What A Little Rain Does For Plants

Until today, we hadn't had rain for about a month and in the spring, that's a really big deal.  Usually, we have pretty wet springs and everything is wet and damp and the grass is going crazy and I can't keep up with the mowing.  But not this spring.

I've been watering with the hose since we don't have water restrictions, but I really like a good rain every so often.  Rainwater just does something to plants that the hose cannot do, no matter how much water you give.

When it was over, the light was just right to take some pictures of my plants that I've had in for about a week.  The colors are truly as rich as what I was looking at!

For the past few  years, I've done a lot of hanging baskets.  I've learned that you have to make them full from the beginning or they look silly.  In the past, I would put a couple of plants, imagining that they would spread and fill out but they looked sparse for most of the summer.  Now, I spend a little more money, but I like the way they look early in the summer.

These are hanging beside the greenhouse.  The flowers are something called "scented flowers" with no explanation as to what they are.  They are pretty and I like the smell, but I have no idea what they are.  I put some vinca vine in with them.

Next, we have a few other hanging baskets that have some Sweet William, Lobelia (that amazing purple-blue stuff!) and maybe some of the scented flowers, depending on the basket.

I like the richness of these colors so much, I thought I'd share a close up!

The obsession with the purple/blue color came from a month I spent in Belgium a while back.  It seemed like every house had window boxes that were just falling over with what must have been Lobelia or something like it.  For a while, I couldn't find it when I came back and I was always on a quest for that color.  It's not something you find a lot of.  Last summer,, I found it and didn't get enough and when I wanted more, it was already gone!

I made sure to scoop it right up this time!

Then, we have the old stand bys that come back again and again.  This winter weather we had must have been perfect for the lilacs because they are all in bloom everywhere I go and you can actually smell them as you drive down the road!

Lilacs can take a serious beating and come right back.  This bush is older than I am and we've chopped it down a few times and it just pops right back up.

The crabapple looks fantastic this time of year and it smells even better.  The rain wasn't harsh enough to strip the flowers, so it still looks so nice.

The mint that mostly behaves itself is coming back.  People rant about mint being very invasive but in my yard, it isn't. I put it in this container and it's very happy.  Gwenstopher really liked to sit in this bucket and lose her mind in the mint, like I couldn't see her.

And, since my childhood, Buttercups have been the telltale sign of spring in this yard.  Most see them as a weed, like dandelions, but I don't mind them in the lawn.  Do you know the old adage they used to tell kids about Buttercups?  Hold one under your chin and if your chin glows yellow, you like butter.  Does anyone tell kids things like this anymore?

I'll leave you with one of my favorite views.  We replaced the boards that had rotted on the sides and put on these hangers last summer.  3 on each side.  I love them!!

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