Rainy day thoughts

It's been raining every day -- including Sunday which was tour day -- with no end in sight. Besides the more worrying consequences like flooding, this means not much gardening going on right now. Which is probably a good thing since I packed a week of work into two days before the tour.

But that means that I get to riff again today, my thoughts jumping all over the place. I'll start with a lament about rain-flattened plants like the Fargesia 'rufa' above. Looks great when it's dry, but it is a big floppy mess when wet.

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The rain is heavy at times too...

...enough to point out the weak spots in my "dry" creek bed project. I need more large rocks to keep things from flowing too forcefully -- maybe I'll go get some at lunchtime? (If it's not raining... which it probably will be.)

On the bright side though, I've learned that Cotinus is one of the prettiest plants around when wet:

And the pond is looking fantastic!

It's staying full, the floating debris gets sunk leaving the water's surface so clean, and the Petasites are fully hydrated. Toads and frogs are happy too -- so it's perfect pond weather if nothing else!

Speaking of the pond, I wanted to move the red bench before the tour:

Its view of the pond is obscured by the now-larger Petasites, and it's leaning a bit now...

...so I lifted the bench from the cinder block supports only to find a mother mouse sitting atop a nest of mouselings. I am an equal opportunity wildlife gardener providing habitat to all creatures, so I quickly replaced the bench top as to not disturb the family too much.

I didn't get a photo but by "happy" coincidence a mouse got trapped in an empty garbage can in the garage a day later (driven indoors by the rain?) so I was able to take a photo:

That's almost exactly what the mouse in the bench support looked like, its big eyes peering up at me. (When I released this mouse it launched itself out of the trash can in the most hilarious way! I'm still smiling about it!)

Ready for more scattered topics?

Voodoo lily (Amorphophallus konjac) is so interesting as it's emerging:

We've had so many lightning bugs the last few nights...

...their warm flickerings provide a show each evening, reminding me of childhood summer nights so long ago.

There is so much milkweed in my garden now, the monarchs better not snub me again:

Plenty of room for more Rudbeckia maxima (giant coneflower) though:

Love this plant, towering above my head (it's tall but towers because it's planted higher on the hill).

Also love that some bamboos shoot later than most, extending the season:

The Pachypodium lamerei is coming along just fine...

...and I should be seeing blooms sometimes soon. I'm hoping!

Also hoping...

...that we get a break from rain soon! The duckweed in the front water barrel is being driven "over the falls" as the barrel overflows...

...and I keep having to scoop it up off the ground and back in.

I emptied about 6" (15cm) of water out of a pot on the deck yesterday, and this morning it held another 1.5" (4cm). They're forecasting another 1/2" today, then 2" (5cm) both tomorrow and again Friday. I guess we'll all be getting used to dampness for a while around here.

At least all of the rain has flattened out the fresh path mulch...

...making it into a nice, smooth surface. Soft enough for even bare feet.

So nice for those walks around the garden in the rain!

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