Two weeks of rain

After two weeks of rain there is no part of the garden that isn’t saturated. Even the dry shade of the side garden is soggy, though this will dry quickly once the rain stops. I presume it will.

The yellow leafed Gold Heart bleeding heart brightens a dark corner. Foliage and flowers were damaged in the mid April freezes, but the bleeding heart recovered quickly.

Other areas of the garden will not dry for weeks, and it’s likely that ankle deep mud will remain in the low lying rear garden for another month. Besides problems getting around without leaving deep footprints in the mud, there has not been much downside that I’ve seen. In the soft light of the nearly constant mist and fog, green and red foliage appears more lush than ever, and flowers persist days longer in the coolness.

In the filtered light the foliage of Floating Cloud maple shows no sign of fading, though there is less pink to the leaves with gray skies.

Once the rain stops and the sun comes out, I expect that weeds will quickly become a problem. No doubt, this will be troubling over the next several weeks. But, with the ground too damp to attempt any serious labor, I’ve enjoyed evening strolls through the garden when it isn’t pouring rain.

Pieris is prone to root damage in damp soils, but ones in the garden have been planted where it's high and dry. Katsura is more tolerant of clay soil than some other pieris varieties, and even in persistent cloudiness its new growth is exceptional. — Pieris is prone to root damage in damp soils, but ones in the garden have been planted where it’s high and dry. Katsura is more tolerant of clay soil than some other pieris varieties, and even in persistent cloudiness its new growth is exceptional.

Lumber for a pergola to be constructed to attach to the house over the back deck has been stacked on the driveway for a few weeks, and someday when it looks like I can get a full day in I’ll get started on this. The old, wobbly pergola was removed before the rain started, and at least I had the foresight to seal the opening above the windows so that the den isn’t flooded. As I recall, the demolition was on the last dry, sunny day, and I’ve had good excuses why the project was dropped halfway through.

Fruits of leatherleaf mahonia have been slow to ripen, but once they do, birds will quickly strip them. — Fruits of leatherleaf mahonia have been slow to ripen without sun direct, but once they do, birds will quickly strip them.

Once the pergola is done pots of tropicals will be brought up onto the deck, and two new dark leafed dahlias will be potted up. When the tropicals were brought out of winter storage, they were set on a deeply shaded patio just outside the basement door until they acclimated. Now, they’re ready to go out into the sun once the pergola is completed, though its best if the first few days are partly cloudy so leaves are not burned.