Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Gulp, gulp, gulp... AH


We got our wish at last: 4 and 3/4" of rain over the last two days. The plants and the earth
had been very very thirsty.

In spite of the drought, the hardy ginger has been blooming for a month.


Beautiful flowers with a beautiful fragrance. Sweet, coconutty and very
strong. If we hadn't gotten rain it probably would have closed up shop
for the year, but now it'll probably keep going until a freeze cuts it down.


We have really enjoyed the 4 o'clocks this year. The last couple of
weeks they've looked terrible during the day but were still covered
with flowers that opened to release their sweet fragrance at night.


I hadn't grown Silverleaf Sunflower for several years but have been meaning to. At last, this year I finally grew some from seed. These are in a new bed at the edge of the lawn. They get about 5-6 feet tall and highly branched, so they are covered with flowers and bloom over a long period of time. One year we had a volunteer come up in the little field across from one of the pastures; it looked so picturesque there and like a beacon. And naturally it was a complete accident. lol


It seems to me that the Beautyberries turned earlier this year than usual. They turned last month.


The Japanese Beetles have been gone since late July, and these roses are blooming because I was watering new stuff that I'd put in recently. That might seem stupid in light of the dry spell, but we had been getting forecasts for rain.. besides, I can't wait until fall to plant a lot of the babies. Many are hot weather plants, which seem to do best for establishing for the next year when there's still heat. Also, I wouldn't be able to get to the front door.


I ended up coaxing every last drop from the rain barrels. So there are some flowers on 'Caldwell Pink'


'Nasturana'


and 'Clotilde Soupert'.



Here's looking forward to some cooler temperatures, at last.


22 comments:

  1. The rain was refreshing to say the least. Your flowers are beautiful...

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  2. I'm amazed at your garden and how well it has done in spite of the drought. Thankfully, the rains came. I hope it has saved some of my shrubs that were looking droopy. Since we have well water, I am afraid to water much when it is very dry. So glad that your flowers perked up! Carla

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  3. We got 7.5 inches! And every drop of it was needed and welcome. Now I see a tropical storm headed our way at the end of the week!

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  4. Glad you got rain! We are still dry, but cool. Your flowers are gorgeous. I love that Ginger!!!

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  5. Yeah! It is raining here now and for the last two days... must have moved up from your part of the world. Your garden looks beautiful and happy for the rain. ;>)

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  6. 4.5 ins is a proper drop of rain. It's funny how the weather goes through a period of correction.

    I like 'Nasturana'.

    May your gingers keep going and going

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  7. I'm glad I found your blog via your message left this morning to Carolyn
    I love your wild garden, so elegant !
    A bientôt!!

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  8. I hope you survive tonight and tomorrow. The weather guys were tossing around the "F" word when speaking of this storm, F standing for Floyd.

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  9. I am glad you got rain for your garden-it is always so beautiful.
    Japanese beetles arrived on the Island a couple of years ago and are only a few miles from our garden-I dread their arrival here.
    I always love to see your roses.

    Carolyn

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  10. Am glad your rain dance worked! I can now see you doing the "dancing for joy" bit in the garden :-) Was a long hot summer for sure...

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  11. I'm glad you received rain, too! Our temperatures are also cooler, and it feels wonderful. Despite your hot, dry spell, you have some really lovely flowers. I love the roses!

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  12. So glad you finally got some rain, Sweetbay! I know the showers we received last week really made a difference here. Ever since I saw a beautyberry in a garden that I volunteer in, I've wanted one, and now I seem to see them popping up on so many blogs--I just love those purple berries!

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  13. So glad for you and your garden...It looks lovely and I know how important it is to get plants in the ground. We are still dry~No rain in sight for weeks I think...gail

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  14. Wonderful on the rain!! We haven't had rain in over a month and then it was sparse and as I look on the 10 day forecast there isn't a drop in sight. It is a very very stressful time for me as you can imagine. I'll be redoing my front driveway garden with yuccas and buddleias as soon as the rains return. No more of this watering. Our beautyberries turned last month too. They are so pretty but even they suffer from no rain here and wilt. So sad. That rain sure did your gardens good! Love those sunflowers!

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  15. You must be happy now the rain has arrived. One of the interesting things about blogging is the different climates we each have. Lovely to see Roses glistening with raindrops.

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  16. Such beautiful roses! I love the hardy ginger. I have never seen that before.

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  17. Sweetbay, we just escaped the rain by flying back from the east coast Thursday morning. Hope all is well in the garden.

    The ginger is so lovely! as are the other blossoms. Our Beautyberry has just begun to change color as have the maple trees. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  18. I'm glad you had your much-needed rain. Your garden looks healthy.
    Those purple berries are lovely.

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  19. So glad you finally got some rain - it must be hard being a gardener when heat and droughts are lingering.
    -Beautiful roses!

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  20. Yay! Glad you got some rain and that you're posting again. (Of course, this may well have been going on a while; somehow I've fallen out of commenting!). My beautyberry is wonderful this year, too. I love that they're "blooming" the same time here and there. :)

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  21. I'm glad you got rain. It really makes a difference, doesn't it? Your plants beautiful.

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  22. I'm envious of your rain ~ my plants would appreciate it too. I'm glad you got some. That Hardy Ginger looks & sounds delicious. Wish I could smell it. You've had quite a long spell of heat this year Sweet Bay ~ I'm sure it will be a welcome change of pace for it to cool down.
    ps The rose photos are outstanding ~ I especially love that last one.

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