Misty rain

Ahhh, there's nothing like a long misty rain to rejuvenate the garden. Much as I dislike being cold and wet, I know just how much the garden appreciates this weather.

A big bonus to misty rain is that it's a great photo opportunity!

In this opening shot you're looking at my variegated Ginko, the variegation is just starting to appear on the leaves.

The succulents are wonderful rain drop catchers. They look as if they're studded with jewels. I am so enamored with these babies, I hardly want to work any where else in the garden right now.

Up close and personal, see how the fine little hairs (officially called cilia) catch the mist? These little babies are not sharp like cactus, they are soft to the touch and while I wear gloves out in the garden, when I play with my succulents, I need to feel them with my bare skin.

The Hosta are starting to put on their show, when they first emerge the colors can be quite muted but give them a little time and they really start to shine!

Of course the all time favorite for catching mist, rain or dew is Alchemilla mollis (Ladies Mantle). I love this plant so much but have given up potting it up for people as I just can't get it to sell. (If you want some, I'll dig it out of the garden for you.)

One last peek, in this combination photo you can see how different foliage catches water. On the far left is Nepeta musinii (cat mint) which has some water on it, mostly around the edges of the leaves. In the middle is Oreganum aureum (Golden Oregano) which doesn't look wet at all. On the right side is the star of this photo, Sedum 'Lynda Windsor' with her smoky colors and huge diamond-like drops of moisture.

It's still chilly here but the sun is shining now so I'm off to play with my hens and chicks. Hope you are all reveling in your late spring gardens!

Capturing a raindrop

This morning is dark but not dreary. While some people moan when it rains, as long as it's not pouring I'll take advantage of the elements and get out there and take some photos.

My simple camera doesn't focus well in these low light conditions so I might try this again as the sun comes up higher (even behind all these rain filled clouds). Still, here's some raindrops that I've managed to capture, beginning with raindrops on the Euphorbia polychroma that has finished blooming.

This is what the view out of the breezeway looks like. I don't think the black plastic will be killing too many weeds today.

The Baptisias are beginning their spectacular show. In fact, I had planned on writing a post just about them until the raindrops caught my fancy. Maybe tomorrow I'll focus on the Baptisias that I adore. This one is 'Twilite Prarieblues' which is brand new to my garden and just beginning to bloom.

Under the Baptisia 'Purple Smoke' is a St. John's wort shrub. Unfortunately juggling my camera and the umbrella left me no free hands to look for a name tag.

The herb garden still needs so much work but the back corner, nearest my neighbors stinky black walnut trees is starting to shape up with pots filled with herbs and veggies.

Still thinking you like white vinyl fences? Hopefully we're not too many years away from my dream of this area being filled with a white Rhododendron and backed by an Acer 'Bloodgood' seedling. The Acer (red maple) was only a foot tall two years ago and now is at least four feet tall. Two more years and it should cover much of that hideous fence. Won't it be the perfect backdrop for the white Rhododendron?

This is the Geranium cantabrigiense 'Karmina' that I dug and divided for our plant sale. I got 18-20 pots all together and just stuck the left over pieces back in the ground. I think this clump is 5 feet across already. Now that I know what I'm doing I expect that next year I will have more pots of 'Karmina' and it's paler sister 'Biokova' than you can possibly imagine.

It's a good day for muck shoes :-)

Thalictrum against the red twig dogwood is my idea of a great combination. Still, I need more Thalictrum for this to really shine and there must be a dozen plants there now.

This is the same area only without using the zoom lens. It's almost impossible to pick out that Thalictrum now but you sure can see how lovely the purple leaved Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford' looks.

Just a sneak peak at another Baptisia. This one stops me in my tracks with it's ghostly white blooms and gray foliage all shimmering with raindrops.

Finally, what's this? A surprise gift for me! How lovely, a fellow blogger left me a pot of that white Scilla that I had seen in the Shakespeare garden and coveted so much. Thank you!

So what do you do on rainy days?