Now that we are getting intermittent rain, it is safe to talk about the drought of the past summer.
For a while, every time farmers or gardeners got together, it was a sure bet the conversation would get around to the topic of drought.
There is no conveniently simple definition of drought. The National Weather Service includes factors such as dewpoint, relative humidity, average precipitation, biomes and envirotransportation (whatever that may be) to determine whether a region is affected and at what stage.
The first level of drought is meteorological, when there is less than average rainfall over a period. Then comes the agricultural stage, when crops are affected, and, finally, hydrological drought is named when the conditions persist, water reserves are depleted and water in surface features and storage areas are affected.
Most of the world has been affected by dry conditions this past year, and the results are potentially severe.
In Chad and the Sudan, nomad tribes are being forced to move into previously farmed areas because they cannot find food for their families or their herds in barren desert, and this has led to civil war.
The Australian outback is spreading into coastal areas formerly dedicated to farming or urban development. Five hundred million people in the Ganges basin of India are affected, and the Amazon rain forest is threatened by lack of rain.
In our own country, 61 percent was designated drought-stricken this summer, with 78 percent of the corn-growing regions suffering. Crop failure ultimately will affect us all by increased prices.
All of which makes the tribulations of the gardener seem trivial.
There are measures we can take to keep our gardens alive during drought, and the first is to preserve the water we do receive by use of rain barrels and rain gardens.
Planting ground covers instead of lawn will mean less watering is needed, the use of mulch keeps water in the soil longer and soil rich in organic matter absorbs and holds on to rainfall. It is helpful to group plants with similar environmental needs together, especially those in containers, so one watering can takes care of several plants.
It is always good, no matter where you live, to use a good proportion of native plants in your garden. They have grown in your area for many years and have adapted to the prevailing climate conditions.
Whether you attribute this past summer's heat and aridity to global warning or some other cyclic phenomenon, it is generally agreed weather goes in cycles, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Some plants are more resistant to dry conditions than others. Ornamental grasses are tough and attractive as well, needing no auxiliary watering. Some good shrubs to try are buddleia, viburnam, forsythia, caryopteris and Autumn clematis.
Grass can be replaced or supplemented by groundcovers such as woolly thyme, ivy, snow-in-summer or vinca.
Many perennials are worth a try when water is in short supply. Try yarrow, catmint, coreopsis, Echinacea, daylilies, liatris, rudbeckia, ice plant or Nicotiana. Gray-leaved plants such as artemesia, santolina, dusty miller, lavender or
Russian sage generally will survive, as will succulents such as sedum and ice plant.
Good annuals for a drought-affected summer include calendula, cosmos, geranium, cleome, sweet alyssum, larkspur, zinnia and especially portulaca.
While this past dry summer caught us unaware, armed with more information we will be better able to survive it if another one comes along.
Janet Del Turco is a local gardener and a graduate of the Ohio State University Master Gardener program.
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