Weather is a critical factor in starting and completing a landscaping project. Whether you’re installing stonework, building a pool, pouring concrete, or planting plants, Mother Nature’s role is not to be underestimated. She can be our best friend or worst nightmare, and it’s our job to make it work.
Mature Nature must be laughing when it pours rain! I mean, she is doubled over and holding her stomach laughing!
Picture this: we’re making great strides with your landscape, and then, out of nowhere, a downpour! And we’re not talking about a bit of drizzle. No, we’re hit with torrential rain that lasts two days and nights. What happened to that oh-so-simple, easy-to-complete landscape? It comes to a grinding halt! The schedule is as good as washed away, so to speak.
Nothing is more challenging than installing stonework when the ground is saturated with water. Stonework and water don’t mix; too much water in a granular base can lead to future failure. Try tamping down water-saturated gravel. It results in a lot of gray, liquified, muddy stuff being splashed about, usually over the person behind the tamper. And that gray, muddy water sprays nicely on the walls of your home! ‘Rinse, please!’
Consider the struggle of planting in muddy soil. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of mud seeping into your work boots and socks to remind you of your love for the job. Or the joy of stepping into the mud, only to find your boots still submerged without your feet. It’s a delightful experience, to say the least!
When pouring concrete, we pray that the rain gods go away for a few days. Rain is no friend to achieving a smooth concrete finish. And no, there is no tarp large enough to cover an entire pool site to complete this work. If you don’t want raindrop splash imprints in your new concrete finish, rain must stay away for a day before and after pouring the concrete.
Mother Nature must be friends with the devil! Because he likes it hot!
“You love working outdoors,” you say. What’s more fun than installing stone when the humidex is 35 or more—unless it’s hot and raining? You cannot drink enough water or energy drinks or eat enough popsicles to cool down when the temperatures reach ‘scorching’. Extreme heat seems fun for the first few days; then, it is just draining. Lengthy heat waves slow down production. Work a bit, drink a bit, sit a bit. Find some shade. Crews find ways to try and beat the heat. They might start earlier in the day. However, they might leave earlier, too. The goal is to be as productive as possible during the coolest part of the day. “Stay cool, man!”
Mother Nature, are you our Friend?
Mother Nature will try to throw all kinds of weather at a landscape installation just a laugh. There could be endless days of rain, where no machine can move on a site without sinking, or days of heat when crews look like melted ice cream cones. And who can forget an early snowfall that looks so pretty but makes it impossible to work until it’s removed?
If you want a new landscape, something that involves construction or planting, my best advice is to (i) pack your patience, as it will rain, and there could be days of no construction or planting; (ii) be willing to offer Mother Nature your firstborn; and (iii) remember this is a journey with a great destination.
When it comes to developing a landscape and putting it together, Mother Nature’s hilarious trickery can override even the best intentions of any landscape contractor. Developing a landscape can be a lot of fun; however, it is influenced by Mother Nature—and she has a wicked sense of humour!
The Gabby Gardener
October 2024