Category Archives: Rain

September 10, 2017 · 8:02 pm

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

This has been an unusual summer

On many fronts.

I’ve been gone half the summer.

Two weeks here

A week there.

Grand kids will do that to you

I’ve learned.

Not that I mind

I don’t.

But I’m not used to flitting around

Like that.

Then there was August.

Days turned into

Weeks of mid-80’s

And there was the rain.

In a month when it might not rain

At all

We had 6 inches!

So…

Combine my absence

With cool temperatures

And gentle rains

And what do you get?

A jungle.

The Cockscomb is officially

Growing out of its mind.

Zinnias have popped up

Everywhere.

The Asters are blooming,

And Cleome is still going strong.

Then there is the crabgrass.

If you don’t pull it.

It just keeps growing

And growing.

I think I’ve filled

Four poly carts

With the stuff.

Yesterday I managed

To get about half way through

The weeding process.

With a little deadheading

Along the way.

That’s really all there is

To do out there right now.

That and enjoy Mother Nature.

Yesterday was a tough day

To be one of these.

Not sure if it’s a moth

Or a butterfly.

First one was eaten for lunch

By a Praying Mantis.

Then this Orb spider

Had another one

For dinner.

I was still

In the garden

At dusk

When the locust chorus

Began singing

A familiar song.

Fall

Isn’t it yummy?

Gail

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Filed under Bugs, Butterflies, cleome, cockscomb, Dead Heading, Fall, Gardening, Grandchildren, late summer garden, Nature, Orb Spider, Praying Mantis, Rain, self seeding annuals, Uncategorized

August 19, 2017 · 9:18 pm

SUMMER LOVE

There’s something about the flowers

Of late summer

That I love.

Maybe it’s because they are sturdy enough

To thrive in the normal August heat.

With the cool days

And unprecedented rain

We’ve been having

This year’s August garden

Is lush.

Out of control really.

The cockscomb is doing it’s usual thing.

Blooming EVERYWHERE

Zinnias are beginning to bloom.

They didn’t get planted till around the 4th of July

So they are just now kicking in.

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Endless Summer hydrangea

Are putting on new blooms.

While their cousin Annabelle

Has never stopped.

And Cleome is still going strong.

DSCN0026

The thing that I notice

Is how different each of these flowers is.

Their forms.

Their needs.

Their appearance.

Yet when you put them together

In a simple vase.

They not only

Play well together

They encourage one another.

How can you not love a garden?

Gail

The Many Sides of Rain

Spring rain

Has always been a blessing

To gardens

To the soul.

After decades of gardening

And listening to thunderstorms

Move through the countryside

Just this morning

I realized

Another side of spring rain.

It rained last night.

Most of the night I think.

So we woke up

To an emerald green world

On a cloudy Sunday morning.

Any good gardener knows

After a good rain

It’s important when you walk through

Your garden.

To stay on the path

To keep from compacting the soggy soil.

Rain also means

That you won’t get to do much digging

For a day or two.

The result is that

Rain slows me down.

It focuses me on the beauty of the garden.

Not the “to do” list

In my head.

Rain washes away the clutter

In my mind

So I can see.

Really see.

Enjoy!

Gail

RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON OUR HEADS

For several years now we have been living under “extreme drought” conditions.

Going back to the summers of 2011 and 2012

We’ve been below normal rainfall.

And those summers were hot….really hot.

Last summer got better.

A little more rain.

A little less heat.

Then came the summer of 2014.

What a gift.

Mild temperatures.

Crisp morning.

And rain.

During June it was as if we lived in Camelot.

Remember the line?

“The rain never falls till after midnight.”

Well that’s where we’ve been living.

Camelot.

OK, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch.

Especially since Camelot is fictional.

People kept saying

What till July.

So when July came

And it got cooler

We were amazed.

Last week we got several days of rain.

Alternating between hard driving rain

And soft gentle misty drips.

With mornings in the low 60’s

And days struggling to hit 70

We were in heaven.

Humans love these days.

But gardens

Well gardens come alive.

It’s amazing to me the difference that rain makes.

I know it’s a fact

Given the extra nitrogen that comes with rain.

But I am amazed each time

I walk through my rain soaked garden.

There’s something about standing in rain.

Soaking it in

From the roots

To the tips of the last petal

Letting the goodness that falls from the sky

Wash over an entire garden.

We are all attuned to the weather these days.

For good reason.

It takes drastic swings

And is entirely unpredictable.

Perhaps we need to take a cue from the garden

And stand in the rain

Soaking in the goodness

Experiencing the renewal it brings.

To all kinds of lives.

Gail

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Filed under Calla Lily, Clematis, cleome, Cosmos, Dahlias, hollyhocks, Mandavilla, Oriental Lilies, Rain, Tall Garden Phlox

Category Archives: Rain

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

SUMMER LOVE

The Many Sides of Rain

RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON OUR HEADS

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