The Sound of Gentle Rain

Rain in Summer

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This morning I awoke to the sweet sound of gentle rain, which, after our long hot summer here in NC, was certainly welcomed. Though the days have cooled down somewhat, and we are getting more rain, we had record-breaking heat this summer. Often we saw a temperature of 105, accompanied by a heat index of 110. This didn't do much for our garden and lawn, and being allowed to water only twice per week, need I say more!

I am still trying to master the art of blogging, and probably not doing very well at it. I have yet to download a photo of myself, provide my email information, set up buttons and such, but this will come. I guess I would rather dig in dirt than tap on computer keys.

The rain has stopped, but I am hoping that it stays cool and cloudy so that I can re-plant the window boxes on our front porch. I have the plants, but they are still sitting out back in the pots they came in. Yesterday while Hubby mowed the lawn, I trimmed 45 bushes and ran out of energy before I could get the window boxes done. Fancy that!

In the meantime, here are some more pictures from our garden (when it looked good!).



These flamingos are the subject of much ridicule,
but I love them and they are a nod to the many years
that I lived in Florida. The agreement that I made
with Hubby was that they could go beside the garden
shed, but nowhere that someone could see them
from the road!! Also, the daylily in front of them,
though not yet in bloom, is called a Flamingo Fantasy!
When in bloom it matches those critters almost exactly.

This is our shade garden down by the steps to our deck.

I love old garden statuary, and this little guy
resides in a bed of Creeping Jenny, Vinca, and
Foxgloves.



These are Limelight Hydrangea growing by
our deck. I don't think the hummingbirds can
see the feeder anymore!



This is our back yard, with the garden shed on
right, and the herb garden in the foreground.
Can you see the vintage cat, bird and mouse
garden art in the middle? One of my hunting
and gathering finds.

The newest addition to our
gardens, this tiny gazebo was
a demo at a place that sells
gazebos and sheds. It was painted
brown, so we had it moved here
and refinished it this
past Spring. We are not quite
finished with the landscaping
around it yet.

This is a view of our side yard looking through
the arbor onto the garden shed. This was in Lilac
season, which didn't last long. The roses on the
arbor had not yet started blooming.

And lastly, this is a photo of a Tardiva Hydrangea.
We bought it a few years ago, and it is now gigantic.
I only ever saw it in a nursery that once, and never again.

Well, I hope that these pictures have not put you to sleep by now. Please stop in again when you have a minute!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Sue