Rainy August Morning

This was the scene as the day ended yesterday. A large thunderhead, one of many that have been dropping lots of rain and hail in the northern part of the area. We woke up to .1" rain, which made it a lovely morning for a stroll through the gardens and taking photographs.

I couldn't stop taking photos of the Japanese Anemone. The moisture made the buds a darker color than they usually are, and many of their pretty backs were turned toward the light. You normally don't see this view from the front when you walk by.

The roses are beginning their last beautiful flush for the season, and a lovely sight it is.

Yellow Dream with Russian Sage

Outstanding - Sharifa Asma

Tabboo

I have been adding to my collection of Heucheras this year. This is Creme Brulee.

This came in a hanging basket. It looks like Marmalade, but I'm not sure what it is.

Sunset Hyssop 'Acapulco Gold'

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is beginning to bloom. Here with Salvia 'Blue Cloud'

And here with Russian Sage

And finally, a flower head in "Grandmother's Cutting Garden"

Beautiful Morning Stroll

It's a beautiful morning after a nice fresh rain, so please join me in a stroll around my gardens.

This plant brings me much joy. It is Agastache rupestris Sunset Hyssop. Why I don't have more of them I don't know, but plan to remedy that next year. It smells like root beer, and it's blossoms are such a beautiful shade of orange and lavender. It is a water-wise plant, but surprises me when it seems to droop on a hot, sunny day. I can't figure out why. So I give it a quick dash of water when it does that. Isn't it lovely?

These were direct sown from a mix called Grandmother's Cut Flower Garden. Soon after they were sown we had a huge downpour and they all washed together. I just left them, as I didn't want to disturb them. They need to be thinned but I thought I see what the do first. They are just beginning to bloom. This is my oldest garden and seems to be in constant need of redoing one part or another most of the time. That is a Rose of Sharon among the flowers. It had not blossomed yet. I could not fine the name of this sedum, but I believe it is called Dragon's Blood . It grows nicely with Orange Carpet Hummingbird Mint. Penstemon Whippleannus with Blue Oat Grass. I think this look like a fountain!

As you can see, this Penstemon (I think it is Whippleannus) does not do well in wind. I'm being a little more selective about what I plant because of all the wind we have here. Plants need to be pretty sturdy to withstand that much. I also did not expect it to get quite so tall.

We had .3" rain last night. While many areas south of us received severe storms and street flooding, we lucked out with a gentle rain that was much appreciated by all of the gardens. It was a beautiful morning for photos so I took a few to share. It was also a good time to see where my "problem areas" are and think about what to do. I have not posted for a couple of days because I needed to get some non-gardening chores done. The only way to do this was to not allow myself near the computer until I achieved a measure of progress. This blogging is addictive!

Happy 4th To Everyone!

What a beautiful day it is here in Colorado. Last night we had 1.2" rain and all the plants are celebrating. I think I'll join them. Took care of my Dad this morning and plan to spend the rest of the day out back in my "Retreat" reading, thinking, planning, eating, etc. Right now I'm reading a Linda Howard ("Ricochet") and I have another to start: "Death in The Orchid Garden" by Ann Ripley. I've not read her books before. I love garden mysteries, so if anyone has some favorite authors please let me know. I'm also reading Carol's Book Club selection, and an interesting publication from Denver Botanic Gardens on native plants. What are you reading?

So... hello to all my garden buddies and thank you for your interest in my blog. I LOVE hearing from all of you. Have a great 4th!

Lambs Don't Like to be Wet...

This is the way they do best... small, neat clumps.

Poor drenched Lamb's Ears

It rained (what else) late last night. Also sounded like hail, so I just buried my head under a pillow and tried not to think about it until morning. Everything was sopping wet but thank goodness I didn't see any hail damage. I realized on my morning "stroll around," that I have not taken the time this year to supervise the Lamb's Ears (Stachys lanata). If you don't, they tend to get away from you. AND they do not like to be wet! I usually pack them in with companions that like to support each other... this also helps when recovering from hail. If I keep the little Lamb darlings nice and compact and don't let them spread they do much better and add such a beautiful soft texture to the garden. I also cut back most of the flowers and just let a few strong ones stand. Sooo.... I'm sorry little Lambs... I'll pay attention and give you some tending. After all, we ARE supposed to be in a droubt, aren't we???

Today is finally a beautiful day (at least for the moment). I'd better get out there and get to work!

Here We Go Again!

The temperature yesterday afternoon was 49 with a freezing wind. I covered veggies, a few containers, and some new plants. The low last night was 35. Dangerously close, if you ask me! There were damaging winds, downpours, tornado warnings, golf ball-size hail in some parts of the State (thank goodness not here!) and more snow on Pikes Peak. Forecast calls for thunderstorms and rain every afternoon as far as we can see on the weather map. If it's like this now, what will it be like when the monsoons come (July-August)? Yikes!

The Never Ending Winter...

Pikes Peak today as seen from a neighborhood walking path

We had a substanial frost last night and some areas of town experienced snow. Pikes Peak has seen more snow than any season since at least 1993, and there is a chance for more through the weekend. We've been in a drought for so long, that nobody's used to this. There were seven consecutive weekends of snow this winter. Either highly unusual, or we've just forgotten what a real winter is like. Whichever, I'm tired of it and ready for some warm weather. For the month of May we have had over 4 1/2 inches of rain. That's Colorado for you. Wide swings in temperature and crazy extremes. Certainly doesn't get boring! Come hell or high water, I'm planting my annuals this weekend.