Three inches of rain

That's what some reports are saying fell during the wee hours of the morning. I don't know for sure, but the yard looks pretty beat up. The basement water feature is larger. I need to pick up a box fan today. I'll be pushing water towards the drain in the floor all morning.

In the garden, plants have flopped all over the place.





The tomatoes should have been staked a week ago. I'll be doing that as soon as the ground dries out enough to hold a stake. Each plant will be tied to a stake. It's too late to try any other method. I just hope I don't break them. I need to prune suckers too.



The gully refilled last night. From the looks of it, it overflowed.



The pussywillow cuttings I stuck into the moist soil this spring seem to enjoy the extra moisture.



Same with the cannas.



And the elephant ears are finally coming up.



Some rudbeckia made it without flopping.



Including a new brown/orange variety.



And I have squash blooms. There's one on just about all the plants. The sun is trying to poke through the clouds now, so hopefully the bees will come out to play.



It's 72 degrees. 80% chance of rain this afternoon with more thunderstorms likely. I guess there's no drought after all.

Returning.

The perennial bed was my main focus last spring. Most of the wintersown plants went into this bed. I also grew a great number of annuals like melampodium, zinnias, petunias, salvias, and cleome. Already, after a few days in the low 90s, there are blooms in the perennial bed. Many more will be coming along shortly.



Red Valerian, or Jupiter's Beard, is about to bloom. One comment I read about this plant says it's best suited where chaos is desirable. Let chaos rule.



Clearance dianthus are blooming. These were purchased for a song last fall and used in the window boxes until Thanksgiving. I planted them out in the garden along with pansies and violas.







The purple columbine is heavily budded. I've waited a whole year to see these bloom.



Small white bell-shaped flowers stand atop these plants. I don't know the name. I moved some from a neighbor's yard in mid winter this year.



The canna found in the lawn last summer has returned. Must be a cold hardy type. I hope it blooms.



The ferns transplanted last week are growing.



Perilla seedlings. I made a huge mistake.



In the backyard, a dark leafed weigela is budding. The other three I have are a little behind this one. It gets more sun.



Spirea. This was the first plant I moved to the shrub island I built in June 2009. I took cuttings this spring. None seem to have survived. I'll take more later.



More hosta have popped in the North Bed. I was planning to reorganize these before they grew too large. I don't want to disturb them now. Maybe I'll do it next year. I have lots of wintersown babies up in three containers in the driveway.



It's 39 degrees. I moved my tomato seedlings indoors last night before dark. I set out the water sprinkler in the perennial bed, just in case of frost. There seems to be none with the relative humidity so low. The sky is starting to turn. There's a thin sliver of the crescent moon through the trees in the backyard. The high today will reach the mid 70s. It's going to be chilly for a bit this morning.

Frog

At work this morning, a huge frog hopped across the concrete. I scooped it up and brought it home. It's now living safely in the perennial bed. Hopefully, it will find plenty of things to eat. I ran inside to grab the camera, but it was long gone once I got back outside. So I took some pictures of new blooms.

The brug across from the arbor is turning orange.



A zinnia I must collect seeds from.



Another Miss Huff lantana. This one is a lot shorter.



Magnus.



The canna that popped up in the lawn is growing nicely. I moved it to the perennial bed last week.