My tiny Chinese Dunce Cap / Orostachys boehmeri repels the raindrops.
The waters’ cohesion to itself is stronger than any adhesion to this succulent’s surface.
That is why the drops are perfectly round. They are repelled by the waxy cuticle of the plant.
This is called beading. Its waxy surface keeps water in as well as out.
I love seeing all the tiny orbs caught by the leaves.
Water working miracles.
Go H20!
FLOW
Captain Romance liked the rain. It needed water, that was plain.
This plant was looking thirsty and limp. Now it has plumped up. Callas need a lot of moisture.
Raindrops add to the flower portrait. Dew does, too. Water adds sparkle and shine.
I love how the coloration and venation highlight the shape of its spathe. They remind me of champagne flutes.
More callas to come.
FLOW
I usually fall in love with tiny plants, but there is one giant that has my heart from May to July.
Cardoon is a high drama plant. I have it in a slope so it can be viewed from below, beside and above.
Its spiky leaves have a blue hue. It matches its neighbors, the poppies.
Its stems are striped.
When it blooms I put on purple and stand inside it to have my picture taken.
I LOVE this giant!
Rose and I did this lovely puzzle Butterflies of North America during the rain.
I am visiting home today. I have been touring the garden slowly with my eyes wide open, like I am in a strange land on high alert.
Five days away is a long time in a garden. I must pay attention. There have been visitors. Things have happened.
The Oakleaf Hydrangea has burst into bloom.
Its scent is only slight due to the cool air and wind.
The last of the poppy blooms are a favorite with the bees this morning.
The Verbena bonariensis is tall and lovely. It has such geometric stems.
The Black Knight buddleia has started to bloom.
I spied the first Four O’ Clock flower.
Some critters have moved things and dug holes and left waste. Nothing dramatic so far.
I am glad to visit home, but it is not the same as being home. That will have to wait. I am needed more elsewhere.
FLOW
P.S. WORDPRESS just informed me that I started this site 8 YEARS AGO TODAY! WOW
This book is a wonderful inspiration.
Please share a copy with any young woman who feels limited by her circumstances.
What a brave and talented woman Maria Merian was.
Hooray for Maria. Another hero for all.
FLOW
The title of this post was supposed to be “Will the Magic Come Back?” My question was answered while I prepped for this post.
Rose gave me a tiny fairy door and shrub for Mother’s Day. I used to do fairy blog posts, but have not done one in a long time. It has felt like the magic had left.
I lost my daddy you see. I have to be an adult now. I still talk to him. Sometimes when strange things happen I ask out loud “Was that you Daddy?” Of course, he does not answer.
This week I cleaned out some drawers at their house. There was a bag of marbles in Daddy’s dresser. The old kind with stripes. I put the bag back. I thought it odd that Daddy kept marbles in his top drawer.
Today, in my garden I found a striped marble in the place I had just prepped for the blog post “Will the Magic Come Back?”
I did not see the marble before. Maybe it was unearthed as I watered the stones to clean them for photographs for this post.
I would like to believe that the fairies and my Daddy were answering my question. YES! The magic is back.
You believe whatever you want.
FLOW
When we first moved here, there were no deer. I am not sure when they showed up, but it was not a happy time. I love seeing them, but I do not love feeding them.
They love daylilies and so do I. I love to see them and they love to eat them.
One summer the deer ate them before I got to see them. I was on vacation in June. When we returned there were hundreds of shortened stalks where blooms should have been.
When the dayliles first appear in the spring, their leaves are tender and green. They must also be tasty. That is when the fence rings get placed around each plant. That solves the problem for a month or so because the deer do not like to stick their heads down in the ring.
In late May the stalks with buds start to emerge above the leaves and above the fence rings.
That is the time I must bring out the green poles to stick in the ground beside each fence ring. Then raise each ring to hang on the pole above the leaves and around the buds and blooms.
I have also tried a new deer repellent product this year.
It contains peppermint, garlic and rotten eggs. Yummy!
It seems to have worked. I will refresh the old bags with peppermint oil in hopes that they will continue to deter the deer.
This is way too much work for maintaining flowers. I would not have knowingly planted deer food if the deer had been here first. My flowers were here first, so I feel obligated to protect them. I do not feel obligated to feed wildlife. My training as a biologist is against that.
I will report on the Whemoalus Deer Repellent’s effectiveness in the coming months.
FLOW (working too hard for her flowers.)
I was glad I made it home to see Sarah. She is one of my favorites of all time.
I was relieved that I did not miss seeing her in that lovely pink she is known for.
Whenever I see anything fluffy and soothingly pink I think of her.
She is famous for her beauty and performance.
It is hard to notice anything else when Sarah is performing.
I am so glad I got home while she was still fresh and delightfully gorgeous.
Sarah Bernhardt will always be a favored star in my show.
FLOW
If you like surprises, you may want to add some foxglove to your gardens.
Not only do they self-seed to change location and change color, they also change shape.
If you have added numerous varieties to your garden the surprises will occur every spring.
As the lovely plants bloom and set seed, their DNA mixes to produces new combinations.
Every spring is a color crap shoot. This spring I have some new shapes.
I also have a new white with spots that are almost invisible.
This is one of the many reasons I love foxglove, besides those spots.
FLOWER
floweralley 