It rained during the wee small hours of Thanksgiving morning. It wasn't a lot, just 0.65/inch, but it gave my garden a good soaking, scrubbing away the dust and dirt left by several rounds of Santa Ana winds and freshening the air, without causing significant problems for the areas burned by the Woolsey and Hill Fires. It was just our second rain of the season, which is measured from October 1st to September 30th each year, and it brought our total to date to a whopping 1.2 inches. There's another storm forecast for the end of next week but it's still much too soon to say whether this season's prospects will be an improvement over last year's total, which at under 4 inches for the year was the lowest I can remember. Do I sound like I'm complaining? I don't mean to. I'm only trying to modulate my expectations.
I thoroughly enjoyed the stroll through my own garden yesterday after the rain spruced it up.
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| View looking toward the harbor as the storm moved out. We played peek-a-boo with the sun all day yesterday and still are doing so today. |
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| Does the garden look cleaner and fresher to you? It did to me but then there were rain droplets all over the foliage. |
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| My husband recently refinished the patio table to help it stand up to moisture. It works! |
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| The birds were back at the feeders, greedily consuming the seed I put out a couple of days before. Right now, as I type, I can see the squirrel is also back, working hard to bypass the feeder's "squirrel-proofing." |
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| Two of my 3 Yucca 'Bright Star' were still acting uptight. I'd thought this might have been a natural strategy to protect their cores from excessive heat but our temperatures are cool now. |
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| It turns out that the sharp points on the unfolding leaves had pierced the tips of other leaves as they unfolded, keeping all of them stuck in place. I freed them yesterday. |
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| Raindrops decorating Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' |
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| Both Agave 'Blue Glow' and the Coulter Bush (Hymenolepsis crithmifolia) behind it were also covered in liquid diamonds |
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| The last remaining leaves of Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' shined too |
The front garden looked fresh and clean as well.
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| The rain even erased the bird plop on the pavement I'd failed to clean up |
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| The area in front of the garage is finally beginning to look as I'd intended it to |
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| I'm pretty pleased with this area behind the hedge lining the street too |
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| And the moss covering the dirt path leading to my lath (shade) house is filling in after a tough summer |
For once, I didn't have any watering I needed to do. Even the plants in the lath house were well-watered without any help on my part. Like my cat, all I needed was to find a spot in the sun to enjoy the day.
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| Pipig was stretched out with her paws above her head as I approached but she took umbrage with my interruption of her sun bathing |
Whatever your weather, I hope you get the opportunity to get out and enjoy fresh air this weekend.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
