Blue-flowered Iris sibirica

A Few Drops of Rain

Posted on by Ann Mackay

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The rain over the last week or two has been welcome and has left the garden refreshed and green. During winter we had a lot of rain here and it meant that there was enough moisture in the soil to get everything off to a good start in early spring. There was lots of blossom on the ornamental cherry and the fruit trees and all the early spring plants flowered well. But recently we have had a dry spell that left growth sparse and plants looking a bit tired.

After a few days of rain, all the plants seem to have bulked up. Everything is greener and bigger. It feels as if I’ve turned my back for a moment and all the spaces in the garden have suddenly filled in. Now I’ll have to start playing referee and cut back some plants that are trying to smother their neighbours.

These Siberian irises have benefitted from the few days of damp weather, which has left them perked up and vibrant. They are growing in a very small ‘bog garden’, created from an old tent groundsheet that retains some moisture in the soil around them…as long as I remember to water it!

When I was much younger, I realised that I had become a keen gardener when I welcomed the rain. Years later, we are dealing with a much hotter and drier climate here. (We are just entering a heatwave this weekend.) Now I know just how precious the rain can be! Of course, that doesn’t stop me from taking pleasure in the opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the plants around me on a warm and sunny day.

Iris sibirica 'Currier'
Iris sibirica ‘Currier’
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Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

21 thoughts on “A Few Drops of Rain”

    1. I do love them. The bog garden is simply a waterproof sheet (could be a bit of pond liner or just some heavy plastic) with some drainage holes poked in it. That is put into a hole deep enough to give the plants’ roots enough space and a layer of gravel laid on top. Then it’s just a matter of adding soil, compost, and damp-loving plants. I’d watched it demonstrated by TV gardeners and thought it could be a good way of keeping an area moist – but I do have to remember to water it!

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      2. Oh, that is an excellent poem! (And a good plan for old age.) I’m familiar with the first verse but not really with the rest of it, so it was good to be able to read the whole thing…thank you for the link. Mischief is welcome here, hehe! I’m hiding inside from the heat, but must go out and get some plants into the ground later. 🥵😵

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  5. Rain can be magical. A lot of people have been disappointed that we’ve been inundated during the current Memorial Day weekend, putting a stop to a lot of outdoor activities, but the effects on the land can’t be denied. Everything looks so fresh now, and it’s going to be interesting to see which flowers decide to give it another go with a fresh flush of bloom. It’s too late for our irises to come back; most that I’ve seen recently are well into forming their seed pods, but there’s a lot of other water dependent plants that may perk up and be as beautiful as your irises.

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    1. We get periods of drought here, so rain can be longed-for by gardeners. It’s now important to consider what a plant’s moisture needs are before trying to grow it. (But wetter winters can be a problem for Mediterranean plants.) It’s very hot today and will be worse tomorrow, but at least there may be some rain next week – I hope!

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    1. Thank you! I loved the colour of Currier when I saw it, so I had to give it a try here. Siberian irises are really lovely and I’d grow more of them if I had the space. 🙂

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      1. And they are so easy from seed that you can have swathes of them if you only have room. OK, they don’t come true from seed but they are all lovely.

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