rain...rain...rain...rain...rain

Here comes the umpteenth rain shower of the week. Nice gentle rain...but rain, nonetheless. We've poured out the rain gauges twice in two days, and with the addition of the amount from earlier this week, we have captured over 2". For the past 24 hours, we have been northwest of the path of the first named tropical storm of the season, Andrea. Now we (the Big Blue Dot in the picture below) are due West of the storm (the whirling red symbol, below), and we are getting soaked. Could be a lot worse...we could be getting the nasty storms (the red boxes below), but thankfully we have been spared that misery.

So, I can't actually do any work in the Way Back, but I certainly can slip outside during a lull in the showers with my camera for some photos to share. A little rain cleanses the dust, dirt, and debris of daily life in a garden...more rain gives everything a "green and growing" look...still more rain, and the blooms on the flowers begin showing signs of being bruised and beaten. Ah well, we will ALL be grateful for this rainfall when the next hot, dry spell comes upon us.

Enjoy the pretty pictures:

First Zucchini

Green Goliath tomatoes

Always and Forever rose
(Planted in 2013)

Edith Ann Daylily

Spanish Lavender

Chipmunk in the leaf bin

See you again when the sun shines!

Singing in the Rain

And the rain kept falling...

Water, water everywhere...and we are slap-happy about it! We were nearly 4" in deficit for the year, and yesterday's rainfall erased 2.8" of that. Hooray!

We have so many new plants in the Way Back Garden: 14 new fruit trees in the Orchard, 40 new roses in the Rose Garden, and worlds of new perennials and seeds of annuals planted as pollinators everywhere. Not to mention the Kitchen Garden, which is still populated with cool season crops that need lots of moisture to keep producing in the mounting heat this May...plus all the warm season plants that have just gone in this month that need lots of water to help germinate and establish healthy root systems. Oh, and don't overlook the lovely blackberries and blueberries that need water while plumping up on their respective vines in the Berry Patch. Oh yes, the rain is most welcomed around here!

I got out during a lull this morning for a walk-around to check on things and take a few photos to document this week in the garden. I noticed that the row covers on the sweet potatoes and the cowpeas (both of which went into the garden last week...just in time to benefit from these downpours...:) suffered the most storm damage...probably beyond what can be repaired with duct tape. Fortunately, I had placed an order just last week for some new Summer-weight covers, so I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery van from Gardeners Supply. [In years past, I have lost two plantings of sweet potato slips to the bunnies, so I now take the extra precaution of row covers...even though the dogs regularly roam the Way Back these days.]

And the winner is...
Gertrude Jekyll!
First of the new David Austin roses to bloom.

I also noticed that the rain...while much-needed on all the new rose bushes...did a number on the opening blooms of the gorgeous pink Gertrude Jekyll, which we have declared the Winner of the First-to-Open contest among the new David Austin English roses. Actually, ALL 12 bushes from Order #1 have budded up, and most of the 16 bushes from Order #2 are close on their heels...with the slow-to-show Brother Cadfaels and even pokier Winchester Cathedrals finally leafing out nicely. The 6 bushes from Order #3 are all leafed out, with buds just around the corner, I'm certain.

So what warm season veggies are now coming up in the Kitchen Garden, you ask? We've had decent germination on the KY Wonder pole beans purchased this year, but I've had to replant the row from a pack dated 2011. Remarkably, we had almost 100% germination on the little packet of heirloom Lazy Housewife beans (an oldie, so named because it's stringless...:) marked 2010 that we got at the Old Salem Seed exchange in January. Go figure.

View from the garden gate...
The Kitchen Garden on 5/14/2012

Zucchini loves rain...
and so do the tiny nasturtiums...

We also have Dixie cream peas and Burgundy Bush beans from that same exchange, but not such good luck with the red burgundy okra seeds (which I've since replanted with Clemson Spineless). I got great germination of the fish pepper seeds, and I've got most of those plants growing in containers on the deck...since the info says the plants themselves are variegated and interesting to look at. And I noticed on my walk around that the Amish melons were responding well to the rains, as are the hybrid cantaloupes (no germination on the watermelons yet, though...waiting, waiting, waiting...:) . I have them (the Amish melons) in the row next to the so-called "pea fence," as we hope to train them to grow up, as we do all the vining crops.  We also have yellow Summer squash on that side; on the opposite side are cucumbers (Straight Eights) and zucchini.  I interplanted with nasturtiums, using the companion planting guidelines to help with pest (squash bugs) control. [If you squint and look just left of the lettuces (above/left), you can see the beginnings of growth along the pea fence. A close-up of the zucchini is on the right.]

And it's almost time to say goodbye to the cool season goodies:  the broccoli, the cabbage, the spinach, and the lettuces.  Almost.  But not quite.  Here are some close-ups (below) of some that will probably be coming into the kitchen after the rains subside today.

Happy hoeing!  Just not in the wet ground...:)