Severe thunderstorms last night put a dent into our gardening endeavor … literally. We had rain coming down at a rate of as much as 1.5 inches per hour and 60 mph winds. Before it started, we did move the oregano basket onto the deck, so that is okay. At the height of the storm, the dog decided she needed to go outside to relieve herself (of course), and when Tom came back in with her he told me that we had flash flooding on the patio. He had the presence of mind to also drag the sunflower planter on to the covered part of the patio, out of the open rains and winds.
When I looked this morning, the existing seedlings in all beds did survive, but flower bed number 4 that runs along the patio, the one that holds the most recent seeds, has a lot of erosion. The three rows of seedlings it has did survive. It had animal tracks in it, but those went over the stuff that did not sprout yet. Flower beds 1, 2, and 3 are in the front and did better. I did lose one of the Sweet Allysums (fully-grown plant). The sunflowers in the front are okay, some of the taller ones in the planter are kind of bent over, but I think they’ll be okay too.
To give you an idea of how hard it rained (no, I am not posting pics, it’s not pretty): Leaves that fell off the tree were deeply embedded into the soil, and what passes for a yard here is more of a hilly something right now. And we did not even get the hail that the area had. More rain and storms in the forecast. I wonder if the seeds will still sprout? I know that seeds like water, but the thin layer of soil on top that remained is packed down solid, and wet. I am a beginner, but I do know that trying to grow seeds in tightly packed, saturated soil and soaking seeds before planting them are two different things. Luckily, the standing water on the patio was gone this morning.
Well, at least we do not live in Oklahoma.
T and A Travel Almanac 
Just cross your fingers. All may not be lost.
We actually did not get the worst of it, so life will go on.