Wet Wednesday

You know the old saying "Into every life a little rain must fall"? Lubbock has been in a drought since about October. In fact, the weather man two nights ago reminded the viewers that we've had less than an inch of rain since January and that the last time we've had this long of a drought was in 1950 to 1951. The cotton farmers around here desperately needed the rain to start planting and a prayer call for rain has been held. I guess many of us got our prayers answered today. I heard we might have gotten almost as much as .22 inch today. Not bad for a day that only had 20% chance of rain. Course we all joke about 20% being a better chance of rain than 100% around here.

Around 5 am this morning I was awoken by thunder and what sounded like massive hail assaulting the roof and windows. It was absolutely amazing! I was starting to think we'd never see the wet stuff again. A stroll around the garden found a lot of perky, happy plants. Our water here is really hard and salty, so I'm always thrilled for the pure stuff.

The roses are starting to wane out and have to be deadheaded for the second rush of blossoms. I fell in love with this rose after seeing it in several gardening magazines two years ago and was thrilled when I found it at Home Depot. "Paprika" ended up not looking quite as orange-y in person as in the photographs. In fact it's more of a lite apricot, which is fine, but I was expecting brighter blossoms that would stand out against the bright white of the Dusty Miller. It's still a nice plant but will probably be moved at some point.

 "Heirloom" has the most incredible scent, not to mention a beautiful color. I planted it off to the side of the yard and wish I had planted it closer to the front door. If I run across another one it's going in the front bed.

"Kordes' Perfecta" Rose is wonderful with cheerful blossoms. At least I THINK that's what this one is. I can only find a tag for one of my two large yellow rose bushes.

This is the other yellow rose blooms yellow and lightens up to a cream as it ages. Also has a nice scent.

Close up of one of the blooms.

This is an lovely pink rose whose tag I have long lost. It doesn't have much of a scent but makes up for it with an abundance of flowers.

I have two red Knockout roses that I scored for $3 each when I first moved into my house. Four years later and they're both over three feet tall and at least two feet wide... and very thorny! But they bloom into early winter, can't beat that!

"Iceberg" is one of my favorite roses. It has a soft, sweet scent and glows in the evening, which is why I planted it opposite from the kitchen window so that I can enjoy the flowers until the darkness sets in. I added a second one to the west side border last month. The first one took a year to really establish, I guess I should expect the same with this one. Plus, both seem to have the same problem with something munching on the leaves. I don't seem to notice the same leaf damage on the other roses.

This is one of my 15 miniature roses. There was no name on this one but it's a stunner when it blooms. A definate pop of color. I have five of the pink ones seen behind this bush. And they all were on clearance for a $1... and have thrived in the flower beds. I love a good garden deal!

There was a little damage from the rain. I lost two more stalks on the same daylily bush below my kitchen window. These are the tallest of my daylilies, with stems around 3 feet tall, and not only rebloom but also have a scene. In fact they are the only scented ones I have. Bummer to lose even more blooms. I plan to move them later in the fall to the front bed which will hopefully have more protection from the cursed wind.

I hope others who are facing drought have been blessed with some rain today!