Kissed by raindrops

A promise of rain, an opportunity to transplant, but then a reminder that this may be a torrential water fest.  I took a chance and moved a crape myrtle, but made myself stop at that.  Would you like to see my work?  Any arborist would surely admire it, from a distance, especially if he were blindfolded.

P1180276

The chair fainted, delighted so by my ingenuity.  I used cable ties to secure this beauty to some supports.

Well, rain soon began to fall. I quickly scooted about the yard to catch what may be the final blooms of this years flowers.

P1180282

Borage

P1180312

Confetti Lantana

P1180285

Marigold (variety unknown, but extra-special because she was gifted to me by my sweet next-door neighbor, Carol.)

P1180303

Pink Penta, loved dearly by both butterfly and bees.

P1180299

Cigar Plant, Cuphea.  Magnet for the hummingbirds.

P1180301

White Penta.  Magnet too, for butterfly and bee.

P1180278

Not just another green plant.  This is Comfrey, the plant produces the best organic feed for anything you grow.  Invaluable!

She blooms a pretty pink, tinker-bell shaped flower, but I try to keep those to a minimum.  Her greenery is where the gold is located.

P1180307

A Delphenium.  She is poisonous and was placed in front of some Foxgloves that the Spring floods killed.

They paired beautifully together, so if this latest flood doesn’t get the girl, I’ll plant Foxglove with her in 2016.

P1180271

Milkweed.  Nectar extraordinaire to the Monarch Butterfly population.

Last years plants drowned, I replanted and to my surprise… yes, SURPRISE!  The re-plant is

the invasive number.  Oh My Goodness!  What to do, what to do?

My whole back yard will be overrun this time next year.  But isn’t this a remarkable beauty?

Yes.  Yes, she is.

P1180286

Borage, dressed in pink.  She grew from a re-seed of a blue.

P1180292

I found this and transplanted it into my garden.  She’s an angel cat.  Not rare, but exceedingly beautiful.

Don’t you love her?  Yes.  Yes, I knew you would.

P1180274

This one is for Scott and Barb.  Here’s my sweet potato vine.  Funny story:

One day I was clearing debris and something got caught on the vine.  Up came a good portion of it,

along with a potato.  Awe shucks!  I thought I had destroyed her.  A month later and she is bigger than ever!

~ by coffeegrounded on October 22, 2015.

Posted in Friends, Garden, Grapevine, Neighborhood, Organic Gardening, Texas
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

43 Responses to “Kissed by raindrops”

  1. Oh yes! I do love your angel cat!

    Liked by 1 person

    sandradalton said this on November 18, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  2. Love your photos and the cat is the best! My favorite is the Cigar Plant… The Hummingbirds are going to love it…

    Liked by 1 person

    tonyasmithauthor said this on October 26, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  3. Such lovely photos. I hope you’ve not been completely innundated by the rain. When I read that Corsicana had 17+ inches of rain, I gasped. It’s started raining here, but it’s a nice, well behaved rain. So far.

    I was surprised by the milkweed. I’ve found it growing in ditches, and always assumed it was a Texas native. Now I see it’s Asclepias curassavica and it’s Asclepias tuberosa L that’s the orange native: even though it doesn’t have the milky sap associated with milkweeds. I found this interesting article from the Native Plant Society that might be of interest to you, if you’ve not read it.

    Liked by 1 person

    shoreacres said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

    • Very interesting article; thank you so much for sending the link. I purchased this plant from the organic gardening center last year and again this year. I was told it was native to Texas. I am slowly, but surely, building my butterfly/bee sanctuary. I definitely will remove this item. The fear of creating a situation that may be of detriment to the health of a species makes me cringe. It goes against the very reason I’m building the habitat.

      Rain, rain, rain….we were very fortunate. I haven’t heard the official number, but would take a wild guess of between six to seven inches. Poor Corsicana, I can only imagine what was running thru their minds as that rain came hour after hour. Years ago we went thru the Tulsa flood, and that was eleven inches; fathoming twenty inches? I can’t!

