Heat management month has entered the chat.

From the desk

May is when the Lower South stops apologizing for being itself. Afternoon sun on stucco and brick turns porch pots into little saunas. Tomatoes want consistent deep water, not panic misting. If you have not walked your lot after a thunderstorm lately, do it before June—puddles tell the truth about grading, gutter splash, and the saucer you forgot behind the shed.

We are biased toward Midtown habits—oak-edited light, tight beds, alley wind—but the calendar below mixes Mobile metro stops with Baldwin / Eastern Shore resources so readers in Fairhope, Daphne, and Spanish Fort are not asked to treat the bay like a wall. Always double-check times, tickets, and weather calls before you drive; organizers move dates when Gulf humidity throws a tantrum.

Gear desk · one purchase to postpone

If you are about to buy a bigger oscillating sprinkler because “this summer will be different,” pause. Night watering keeps metal cool but leaves foliage wet until dawn—coastal fungal pressure notices. Favor soaker lines at the root zone, timers under porch shade, and a soil test before you pour another bag of hope on yellow leaves.

Midtown whisper

North-facing porch? Your cilantro might still love you. South-facing brick hellstrip? Your basil is filing for emotional damages. Cluster pots for a little shared humidity, but leave air gaps—powdery mildew loves a crowd as much as gossip on Dauphin.