The MGS Forum
Our gardens, a month-by-month pictorial diary of what's looking good now => Our Gardens => Topic started by: Umbrian on August 29, 2012, 06:14:46 AM
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The weather thread does not seem to have had any postings for a long time and so after the warning and suggestion that it might be better to start a new topic that is what, rightly or wrongly, I am doing. :-\
On Sunday we had 30mm of rain, the first since June. Already many things in the garden are looking perkier although it is too soon to know how many fatalities I have suffered. It is nice to be able to get out and do a bit of tidying up though and feel the soil between my fingers again. :)
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Oh Carol!, we too have had the most amazing rain, 36mm on Sunday. Beautiful soft strong rain for about 3 hours Since January we have had about virtually nothing in our immediate area. This is very unusual and very bad for us. Our weather is extremely localised. Most other people in the wider area did not receive anything like we did but received much more during the year. The ground is still damp and I cannot believe the amount of flowers. Russelia looks wonderful in just two days and the hibiscus have put on an extra large showings! I see some Muscari peeping through (I don't know if this is too early, I hope not. It's very exciting to see the changes in the garden, but we do need more rain....
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Now don't be greedy Pamela, have you not been following the posts about envy? ;D Three hours of good rain as you described it is worth it's weight in gold. We had a storm and the ground was so dry that a lot just ran off to the lowest points. This was most apparent on our approach road that is just a "white road" as they call them in Italy, ie just a dusty track top dressed with gravel and quite steep and twisty. Tiny rivers made deep fissures as the water cascaded down taking the gravel with it and depositing it in uneven piles all over the place. However I am trying to be philosophical about all the hard work that will be needed to repair it and enjoy the beneficial effects already showing in the garden. ::)
By the way I am still very much in love with Russellia, one of the things you mentioned that was benefiting from your rain. I managed to keep one through the winter and it has been flowering all summer much to my delight. A new one bought in May is coming on well.
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
After a very late night, I woke up this morning to the sound of rain.
This is the first rain we have had here, in north east Crete, since the 18th of May.
Unfortunately, it only lasted half an hour, and now seems to be brightening up.
Still, at least it is a start.
Daisy :)
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The first rain of the season arrived here yesterday. Not very much but the first since a short shower in May and after a winter with about half the average annual rainfall (180mm). Let's hope the heavens are more generous this year.
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Dry at last, London!!!!!!!
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Just when i was about to throw my self out of the window...
First rain has arrived this morning after 7.5 !! months of not even one drop of water.
Nothing like the perfume of wet soil after the first rain here, beter even then Chanel 5
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;D So glad we did not have to scrape you up from the pavement Oron where we would we be without your ID'S :)
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:D, No worries, i live on the ground floor ;)
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But by a cliff!
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Comforting to hear that you have been at least as badly affected by drought as we have been over here, Oron. Especially since we hear reports of rain-saturated soil in other parts of the Mediterranean (including western Greece).
I agree that the smell of the soil after the first rains and the freshness of the foliage are among the joys of gardening in the Mediterranean.
We even got a mini tornado two days ago!
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But by a cliff!
Yes, but not as deep as the one in East Sheen....
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In the UK it is described as a hill. First proper frost due tonight!
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Alice, did it touch down anywhere do you know? any damage where you are? now I know that island truly has everything, just sometimes more than is desired!!
Jill
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Jill, don't worry, the tornado was out at sea. Some friends saw it from Paroikia, then it worked its way south behind Antiparos and fizzled out.
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There was a mini-tornado here in Cyprus last week, and not over the sea. It destroyed a few villas and uprooted trees in the nearby villages of Fyti and Milia.
We've had some good rain, too. In my newly cleared and terraced NE corner, that enabled me to 'see' and refine the slopes on my inter-terrace paths, which I designed to act as drainage guides. Several parts of the 'terraces' are still sloping. Now that's done and the main irrigation pipes are installed, I can insert cuttings (from some overdue pruning). I'll be trying prostrate rosemary on the steepest slope. Since its pioneer shoots follow the soil surface well, and it later roots well from them, I hope it will stabilize the slope well. Its gradually developing bulk of woody stems should also provide lateral strength. Next year, with a little trepidation, I plan to try sifting soil over the top gradually as it develops - to make-up the volume of soil that the storms will still wash out, and maybe build-up the bank a little. I am trepidacious because we know that the plant is susceptible to fungal dieback from the soil level creeping up on its stem. But I am hoping I might get away with it because the soil is sloping - so there won't be any water or excess dampness persisting at the stem(s). Also, the small patches of dieback I noticed earlier this year on the parent plants have disappeared; the plants are vigorous again.
...Picks up secateurs, opens back door, warm sunlight streams in, strides out, taking-in a deep breath of the fresh earthy-smelling air...
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:( After several days of cool,windy and wet weather I awoke to a severe ground frost yesterday( thermometer reading 3 degrees.) This caught me completely unawares but fortunately my more tender subjects are close to the house, many in pots and so they did not suffer too much. Yesterday was spent taking my normal precautions, moving pots to even more protected areas and erecting my small "greenhouse" - a simple wire framed construction with a plastic covering that unzips at the front for ventilation. I reinforce the plastic with bubble wrap to the back, sides and top and usually manage to bring most things ,needing extra care , through in this.
The day was sunny and bright but cold and when I went to bed the thermometer was alreay reading 3 degrees. This morning however no repeat of the frost and the temperature had risen to 7degrees :) I suppose I should be glad that I am not gardening in the New York area and suffering the storm but the weather certainly adds to the frustrations of gardening at times
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We are still basking in the 20s here, with night temperatures not much below 16 degrees C.
I envy your rain, Umbrian, but not your having to rush around protecting tender plants.
I am sure your plants have not suffered much damage, as most can put up with a few hours of frost occasionally. Let us know.