With the cooler weather, the garden has revived. Pockets of growth are coloring the garden, from foliage to flowers. Check out the “purple” Red Rubin basil. New growth and centers of leaves are beautifully marked with deep red. I also caught sight of my first Sea Breeze salvia bloom. It lingered in a planter for so long without comment; now it is sending up bicolored spires.
We saw a spate of cool weather days breaking up our summer heatwave. It gave us time to assess the damage from the drought and noted with interest the tough plants such as the vinca, cosmos, and marigolds that withstood the severe weather. Plus, we discover a surprise bloom from an unexpected 3-season flowering shrub–Encore azalea Autumn Monarch.
A few scenes from the garden, after surviving 40 straight days of 100+ weather. We had a short rainstorm to celebrate the end, and 5 days later, here are the results:
Yes, that stuff falling out of the sky in buckets is rain. After more than a month without it, it almost seemed like some landscape on an alien planet as I watched it pour all over my garden. What a relief! The patchy brown bermuda grass lawn will love this, and everything that needed a drink will get a good soaking. Timing is everything…I had just installed a soaker hose in the front flower bed this past weekend. Those azaleas need some serious help.
Next up, humidity!