It started with a strong wind that made our flower bed wind mills spin like crazy. Then the dark clouds started to rapidly roll in. Within minutes everything turned dark. Who turned the switch off???
It ltterally felt like someone had put a lid on the world, not letting the sun come in at all. I went inside announcing that a thunder storm is on its way. The next thing I know was hail hitting the kitchen windows so hard we thought they would break. Larger than marbles they were poured down from the sky in frenzy with a wind so strong destroying everything.
5 minutes later it was all over. And I suddenly realized that this 5 minute hail storm must have made some damage. I went outside to have a look and came back in with tears in my eyes. It is all slaughtered, broken, destroyed. Every plant, every flower, every tree. The strawberries taht just started to go red are ripped and torn. The potato and tomato plants are lying spread out in pieces. Flowers are beaten to the ground. My lovely vine that just started to climb on my house wall is ruined. The pear tree hardly have any fruit left, torn, wripped... All the baby shoots are flattened to the ground... I don't think anything has survived these stormy 5 minutes.
We will probably have to start all over but most of all worry about the fruit trees. Will there be any apples, cherries, plums or pears? Will there be any raspberries, currants and strawberries?
Maybe this is natures way of paying back. Nothing is what it used to be. This spring has been the longest and wettest spring in over 200 years here in Switzerland. One day it is 32 degrees, the next it is 13... It is all so unpredictable. We can't control nature. And that is frustrating, scary and somewhat annoying as we want to control everything. But I also find it very refreshing at the same time. It makes me feel alive. This is real. Weather and nature is real, it is everywhere all the time. And we have to let it be that way. Live with it. Embrace it. Even if our garden looks like a war field.
Note: All photos taken with Instagram camera.
Kärlek
Annette
Yes, the weather is going a bit weird over here too. No hailstones thankfully, but sunshine one minute, cold and dark the next. I think my plants have gone into statis. Not very much growth or flowers. I cannot believe that it will be the longest day soon. Hope you manage to recover something from the carnage you experienced.
ReplyDeleteS xx
Hi: Just had to write to commiserate! We live in the US, in North Texas, where the weather is notoriously extreme. In the first six years we lived here we ended up having our roof replaced TWICE as a result of brief, intense hail storms and wind. Everything outside was shredded. You couldn't even see our driveway it was so covered with shredded leaves from trees. Your plants will probably survive, but it is like starting from scratch. Don't give up....
ReplyDeleteLooks like Mother Nature had a temper tantrum!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame. All your hard work gone. The weather is such a pain sometimes. Hopefully we will get lots of sun soon.
ReplyDeleteRosezeeta.
Oh no such destruction! But you are all safe, that is what counts.
ReplyDeleteHugs to you,
Meredith
SO amazing! I hope you didn't lose the entire garden!!!
ReplyDeletexo Kris
Oooooohhh, Annette ... yesterday after eating a large stone storm was dismembered many plants in my terrace ... but last year the stones that fell from the sky were like tennis balls (I never see anything like that ... I spent a lot of fear ...) and this year the stones that fell from the sky like they were hazelnuts. .. So I did not suffer so much! I quite understand your sorrow and I regret any damage this has caused to your beautiful garden ... but I hope you and your family are fine, this is more important!
ReplyDeleteA big hug from Catalonia!
Nature is unpredictable and so strong and violent sometimes....
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your plants and garden, but I think that very soon new blossoms and fruits will arrive for your happiness!!!
xxxxx Ale
So Sorry ! Hope your plants can recover from the storm ! All that hail, its unbeleivable !
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about all your lovely plants and trees being damaged by the violent storm. I can understand your sadness.
ReplyDeleteHere in town, we had heavy rainstorms, but no hailstones. I rescued my delicate nasturtium plants from the balcony edge and they were not damaged. The other plants are water-logged, but will survive.
We can only ever start again when disaster strikes - and this applies to all parts of our life.
Happy planting and nurturing.
Oh! I thought that cloud looked a bit too impressive.
ReplyDeleteWe had a dry(ish), sunny Christmas in Ireland. Back in South Africa, I though summer was not ending, this week was the first it got cold enough, autumn was just a few weeks. We had hail storms in early summer like I haven't seen since my school years.
Hope some things in your garden will recover.
Extreme weather, that is what it is all about right now, or so I read in our (The Netherlands) newspapers. So sorry to see this (saw your IG pics already), it is so sad. Maybe nature is very resilient and it is not as bad as it looks now, I hope so.
ReplyDeletedear annette ! i know how you feel right now ,a few years ago in our region we had a hail storm and in just a few moments everything was nothing anymore.my sour cherry trees & my vine &Quince tree& flowers,everything was ruined by that hail storm.I believe nature gives us a great lesson in such heart breaking moments,which is makes us more strong & determine to carry on for more harsh & difficult events in the future ,I know how strong you are & surely you could manage this disaster ,much hope and luck for you.xoxo, zohreh
ReplyDeleteOh dear, so sorry for your garden. We are just over the border in France and our spring has been similar to yours. We lost a lot of seedings to frost a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteThat second picture is quite breathtaking.
Hope this works, in the past i've had difficulty leaving comments.
How awful, yes we are at natures mercy. Sometimes I think she's rather angry with us humans with the big mess we are making of this world! :) x
ReplyDeleteHej Annette, detta är sorgligt :-( You have such a beautiful place, I hope your love will make the garden bloom again. xxx
ReplyDeleteIncredible. What a shame though for your poor plants and flowers, unbelievable that just 5 minutes of extreme weather can be so damaging.
ReplyDeleteHopefully some will pick up, but it must be heart-breaking. I know how i feel when i have lost veggie plants grown from seed and nurtured into strong plants, just to plant them out and find the completely gone one day, destroyed by slugs even though pellets were put down (the safe to children and pets type).
I do hope that your plants and fruit trees and bushes recover.
Gill xx
It will come back, Annette, nature always comes back. And each time it does, we look in wonder and joy. For the moment there is sadness and frustration, but joy comes 'in the morning'. Julie
ReplyDeleteAww, how sad.... I once visited a town in Switzerland and noticed that all the trees and flowers were destroyed. It had been hail a week earlier... Cars were dented, tents destroyed, windows. Hail is so horrible...
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to rebuild everything.
But it makes for great photos! Jane x
ReplyDeleteI am so very sorry to see all the damage the Hail Storms did in your world. I do hope your fruit trees have survived and will bear fruit. Hopefully it will not be to late to replant some of the things that were lost.
ReplyDeleteMay I ask you if Tilda Yarn 100% cotton??? Can you give some idea how much it would cost to ship to Michigan. Thanks Hugs Judy
OMG what a disaster! we have the same 'strange' weather here in farnce, no real spring. Last weekend it was hot and today it was too cold to sit outside.....
ReplyDeleteSiento mucho lo que te ha pasado en tu casa,la primavera aquí en La Coruña,España,también ha sido muy lluviosa.Y tienes razón al sentir que la naturaleza es lo que nos hace tan frágiles.Un gran abrazo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a storm! Weather of any kind can be so humbling in this high tech, organized world! We really aren't in control even though we can be lulled into thinking we are! So sorry to see all of your beautiful garden decimated, the pictures were so telling of your disappointment.
ReplyDeleteWell onward and upward, plants can be so resilient, they may surprise you, good luck, Mary Anne
What a shame.. The weather has been so odd this year it's been frustrating. (hugs)
ReplyDelete