So Southern California took a direct hit from Tropical Storm Hilary this weekend. While gardeners on the east coast of the US and other parts of the world may be used to hurricanes and tropical storms, the Los Angeles Basin hasn't experienced one since 1939. We've been brushed by the remnants of tropical storms on occasion (Tropical Storms Kay in 2022 and Nora in 1997) but even that's unusual. I was initially excited about the prospect of rain, an anomaly here during the summer months, but constant alerts about the possible impacts - flash floods, landslides, wind damage, power outages and road closures among other things - put an edge on the event. And on Sunday, about an hour after receiving a flash flood alert on my cell phone, I got an earthquake alert! The 5.1 earthquake was in Ojai, about 112 miles north of us, and I didn't even feel it, although some of my friends did. Of course, the convergence of the two events was almost immediately given its own name: Hurriquake.
The tropical storm started as a Category 4 hurricane off the coast of Mexico but it lost strength as it moved northward through Baja California, becoming a tropical storm before reaching San Diego, California about 150 miles to the south of us. Rain preceded Hilary's arrival in my area, starting in the early morning hours on Sunday and getting steadier and progressively heavier in the afternoon. I try to collect as much rainwater as I can, passively through three tanks linked to roof gutters, and also more actively using a rain chain to channel water into plastic barrels and tubs before moving it to one of my larger tanks.
![]() |
Because the rain was coming down so fast, I used a plastic trash can left behind by a prior owner instead of my usual plastic tubs. After it filled up 3 times, I gave up transferring the contents to my larger tanks in the middle of a continuous downpour. I filled a second trash can and several tubs before giving up the effort Sunday evening. It was still painful to watch all the water I couldn't catch flow down the pipes that shed the excess into the drainage system.
|
I'd taken advantage of calm conditions late Saturday afternoon to cut material for 'In a Vase on Monday'. My first arrangement features two unexpected dahlia blooms.
![]() |
I didn't plant any pale yellow dahlias this year, at least not intentionally. One sprouted from a leftover tuber that never flowered last year, which I missed when I dug up the rest of them in the fall. The other was supposed to be 'French Can Can', which it definitely is not. (You can see what Dahlia 'French Can Can' should look like here.)
|
![]() |
Back view, featuring assorted Zinnias and Abelias
|
![]() |
Top view
|
![]() |
Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Hopley's Variegated' and 'A. Kaleidoscope', Cosmos bipinnatus, Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Dahlia 'Luna', Zinnia elegans 'Lemon Peach', Z. e. 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and Dahlia NOT 'French Can Can'
|
My second arrangement was inspired by the Amaryllis belladonna that are currently blooming en masse in my back border.
![]() |
The Amaryllis belladonna (aka naked ladies because they bloom after their foliage dies back) are more strongly scented than I remember. They were flopping over on tall stems and, try as I might, I couldn't get them to straighten out to stand up properly in this vase.
|
![]() |
Back view
|
![]() |
Top view
|
![]() |
Clockwise from the upper left: Dipladenia 'Sundenia Coral', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Jester', Amaryllis belladonna, and Zinnia elegans 'Mazurkias'
|
The first bloom of Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' prompted a third arrangement.
![]() |
This feels a bit like a repeat of one of last week's arrangements but I cut all 3 of these dahlias assuming that they wouldn't hold up against 1-2 days of steady rain
|
![]() |
Back view
|
![]() |
Top view
|
![]() |
Clockwise from the upper left: noID Pentas, Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Limewire' (previously known as coleus), Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple', Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', and D. 'Mikayla Miranda'
|
Overnight and this morning we picked up more rain. As of 8am our total for the storm is 1.99 inches. That's a LOT for us within about a 24-hour period. Other areas reportedly received almost a foot of rain and some have experienced mudslides. There's a lot of leaf debris to clean up in my garden and more rainwater to move into my collection tanks but so far I haven't discovered any damage to trees or shrubs. We didn't even lose power. I'm very thankful.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
