Oooh! Rain!

Above:  a May miracle!

 I was going to blog about moving plants, but I'm just so happy it rained I'm having trouble thinking about anything else. 

Long ago, I read that the best gardens are those in which plants have been moved, often several times, to create the best look.  It puzzled me at the time--can't an expert gardener get it right the first time?  Now that I've gardened a while, I find myself moving plants more and more, trying to get it right.  

Hey, you with the food.  Move some food into this pond!  
 We received a prediction of showers possible late this week, so I set about moving a few shrubs, expecting not rain (won't get fooled again!) but several days of cool, overcast weather to reduce the stress of the move both for the mover and for the moved.  
Foliage washed clean of dust...ahhhh!
I moved a couple of the 'Green Tower' boxwood at the end of the Ligustrum hedge because the boxwood looked awful--on the amount of water they get they do far better in shade.  I replaced them with a couple more Ligustrum, extending the Ligustrum hedge.  It makes far more sense.  Took me years to figure that out. 
New Ligustrums, grow babies, grow!
They have some catching up to do with the rest of the hedge.
   One boxwood went in the spot where 'Austin Griffins' Arctostaphylos was.  Yeah, I moved that: 
 Then the rain started.  And stopped.  But it started again.  And went on.  And overnight there was a heavy shower.  And then another in the morning.  And another.
 Flowers and branches flop over from the weight of water.  You know that, when you live somewhere that gets frequent rain.  Here, we forget. 
 Raindrops are jewelry for plants. 
 The barrels filled.  The soil was wet.  We must have gotten a half-inch of rain, at least.
 There were puddles!

 And sparkles!
 Oooh!  Rain!
 So wonderful, wonderful!
 Huh.  What was it I was blogging about? 

Comments

  1. So glad you got a pretty good soaking! We seem to have entered our dry period a couple of months early this year, and it's been abnormally warm. Never a dull moment for a gardener.

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  2. Yeah. For me it's the puddles. The first one I saw this year, I just looked at it and sighed. Said to myself, haven't seen that for awhile have, I? Distribution was erratic. Glad it rained on your part. Eeeee.

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    1. It was erratic...a couple storms ago we got nothing and LA got an inch. It was our make-up storm.

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  3. Congrats on your rain! It certainly does enhance the photos.

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  4. Rain! Your plants look beautiful with their sparkles. It's funny how we've become about rain... I was at a fancy party with fire dancers, and still had a 45 min conversation about who got how much rain where. Is this El Nino?

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  5. Whoa, that picture of the Grevillea with raindrop jewelry is glorious. It looks as happy as I know you must be.

    We went almost three weeks without a drop back in early April, and the soil was scary dry for so early in the season. The one blessing was how unusually cool it was, but then it really heated up and still no precip. Undermulched, this garden was really set to suffer. In panic, made a number of promises to higher powers that probably will go unkept. Local collective prayers must have been heard, since there's been rain every day but yesterday for the last two weeks. The rainless day was my garden club's annual plant sale, which has never been rained on in 20 years! Surely the pent-up deluge will hit us in one of the coming years...

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    1. rain every day but yesterday for the last two weeks...rain every day but yesterday for the last two weeks...rain every day but yesterday for the last two weeks.

      I'm trying to imagine that, but I can't!

      Must have been a happy plant sale, though. Hope it was a fun day!

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    2. It was a fun day, but number of customers was down significantly from out history -- could have been that many local gardeners rushed out into their own gardens to take advantage of a dry Saturday and found it impossible to leave once there; has happened many a time to me.

      Here's another hard-to-imagine scenario, pretty un-typical for this time of year here: grey skies all week, good chance of thunderstorm every day. Chastened by early-season drought, we aren't grumbling loudly, but... let's say that the floral show (full-out iris time, heading into peony bloom) is more dazzling in sunshine. [As shown in your pics of the alluring rose garden.] But we're not complaining, really -- dry times can come at any moment.

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  6. Yes, we had the wonderful water from above in No Cal this weekend. Feels like Portland here. I have been surprised that more people aren't ecstatic about it, but I think so many people up here have given up on their yards…all weeds now or fake grass…that they don't care about this gift. Ahh well. On another note...When you see a plant not doing well in one area, do you ever toss it? I feel so guilty doing that, so I rarely do but sometimes, it just seems like the wrong pick for the environment. Or do you ever just plant it in a park and see what happens? I have thought of that too.

