My flowers are diggin' these unusually heavy rains.
Coneflowers bloom beautifully on a low water diet though I'm discovering everything appreciates an extra drink.The big freelance debate began yesterday afternoon. A project that should have taken 5 minutes ended up taking 5 days and who should pay this enormous bill? Well, the client, of course - that's not why we were discussing it. Closer to reality was who would pick up the phone and incur the wrath of said client. After all, we may have a sweet, almost friendly client-agency bond but don't kid yourself - it's a symbiotic relationship.
We need them; they need us. The day they don't need me, they won't call me anymore. I guess the same goes for gardening...
I didn't expect much from Scabiosa, Jupiter's Beard and Butterfly Bushes, new this year. Butterfly Bushes have doubled in size, likely due to all this great rain.Flowers in the Big Rock Garden are thumbing their noses at me, this morning. Clearly they've discovered I'm holding out on them and that they do better with more water.
Last night's torrential downpour turned the road into a river. The ground squishes underfoot as I tiptoe through the garden snapping photos of lively little bloomers. These young plants are under the impression Mother Nature behaves like this all time.
Most everything in the Big Rock Garden is a xeric plant. (They pretty much have to be. I don't have a sprinkler system.) Some are experimental seedlings, purchased primarily for that reason. Others are 'xeric' because I've discovered they'll do well with less water.
Most xeric plants don't start out being very waterwise. In fact, some of the most xeric are real wimps when they're seedlings. That's because a lot of xeric plants have a tap root that stretches deep into the ground in order to find enough water. It's a balancing act to grow them. Until they reach maturity, they rely on us for regular watering. Watered too much they will fail to send their roots down far enough to stand on their own two feet later on.
I generally get a few Columbine blooms (with deadheading) throughout the summer. This year, the entire plant has gone wild.Symbiosis: "Life did not take over the globe by combat, but by networking. Humans and other species that cooperate with each other often out-compete those that do not." - Lynn Margulis
Still jealous. I'll bet we've had all of a tenth of an inch of rain here since the beginning of June and I'm only a half hour drive from you. And 15 minutes south in Murray, they've had flooding. I think there's a big umbrella over my neighborhood. JEALOUS!
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