
Along with the life-giving rain for which we Coloradans are grateful has come a ration of hail. The Big One hit before I planted my garden. Part of Colorado Springs shut down as hail slammed earth, damaging roofs and cars, tearing budding leaves off tender spring trees, and snarling traffic on flooding streets over a foot deep in frozen white pellets.
I am determined to grow a bumper crop of basil this summer. My extended family has developed a taste for basil pesto, and can go through a quart during a single picnic. My daughter, also a gardener, is spending most of her summer camping. So it may be up to me to provide the bushel basket of basil we need. Basil is particularly delicate. Hail can destroy a basil plant in seconds.

My husband is an engineer. He devised a way to save my garden. You can compare and contrast our methods. His, methodical and precise. Mine, more an act of desperation.

(Hail cloth is available at Phelan Gardens - http://www.phelangardens.com/ )