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    1. I usually try an unhappy plant in a different spot, if it doesn't die first. Or water it more, or give it a hit of fertilizer--or put a shade cover over it for a little while to reduce stress--I try different things. If it just doesn't respond, then I give up.

      Sometimes I pull a happy plant that I just don't like, and feel a little guilty about it, but since it's usually a common plant, I know it's growing elsewhere.

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  7. It's good you can enjoy rain. We never tend to make the most of it, but there is something joyous about a proper downpour.

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    1. We adore rain here! We always appreciate what we don't have--humans are odd that way.

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  8. I'm delighting in your giddiness about the rain. In contrast, It's already dry and warm here. I am already treasuring the little rain we have had and any we may get until the October wet season. Wait - you moved an Arcto. 'Austin Griffiths'??!!

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    1. Ummm...yeah...I moved 'Austin'--was that a fatal thing? I first put him in a too shady (I thought) spot. Is that a fatal move? He's got new foliage...he got rained on...he's not wilting...yet. See the May 1 post.

      Don't want to hear about no warm and dry!

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    2. And he's just a little guy, too. An 'Austin' Jr.

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  9. I am SO envious! We just got spit on again - a total of 0.09 inches between Thursday night and early Friday morning. But at least the weekend stayed cool and I got most of my mulch down. I picked up some rainwater in my collection tanks too. I'd have loved to see real droplets of rain clinging to my plants, though. I love how Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream" sparkles in your photo!

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    1. Well there was one storm I think you got a half inch and we got nada, so we're even. I was shocked at how much the downspout diverter produced--filled that barrel twice and more. I need more diverters.

      Fantastic you got your mulch put down in cool weather--I'm looking at my big slopes and pondering the pain to come--it's my next project.

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  10. You've had more rain than us this month, the weather is all over the place. Plants are used to being moved around here.. they have to be! I often wonder if I should make them sign a mobility contract when they arrive.

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    1. If only they could move themselves when asked.

      I hope your ankle is better--your garden is waiting!

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  11. Dear Hoover, so pleased that you have had some good rain, it refreshes everything and you are right, raindrops are jewellery for plants, sparkling like diamonds.
    It is cool here tonight and there has been some rain, much appreciated as it has been very dry. The Autumn weather has been beautiful, like an extended summer but without the humidity. When I leave the hospital in the evening the air is so fresh and cool and the fragrance of foliage and lemon scented gum leaves is so lovely.
    xoxoxo ♡

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    1. For our climates, Autumn is really another spring!

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  12. A couple questions from the curious...do the raptors in the area ever predate your koi? They are absolutely beautiful, I would worry about the birds and coyotes. Also, I see your neighbor (by the small privets) has a pitaya growing in the tree. Does it ever flower/fruit? I inherited what I'm assuming is a white fleshed variety that flowers and despite my careful hand pollination, never fruits. I think it's going to the curb this year. I bought a self pollinating pink variety from the nursery to try. Thank you for your post, the rain was amazing and very welcomed!

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    1. The many hawks and owls have never been a problem. The serious flying threat here is the Great Blue Heron; I have to watch for those, but because we have coyotes the herons seem to avoid the immediate area. The coyote compete for the same food the herons do (rodents) and will also kill the herons for food--I've seen a coyote running down our street dragging a full grown heron it had killed.

      We have a raised, staight-sided, fairly deep pond so the raccoons don't go after the koi (they like to walk into a pond via a gradual slope). Eagles are a potential problem and there have been sightings of both Golden and Bald in the area, but not nearby. I also have a partial cover over the pond so the koi have a hiding place, and it is right next to the house, making it more difficult to see from most places in the sky, and it being so close to the house it may increase reluctance to attack. There are a few people in the neighborhood with a koi pond--they've reportedly had their ponds emptied of fish by herons.

      The neighbor's pitaya has never bloomed. My neighbor with a plant in a much sunnier place gets fruit, and there's one huge plant nearby in the neighborhood that reportedly gets plenty of fruit.

      Yes, the rain was great! I miss it already. Wouldn't more be lovely?

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    2. I get an egret in the front yard every now and then but no herons yet. I'm glad your koi have been safe so far. They are amazing. I feel bad for the koi eaten by herons. Imagine that fat heron flying off...very low...
      More rain would be absolutely amazing!

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