Early Morning.

I would have liked to start a post without mentioning the weather, however the weather and gardening are intimately connected and mention it I must. Last Thursday we had a weather event that needs to be acknowledged. It rained. All day. Sometimes it was light rain and mostly it was good steady rain, but it rained all day and well into the night. I don’t remember how long it is since we’ve had a completely wet day, but I think it’s several years.

Ex-tropical cyclone Esther was responsible for this largess. Travelling south thousands of kilometres from the Northern territory, she brought rain to large swathes of the country.

Readers from the Northern Hemisphere who’ve had more rain than they can deal with may be surprised to know that I spent a great deal of the day simply staring out of the window at the falling rain, mesmerised by it, rejoicing in it, celebrating it.

This week my six are simply garden photos taken just as the sun was rising. The rejuvenation continues…..

Two: Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ has had a second flowering.

Three: Peering through the garden and across the lawn. Ever reliable Tulbaghia violacea, Verbena bonariensis, and Betula pendula, the latter a bad choice in this climate, but still hanging in there.

Four: Looking towards Mr MG’s studio. The Thuja in the foreground is the sister of the one I posted about recently, but isn’t as damaged by adverse conditions.

Five: Oleanders are one of the hardiest plants I know for our climate, but this one hasn’t flowered a lot during the summer. The rain has encouraged large, luscious double pink blooms, so lovely in the early morning sun.

Six: A different angle of the Silver Birch garden as the sun gilds the hills near us.

Those are my six for this week. As ever, if you wish to peek over other garden hedges, do pop over to The Propagator‘s blog and join the fun.

Weather today: Mostly sunny, 18-24 degrees C. Perfect weather for gardening.

39 Comments Add yours

  1. Fred says:

    Pretty oleander! …especially this colour. I have just started sowing some seeds harvested in Crete where I was last week, without knowing its colour .. It will be a surprise!

    1. Jane says:

      Oleanders are not popular here as people worry about them being poisonous. The best ones are those that have been in old gardens for decades. Good luck with your seeds,Fred.

  2. Liz says:

    Oh! For rain in buckets, a whole day’s worth! There’s a jubilant tone in your descriptive report; the mesmerizing effect of the life giving water, it’s like a rejuvenation of spirit. It’s amazing how plants can hang in through the dry spells. Hope the ground reservoirs fill up and restore levels.

    1. Jane says:

      I’m sure you have first hand experience of drought and the joy that is a decent rainfall! Thanks for your comment, Liz.

  3. I am delighted that a proper rainy day has made your garden even more beautiful! My garden is wet and cold now, but I know how lovely the sound of rain is after a hot, dry summer. Enjoy!

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Cathy. I don’t think your garden will be wet and cold for too much longer!

  4. Anonymous says:

    What beautiful borders. Lovely, colourful Six-on-Saturday.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you!😊

  5. Your garden is looking lovely – so much colour and beautiful after the rain! I know how you feel when you say you were mesmerised by the rain. So happy that you finally had some good rainfall.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you. It’s amazing how quickly everything has picked up and I should keep that in mind next time there’s a long dry spell.

  6. Tracy says:

    Six hoorays for a day of rain. Isn’t that oleander showing off now.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes, being quite the exhibitionist. I hope you received good rain too, Tracy.

  7. Jude says:

    Your colours are lovely together, the pinks and the purples. And despite the drought conditions the garden is looking lovely to my eyes! Glad you got some rain, I’d happily share some more with you, I’m afraid I have been looking at it for far too many months now. Does the Tulbaghia violacea bulk up on its own or have you planted a lot of the bulbs? It dies look fabulous in a large clump.

    1. Jane says:

      The Tulbaghia bulks up considerably on its own. In the photo there are three plants which are overdue for separating as they have almost joined together. Once that is done, they very quickly re-establish themselves. Then the problem is what to do with all the extra plants…..

