Oh when is this rain going to stop?

What do you do in the garden when we have so much rain? Are your borders under water and your lawn now masquerading as a small lake?

We are landscaping a client's garden during these downpours and to be honest, there is little you can do when the weather gets this unreliable and wet. Even the best of planning and shedules goes out of the window slightly, but we make up for lost time by catching the breaks when the weather allows. We even managed to get a lawn down recently, bit late in the year, and I admit I was more worried about catching an early frost. Then the torrential rain came. Never mind, nobody will be walking on it for a few weeks and it will be fine. Franky, you will do more damage to your soil structure and lawn condition by venturing out and trampling all over them in excessively wet weather.  Don't fret that your plants will drown;  most of them can cope with it. Okay, lavenders and silverleafed Mediterranean plants will look sodden and sorry, but once this weather lets up and the water gets away from their root, they should be fine next year.

Still, the upside is that unless you have acquired a snorkel recently, perhaps confine your gardening activity to hunting through enticing seed catalogues or making a wish list of desirous plants for next year? Or why not grab a pen and paper and re-design a flower bed that desperately needs an overhaul for next year?

Like I said before, it's Tulip time, so track down some of the gorgeous varieties out there from the warmth of your fireside.