Years ago, I took my grandfather (pictured at left below) on a trip up the east coast through DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The whole trip started when he received an invitation to a childhood friend’s 80th birthday party. Something made him really want to go and my school schedule at the time allowed me to take a couple of weeks to drive him. I’m so glad that I did because he passed away a few years later, and it was his last trip up to the place he was born. I will always treasure the memories of the trip.

I met a lot of family members that I had never seen before and got to see where both my grandfather and grandmother were born. Because my grandfather was 80 at the time, we didn’t keep a particularly busy schedule. One visit or one tour of a monument was about all he could handle in a day, so a habit that we got into was eating a leisurely breakfast at a diner in the town we were in each morning.

But there is something you have to know about my grandfather. He never could hear that well. He was a pilot in WWII and then worked in air traffic control here in Tampa for the better part of his career. Between age and planes, it was hard for him to hear even in a quiet room, let alone in a bustling restaurant. One morning when we went to breakfast, we sat down at our table, and a sweet waitress came up and started to chat with us. As I began the customary breakfast banter, my grandfather anticipated her question and shouted, “Coffee, cream, and sugar” at the waitress. It sort of shocked her because that wasn’t what she had asked, and I had to shrug apologetically, shake my head and say, “I guess we’ll have some coffee, for both of us.” Fortunately, she was in a good mood and thought it was pretty funny. When she left, I made him adjust his hearing aids, and after that we were able to communicate more smoothly.

For some reason, this week in our household, I was telling that story and sharing pictures from my trip with Abby and Maddy, and they thought it was so funny that my grandfather had shouted “Coffee, cream, and sugar” that we’ve now taken to hollering it at each other when we want to change the conversation.

I promise we won’t shout that at you if you come into the nursery, we know you aren’t after coffee, but beautiful flowers. However, one reminder we will be sure to give you is to water, water, water your plants. We are in our dry season and haven’t had any rain in about two weeks. That means that all of those new plants you’ve installed this past year are going to start telling you they are thirsty. See below for our watering tips to make sure you are keeping your plants well-watered. And by the way, my favorite way to water is with a steaming mug of Coffee, Cream, and Sugar in my hand.

Water, Water, Water

All that hard work. The sweat, the backaches . . . don’t let it go to waste by not watering your plants properly. So grab a cup of coffee, uncoil the hose, and let’s water.

Water Consistently – Plants hate it when they get water one day, then a few days get skipped, and then oops, better water lots again. The inconsistency doesn’t allow them to grow to their full potential. Kerby’s general watering instructions are as follows: Daily for the first month (always in the morning, usually with a hose), every other day in the second month, and twice a week for the third month. After that, plants will need one to two good soakings each week, and of course, hopefully Mother Nature will help.

Water Deeply – Just spraying a little water on the roots each day or wetting the leaves is not helpful to plants. They need water soaked through their entire root system and into the soil beyond to encourage roots to keep growing down. Consistent deep waterings are the best way to develop strong plants. Even drought tolerant plants aren’t drought tolerant until they have established a strong root system.

Water in the Morning – Plants want water when the sun is up, so all plants, landscapes, and lawns should be watered in the morning. Here’s what often happens: each day when you return home from work, the plants are wilted, so you water. They perk back up, and in the morning, they aren’t wilted. By the time you get back from work, they are wilted again, and the cycle continues. This wilt and recover cycle slowly weakens a plant – it spends all of its energy recovering, not growing. Switch your waterings to the morning, and you’ll be amazed by the difference.

Hope for Rain – A good soaking rain is still the best way for plants to get water. Even with a hose, we can’t saturate the ground the same way that a rain shower does, so let’s hope for the rainy season to get here to make sure that all of our plants grow healthy and strong. But don’t forget – just because it rains one day, that doesn’t get you off the hook for watering the next day. Water consistently, water deeply, and water in the morning, and your garden is sure to be a success.