We still have not had any significant quantity of rain here, just a few light showers. There has been talk of thunder storms but we have yet to see them, as of 10am Sunday. I thought I might struggle to foind something new to show you this week. It’s surprised me to find some things I have not previously shared. Let’s begin with evidence of a little overnight rain on the leaves of the smoke bush (cotinus) and alchemilla mollis.
Next up a few potted geraniums (pelargoniums).
The only edible plants we have are fruit and runner beans. Here are some strawberries ripening, followed by black currants. We have harvested a couple of strawberries during the past week – at least a fortnight earlier than any previous year I can recall. I should have mentioned last week that we harvested the gooseberries (6 1/2 lbs.) and Mrs. P turned them into jam.
I’ll finish up with pictures of 3 plants just coming into flower. First are lilies. I purchased two pots each containing 3 plants a couple of years ago. When the flowers were over I moved the bulbs into the garden. Here’s one group, just in front of the peonies. The second picture shows lilies surrounded by sweet Williams.
Below is phygelius. This plant is one that came originally from Mrs. P’s brother’s garden in Herefordshire a few year ago, as did the prostrate conifer in the background. Below that is a close up of part of the lavendar hedge with buds just starting to show some colour. The white blobs are ‘Cuckoo Spit’. According to the RHS website:
Featured snippet from the web
Cuckoo spit is a white frothy liquid secreted by the nymphs of a sap-sucking true bug known as a froghopper. They are also known as spittlebugs.
Frank Parker's author site 
I love geraniums – real ones and pelargoniums. I bring some in during the winter, cutting them back and putting them in the south facing porch, the perfect place and on my windowsills, but the ones left outside have nearly all survived.
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Mine, plus some of the fuchsias spend the winter hybernating in the cold greenhouse.
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Some lovely pictures of your garden, Frank. I have never seen day lilies that colour before.
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Ah, but you have lots of colourful flowers over there in SA. I remember well the poinsettias beside Nagle Dam at this time of year (that is to say June/July which is your winter).
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Yes, it is winter now and a cold one this year.
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I come through here every week. Embarassed! Some places in Texas you can coax a garden. In this prehistoric North Texas clay? Rocks and birdbaths…
Wonderful, as always Frank!
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Even rocks have a beauty all their own, Phil. And you have music.
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Amazing array of colors to lift my sunken spirits!
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I’m guessing Southern California is not short of flowering plants, Rosaliene. And used to drought conditions which are extremely rare here. I understand why you feel depressed at this time – let’s hope November brings something better.
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