My thornless hybrid blackberries aren’t very sweet this year, so I had to add a lot of sugar to the cobbler. They really only provided the purplish-blue color, and a little bit of sourness, but mostly it was just bland.
My red hardy hibiscus is blooming nicely but the flowers are smaller in diameter and the petals of the flowers are skinnier. It also took a long time for them to bloom. The crape myrtle is doing well, but the bloom heads are not as full this year. The flower petals all seem to fall off quickly.
I haven’t heard a thing from anyone about okra this year. Makes me wonder how it is bearing in local gardens.
This has been a very cool summer, over all, with an a lower average temperature compared to the last couple of years. Add to that more rain in July than we’ve had in quite a few years, and I believe the summer crops just are not getting enough heat.
All of these—blackberries, hibiscus, crape myrtle, okra—all need heat to bloom and set fruit. They are plants that thrive in the heat of the summer, one of the main reasons I have chosen to grow these things. If it isn’t hot, they don’t do as well. Oh, they will grow and put on blooms, but the results will be sort of skimpy.
I used to always say that I did well under stress. My job at the phone company was one of the most stressful jobs in the company—taking care of local and long distances equipment. We had constant trouble tickets to resolve, with some of course more important than others, but all customer reports were considered important. Almost every part of my job was high priority, but I got used to the stress and considered myself not just a survivor, but a thriver, (if there is such a word.)
Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NKJV.
Jesus overcame, so that we could overcome. Use tribulation to thrive; don’t settle for survival.