When I was growing up, and even though we only lived a 1/4 mile from the sea, I always heard my parents foretell the weather as, "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" It would have made more sense if it had been sailors. The red sky in the morning usually meant it was going to rain. The wind would be out of the west picking up rain as it crossed the Irish sea and prepared to dump it on the coastal areas before rising over the Pennines. Wouldn't that be nice. Red sky in the morning here means it is going to be hotter than hell and no rain. Exactly the opposite. OK, enough Texas weather talk. So how is the garden faring after this delightful summer weather pattern, in May.
Cone flowers,
Echinacea purpurea, are loving it.
They are positively in their element. I am so happy for these flowers. They seeds themselves freely and it is just a matter of not letting them take over.
They will even grow in gravel.
I let a few grow here and there to break up the expanses of gravel.
I'm more concerned about my Swan River daisy, Brachyscome. Clouds of blue, purple and white miniatures daisies are not long for this earth. They are already looking quite stressed. Still they have been beautiful for weeks and I would not be without them.
More reminiscent of a woodland meadow than a dry gravel garden, a clump of Oxalis has appeared from nowhere.
The Mexican feather grass is starting to show its age. Having enjoyed a winter growing in a pot and having produced its seeds for the year it is fast moving into its twilight years.
When I was growing up, and even though we only lived a 1/4 mile from the sea, I always heard my parents foretell the weather as, "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" It would have made more sense if it had been sailors. The red sky in the morning usually meant it was going to rain. The wind would be out of the west picking up rain as it crossed the Irish sea and prepared to dump it on the coastal areas before rising over the Pennines. Wouldn't that be nice. Red sky in the morning here means it is going to be hotter than hell and no rain. Exactly the opposite. OK, enough Texas weather talk. So how is the garden faring after this delightful summer weather pattern, in May.
Cone flowers, Echinacea purpurea, are loving it.
They are positively in their element. I am so happy for these flowers. They seeds themselves freely and it is just a matter of not letting them take over.
They will even grow in gravel.
I let a few grow here and there to break up the expanses of gravel.
I'm more concerned about my Swan River daisy, Brachyscome. Clouds of blue, purple and white miniatures daisies are not long for this earth. They are already looking quite stressed. Still they have been beautiful for weeks and I would not be without them.
More reminiscent of a woodland meadow than a dry gravel garden, a clump of Oxalis has appeared from nowhere. 
The Mexican feather grass is starting to show its age. Having enjoyed a winter growing in a pot and having produced its seeds for the year it is fast moving into its twilight years.
You have a lovely garden and I enjoy it very much. I've left a challenge for you on my blog! :)
ReplyDeleteSo lovely! Do you water your coneflowers much? Mine have been very slow to flower (most of them are new this year). I haven't been watering the raised beds as much this year so I don't know what to expect. I hope they hurry themselves along.
ReplyDeleteThank you for replying to my challenge. :) Was your "scary photo" in response to my challenge or have you done an 8x8 challenge before? I was concerned about whether or not the 8th photo would be something I would want on my blog, but it worked out o.k. for me! :)
ReplyDeleteRuth- No I haven't done this before and yes the scary photo was in response to your challenge. Just couldn't face posting it. Why couldn't it have been a nice one!
ReplyDeleteJean- Most of my coneflowers get no water. They don't seem to care. I wish they would flower later because I am beginning to feel there will be nothing here in July. Surely you have been getting more rain in La. I often see the area under a cloud of green on the weather map.
That's funny, about the old saying. I grew up in Dallas..not exactly a sea port. I always heard 'red sky in morning, SAILORS take warning.'
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks great, as usual. I'm feeling quite frustrated. While the flowers are coming along fine, if a little slow, the veggies are full of pests. Squash vine borers have shown up, and red spider mites. And, no harvests, yet. I'm doing something wrong. But, I'm too stubborn to give up.
Thanks for sharing your garden.
~~Linda...
I don't think you are doing anything wrong. The svb's have been up to their tricks again and the only way to combat this is to pick off the eggs or cover during the day. Tedious, but it does work. Make sure you pull out the plant if it has the borers before they move down into the soil. Don't compost it. Spider mites are always a problem and I have these horrible root aphids/ mealy bugs on my dahlberg daisies. I think anything stresses is going to be a haven for the bad guys. I killed a leaf footed bug on a tomato today. It is frustrating and you won't give up because you are a gardener. Maybe some rain tonight will do the trick for your plants. Only a few tomatoes ripening and by this time last year I had baskets full.
ReplyDeleteThere's not an ocean or sea within 700 miles of me, yet I grew up learning the rhyme as red sky at night, sailor's delight, etc. What a fabulous garden of flowers! It's so colorful and filled with pattern and form. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteJenny,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement. No, I won't give up. But, wouldn't it be nice to have ONE perfect year?
We can dream.
The rain last night was nice. Almost an inch here.
I love all these pictures but especially the first one. Good reason to get up early. As ever, your garden is truly a dream.
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular garden you have created !
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate all the hard work that goes into making such beauty, and in the heat of Texas even more so...
Thanks for stopping by my little place, I was wondering if our hometown's were close, since ours used to be Lancashire, and is now Cheshire ?
Hope to stop by often and visit !
Jo
I'm going to have to start a collection of potted plants for all my new purchases from Oracle Gorge, which reminds me of your garden. You always incorporate potted plants into your garden so well.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was in the navy so we always heard it as "red sky at night, sailors' delight; red in the morning, sailors take warning." seems you can adapt that saying to wherever you are.
ReplyDelete