After the Rain

These Rudbeckia came in a pollinator seed mix from William Dam Seeds. I love everything about them, but mostly I love their strong and long stems. So perfect for use in bouquets.

I think I heard the gardens whispering, "Thank You!" after this morning's ¼" gentle rainfall.

Our sponsor today is vibrant colours. You will see the sponsor throughout our walk.

Even the pond looked welcoming. It helps when you finally get around to digging up all of the weeds that grew on top of the landscape cloth and in the gravel. It's been a crazy spring/early summer around here and we just had our first meal at the pond last week.

Some cherry tomatoes are ready for tonight's Greek Salad.....

.... as are the cucumbers. We will need to look thoroughly on Wednesday to find where they are hiding.

I love misty summer mornings.

The lily at the front is my favourite. It loves being divided. It flourishes the next year.

Northumberland County's soils are extremely variable. Even on our small lot, there is a huge difference between the north and south areas. Our vegetable garden is in the southern area and has been gardened for 50 years. The soil there just wants to grow things. Amending the fertility every year will do that for a garden.

On the north end of the lot, it feels like the soil is doing everything in its power to kill the plants. I had to dig big holes and fill them with compost to plant these cucumbers and they still look pretty stressed.

Some of the early dahlias are doing well there though.

When we moved here 25 years ago, this garden had mostly yellow and pink flowers in this season. Not my favourite combination of colours. I find that bringing in purples has helped the whole picture to look more interesting. Liatrus love being split too. It's like they say, "Yippee! I get to grow now!"

I'm thankful for friends who grow my favourite seedlings and sell them, like Beth. Her Verbena Bonariensis flowers are playing nicely with the other colours now.

There are signs that Ted is feeling somewhat better these past few weeks. He even got around to pruning our maple tree. Now you can see through the bottom branches. Nice.

One of this year's annual newbies is this Queeny Red-Lime zinnia. I think it will play a starring role in our late summer and early fall bouquets.

The light was perfect this early Sunday morning. I am so happy you chose to stroll with me.

Let's end our tour with a little Bob Marley:

“Some people feel the rain.

Others just get wet.”