Rain at the Rancho

Early morning at the Rancho. Sitting on the porch watching a good, steady rain soak past the kousa dogwood, which is in wild white bloom. I haven't been out the past two weeks, so this is the first I've seen of the garden since I planted it. With a few exceptions, everything's thriving. The exceptions are the nasturtiums, which are still here, standing tall, but just beginning to set buds. I think they need more sun than they've gotten -- it's been a few rainy weeks out here, I'm told. The balloonflower survived its transplant but looks noncommittal, healthy green leaves but no bigger than when I moved it and no buds. The third exception is the lavender, which the deer have been eating. This never happened before, and this year I bought one that was marked as deer resistant. However, because we use it a lot in cooking, I bought a bigger one than I usually do and planted it in its own pot on the deck. (Yes, the deer climbed the stairs to get at it.) In the past I've put it in with other herbs: sage, rosemary, things I guess the deer don't like. I bet that's what's been protecting it. So today I'll go get some more sage, I think, and tuck it in the same pot.

Meanwhile, the bee balm (red), after a lackluster start four years ago when I put it in, is making a move to take the place over, but is having to fight the lamb's tongue (soft silver leaves) for supremacy. The butterfly weed (orange) and the butterfly bush (purple) are both getting set to astound. The spirea (pink) and astilbes (both dark red), here when I got here, are big and hearty. The sage in the front, a remnant of an herb pot from two years ago, has already bloomed (purple) and the mint is about to (more purple). Bees and butterflies love them both. And the lantana (red and yellow), my only non-native, is in its glory. Now if we could just get some sunshine around here, June could bust out all over.