      Thank you so much for the info.
      ☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00

  4. Your garden is amazing! :)
    I love the pictures and that was the first time I saw an angel cat, it’s beautiful! :)

    Like

    DotedOn said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  5. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your garden photos! I’m coing to contact you as soon as I have a place of my own and can safely do some gardening myself. You really have ‘The Touch’.

    Liked by 1 person

    kayuk said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

    • Awww, you are so sweet.

      I spent much of the Sumer away. My nephew took a new position and had to move, leaving his eighth month pregnant wife and two kiddos behind. Their house sold and then the packing began. Then, returning home, my in-laws needed help getting their house ready for sale. I lived with them for a few weeks. Their house sold and then there was their move. So, I can’t take credit. My gracious neighbor “babysat” the garden. I owe everything to her and God. His hands created the majesty.

      Thank you for your thoughtful comments. ☕️❤️ Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • LOL! Well, without you planting it would not look as it does in these photos. Great choice of color…and, yes, milkweed does love to proliferate!

      Liked by 1 person

      kayuk said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • Thank you, Vicki.

      I have pulled up hundreds of plants. One day I was so overwhelmed I considered just pulling all of them up, but glancing over at a grouping, I noted three monarch babies drinking away.

      Sadly, this was not a good year for butterflies in my yard. Generally I see hundreds. It was a great year for honey bees, though. Feast or famine.
      ☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • I know how you feel. I jusd to pull them by the hundreds in my horse paddocks in Canada. They’re not good for the horses at all but, fortunately, they seem to know that. Although I did have one horses that was foaming at the mouth one day and I suspect he tried one out. Never happened to him again, thankfully!

      I would leave them growing outside the paddocks but their silky little puffball seeds would get blown by the wind all over the place. Maybe what I should have done was pick the pods and plant them where I wanted them rather than letting the blow willy-nilly across the property.

      Liked by 1 person

      kayuk said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00

    • The variety that grows, currently, is beautiful, but I received a most interesting article from one of my readers. There seems to be a bit of concern and confusion over whether this particular plant is detrimental to the health of the Monarch population. It appears it is not the Texas native, but one used and purported as such. I have some homework to do. If I find the item is negatively impacting the Monarch, out it goes!

      That was frightening about your horse! I know the fear of seeing an animal consume a questionable item. My Lab loved chewing on tree limbs when she was a puppy. One morning my neighbor and I were conversing across the fence. She happened to notice Hannah in distress. Much to my dismay, a piece of tree stick was caught between her back teeth. Thankfully, we live less than a mile from the vet. We got her right in and within seconds the doctor had the item dislodged. Guess who no longer chews on sticks and tree limbs? Yep, animals are smart! They learn quickly.
      ☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00

    • Yes, it was very frightening! He never touched it again.

      Reminds me of several other horses and my dog having run-ins with porcupines though. None of them ever messed with porcupines again. In fact, my dog would course the woods when we went for walks and as soon as she saw a porcupine, which we often saw in our neck of the Canadian woods, she would immediately change directions and completely ignore it.

      Liked by 1 person

      kayuk said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00

    • LOL! Smart doggie.☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 24, 2015 at 24:00

    • :-)

      Liked by 1 person

      kayuk said this on October 25, 2015 at 24:00

  6. You are welcome, and you are so nice. Thank you, have a nice weekend for you too, Love, nia

    Liked by 1 person

    niasunset said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  7. what a beautiful photographs of the flowers with the raindrops… Especially the second one hit me. Thank you, love, nia

    Liked by 1 person

    niasunset said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  8. Gorgeous. It has to be quite satisfy to grow color therapy you and the butterflies can eat.

    Liked by 1 person

    floridaborne said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  9. Wonderful garden and the photos are great. You seem surprised by your success, or maybe just enchanted by it. We’ve tried several times to grow a crape myrtle but all three trees died. You transplanted yours and only the chair died – lucky you. *: )

    Liked by 1 person

    Sharon Bonin-Pratt said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

    • That chair stood there trying to tell me I was crazy, using those cable ties and all. ;)

      Thank you for your sweet, sweet words. My yard and gardens have always been hit or miss. I spent most of the summer away, and my sweet neighbor came DAILY to water areas not covered by irrigation.

