that pleases me so much every time I look at it can become a deadly projectile, breaking windows or worse.
I have small plaques throughout the garden too, propped up on stones and bricks. Each one has a funny or thoughtful saying on it. These too can turn into airborne objects, along with my whimsical little statues.
On the back deck, our barbecue grill cover acts like a sail fin. We’ve seen the winds during thunderstorms tug the grill from its corner and send it sailing around the porch like a crazy cart at the fair.
There are bird feeders and more bird baths, plastic and resin statues, lawn chairs and more all scattered around the garden. All must be picked up and taken into the garage before the winds increase on Saturday. We plan to tie down the grill to the porch railing with some stout rope and hope for the best.
Among the garden plants, all small pots need to be brought into the protection of the garage or the shed. I can’t do much for the tomatoes, but anticipating the worst, I will head out late Friday evening and pick every last one.
I expect the garden to get a good, soaking rain over the weekend, which is much needed. On the other hand, living on a timber farm and expecting hurricane force winds is nerve-racking. Hopefully, the storm preparations we have done this week will keep us safe and dry, and keep my beloved garden ornaments from becoming airborne missiles.
3 Responses to “Hurricane Preparations for the Garden”
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Take care~ my thoughts and prayers are with all my friends on or near the coast!
Time for the calm after the storm, I think you would agree Jeanne!
Thank you all for your kind thoughts! Our farm emerged unscathed from life’s adventures. I am happy to report a boring week…