How wonderful it was to hear the rain coming down on the garden last night. This morning brought happy scenes to view. The Perennial Peanut and Pink Guara have both weathered drought conditions well and have bloomed in spite of being dry. Even drought tolerant plants appreciate a little rain though and I think they looked just a little lovelier with the moisture.
A native groundcover that is starting to spread beneath the oak is Ruellia caroliniensis. More blooms greeted me this morning after the rain than in the last month. This is the first year for them in my garden. They seemed to go dormant after December until about February. Since this was a mild winter, I'm wondering how they'll do long term. I was very happy to see them reappear and to find some seedlings along with the original plants. There is a lot of bare ground left for them to cover.
Coming around a curve in the path, I noticed that the Pinecone Gingers are looking better with some hydration. All the gingers have been suffering in the drought but they have held on and I'm hoping for lots of blooms once the rains begin. The ground orchid, Epidendrum ibaguense, is stretching toward the sun in its mostly shady location. It has grown more stems and I think I might move a few sprigs to a little sunnier spot.
I am so thankful for this rain event as it has renewed and refreshed a garden that was getting quite crispy around the edges.