      The trick to growing a crape myrtle? Plant it, water it the first year, and each fall, throw a handful of bonemeal at it’s base, and then forget about it. And now that I have given these instructions I must go and start praying that this one lives. ☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • Bone meal – and I thought my tears and blessings would do it! :D

      Liked by 1 person

      Sharon Bonin-Pratt said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • LOL! You silly girl!

      I have to admit. In spring I planted an oak leaf hydrangea. She was beautiful, one of the most gorgeous plants I’d ever had the pleasure of growing. The spring floods came, poor girl simply drowned. And, as I type this today, we are receiving copious amounts of rain after having a very dry summer.

      I live by a rule. If I plant you in my yard you have one chance. If you fail, none of your ‘family’ members get invited over. Somehow, I think I’m going to rethink my ‘law’. That oak leaf has a cousin that’s going to show-up for a plant session, come spring.
      ☕️❤️

      Like

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

  10. Hi friend
    Love the photos, I do miss getting out and exploring my backyard. I wanted to let you know I’m having surgery on Monday.the are putting in my port for my IV Therapy. I have to wear the port about 12 months. Be sure when you go out wear at least 20% DEET. My eye specialist said find another neurologist , the problem is coming for the central part of brain.

    i
    I’ll be back Thursday, limping along about two week to recover. That means pain. This Morphine patch I’m wearing isn’t helping, time to up the dose. When your a kid with an open mind what your life is going to be like, I never d
    reamed.
    Thanks for letting me go on, nervous can get me talking.
    :)
    M

    Liked by 2 people

    Looking for the Light said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

    • Oh my! I’m at a loss for words. I have missed something. Did you get the West Nile Virus? Please send me a personal note. If I can help you, in any way, please allow it. I’m right up the road from you. ☕️❤️

      Liked by 1 person

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • I have Chronic Lyme, I have three tick borne illnesses. One or more are in my brain, which is causing my cognitive ability down to 50%. To have a chance at living or getting mostly well I’m having IV Therapy. Monday the operate to install the port, next day doctor’s office shows us how to put medicine in port. I’ll be back on Thursday. I’m so glad my husband understands the pain I’m in so we fly first class. It really helps my legs. I’ve walked with a cane for awhile but what is worst is arthritis is all my joints.
      *Please wear a sun screen with at least 20% DEET. You don’t want this. I’ll have the port for 12 months.
      I’m a survivor and Lyme can’t keep me down. Thank you for the kind note and offer to help. I’ll stay on couch or in bed. You go through a phase of you think you’re dying, sort of like chemo, then you have short times of good , then you go thru some process like that. My doctor says it will take 5 yrs to get well. I say BS. I have the strength and faith to cut it down to 2 yrs.
      Long story. I have documented the process with post called Lyme Journal. I was born in Texas and you can’t keep a Texan down.
      I’ll think of you while I’m gone. Have a great weekend.
      :)
      M

      Liked by 1 person

      Looking for the Light said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • I’ll search and read your post. I’ve heard Lyme disease is horrible. You take good care and keep in touch. Don’t forget my offer. It stands.

      I hope you have the best weekend possible. One day we really do have to meet. Life is too short to miss enjoying friendship(s).

      ☕️❤️

      Liked by 1 person

      coffeegrounded said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

    • Everyday it gets shorter. Each post in called Lyme Journal and a number. I started posting at the beginning. Educated by sharing everything I’ve gone through. Hopefully educating. Their are several people with Lyme I follow.
      Take care, talk to when I get back.
      :)
      M

      Like

      Looking for the Light said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00

  11. I wear a tiny angel cat on my jacket when I travel. Yours (and your garden) is beautiful.

    Liked by 1 person

    mvaden1948 said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

  12. What delightful tidbits!! *CHOMP!*😺

    Liked by 1 person

    hairballexpress said this on October 23, 2015 at 24:00 | Reply

Leave a comment