  8. So happy for you Jane that you had a day of rain. We know nothing of the dryness that you experience, but we do have our drought summers, where I feel the same awe when it finally does rain. We’ve had a most wet, and rainy winter, instead of the usual snow. How often I wish I could have sent some of it to you as it seemed unfair that we should have more than we needed and you less. I feel your happiness in your words, and I know your gardens are smiling too.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Cindy. I’ve read about the warmer northern winter: it’s quite a worry.
      Our drought is by no means over as dams still haven’t filled, but the rain event put a smile on everyone’s faces.

  9. Catherine says:

    Where I am we’ve had a lovely sunshiney week and it’s been an absolute joy after the amount of rain that’s fallen – so I can appreciate just how elated you are feeling to have had a day of rain. It looks as though your garden has thrived on it.

    1. Jane says:

      Lovely to hear you’ve had some sunny weather, and may it continue!

  10. Pauline says:

    I can feel your joy Jane and so can your garden. Amazing how the plants can survive and then reward you after the rain. That oleander is a beauty. Hope you get a follow up rain

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Pauline, I expect you’ve had more than enough up there.

  11. Kris P says:

    I can complete;y understand your focus on the rain! I’m daring to hope that the rain we’re projected to have next week is actually going to happen this time and I’m looking forward to it, even though it interferes with all sorts of plans.

    I love the oleander flowers. They’re disappearing here, the victim of bacterial leaf scorch disease.

    1. Jane says:

      I hope you receive lots of beautiful rain soon.
      I didn’t know Oleanders could fall prey to any diseases- thought they were virtually indestructible, in fact. Some people are a bit wary of them here because they are poisonous, but then so are so many plants, so I don’t worry.

  12. @cavershamjj says:

    Your garden will appreciate the rain almost as much as you did!

    1. Jane says:

      It certainly did!

  13. Gerrie Mackey says:

    Isn’t it wonderful to get so much rain .. cyclone Esher keeps on giving ! There are many oleanders around our area … they always have a few flowers regardless of the weather. Enjoy your garden & hope that autumn brings even more rain..

    1. Jane says:

      Thanks, Gerrie. I hope you received a decent amount. Some friends of ours in Canberra got 80 mm, so I guess you must have received something like that as well.

  14. Graeme says:

    Beautiful views of your garden. I’m glad you’ve had more rain. The Oleander is a show.

    1. Jane says:

      It is, isn’t it? And it just keeps on giving.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Your garden is looking quite lush and green. I’m so pleased to hear you received some good rainfall. Our gardens certainly do need it.

    Your lawn looks very green also.

    (It’s been raining on/off all day and all night for a few days down here in Melbourne. Today and next week are supposed to be rain-free, but since the weather forecast is rarely right, I still look up the weather forecast for my western suburb every morning when I switch on the computer).

    1. Jane says:

      Oh, is that you, Vicki? It was the reference to Melbourne that made me realise. I don’t know why you’re being described as ‘Anonymous’ on my post. Perhaps you wanted to be incognito and I’ve blown your cover.
      Yes, everything has greened up tremendously. Now it’s lawn mowing once a week when it didn’t have to be done for the whole of summer. I’m not complaining though, it’s much preferable to that heat and dryness.

  16. Your garden is really looking gorgeous after the rain Jane. We think one of the nicest sounds in the world is that of rain falling on the roof, especially at night.

    1. Jane says:

      We can’t really hear the rain so well here which is odd as we have an iron roof. We had one at our last place too, but the roof was very high and the rain was very loud. A joyous sound .

  17. Barbara says:

    I can imagine the rain was most welcome.

    1. Jane says:

      It was, thanks, Barbara.

  18. Just sown some verbena as needs topping up. We had rain last night, was quite happy about it as moved a number of shrubs last week and been having to water in.

    1. Jane says:

      Good timing with your rain. I like it when that happens and I don’t have to try to remember where I planted the latest seedlings or cuttings that I’ve grown.

  19. Your garden is looking very lush after the rain. I love the misty purples in picture 3.

  20. John Corden says:

    Even here in Ballarat we haven’t had many of those really soaking rains. But the Begonias are fantastic here. I will post a few shots in the days to come.

    1. Jane says:

      I’ll look forward to seeing them, John.

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