African Garden + rain

Happiness Is...

rain. At long last, the rain fell on Squirrelhaven, to the tune of about an inch for the weekend. The plants and the gardener are very happy.

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac' provides a dramatic example.

before

and that was after using the sprinkler, and

after

Granted, a mophead hydrangea is a drama queen, but other plants have visibly responded to much needed rain.

I don't like to use the sprinkler, but it's been so dry, I feared that trees and shrubs would enter dormancy dessicated, which can lead to premature death.

Finally, I can pull weeds again. I even planted all 100 of the Crocus tommasinianus I ordered this fall. There's more rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so I'm optimistic that the dry pattern has finally broken.