RAIN AFTER DROUGHT - MID JULY 2018

I cannot recall when I felt so happy to see it raining as I was today after, it seems to me, weeks of heat and sunshine and dry weather.  Yes, sunny weather is lovely for arranging barbecues and having outdoor parties and get-togethers, and not having to carry umbrellas and all that but, for the garden, it can wreak havoc if it goes on too long.  I've struggled with watering can and hose and done my bit inside my home to save water, and outside too by watering plants that need it and only when they need it, but it's been seriously troublesome and time consuming.  The plants never look the same surviving on tap water.  A good dose of rain and wham!, leaves on plants and blades of grass on the lawn suddenly burst into a brilliant green.  It's as if the plants had been gasping for a serious drink of something more invigorating than tap water.  We can all relate to that.

 

The area of communal grass (one could never call it a lawn) which stretches across the front of my home has gone a delightful gold, blended with ugly patches of black where moss killer did its work.  I had put down a lawn weeder/feeder/moss killer called Evergreens Complete 4 in 1, on a dry day, with rain expected.  The idea is that you apply the product when grass is dry and soil is damp, and then rain should come along and wash it all down into the grass roots.  However, it didn't quite work out that way.  Rain was very slight and ineffectual, followed by an extensive period of dry weather.  Instead of ending up with lush grass, devoid of moss and weeds, I ended up with something that looked like the sands of the Gobi Desert. 

Malva moschata 'Rosea' on a rainy day



So, now the rain hath cometh, it's going to be interesting to see what happens at the front of my home.  At the back, I expect my small lawn to do what it generally does and get back to green and lush and beautiful.  I live in hope, after all the transformation of my lawn, you might call it a lawn resurrection, has happened more than once in the past.  A good, cracking thunderstorm (not too close by), lots of lightning and thunder, with downfalls of not-too-heavy rain would be nice, as there's nothing like it for putting nitrogen into the soil and making one feel alive.  Even my cat, Alfie, doesn't mind it, so long as he's safely indoors.  

Jasmine officinale in the rain