No Lack Of Rain

Today was quite damp particularly after lunch. Big John was in today as was our "Sunday Watering Team." I can imagine their chagrin after watering all the containers and the yard this morning only to see some significant rain come this afternoon. Oh well. I will say I'm glad all of our plantings from yesterday are nice and damp as it will be sunny and 90 degrees F tomorrow. You never know about rain though....It is nice to have John and the volunteers there on Sunday to make sure everything is also ok out in the gardens. Their were two weddings scheduled for today at the gardens although I believe the timing coincided with some of the most significant rains. My wife and I have spent the last three nights working on our hardwood floors and while the end result should be nice, it has been a bit laborious... The bloom to the left is one of literally thousands on our Twisty Baby contorted black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Lace Lady') that is in front of our house. This specimen was planted probably 10 years ago at 3' tall out of a #5 gallon container and is now about 25' tall and wide. The branches, stems, leaves, etc. are all contorted and I've pruned it in to an open form. I'll post a picture soon of it in full bloom as it is just starting. What is interesting is that most nursery sources and other references say this variety tops out around 12' tall and rarely gets flowers! We didn't have flowers for many years and then saw a couple here and there. This year is a bumper crop and the entire tree will be covered with dangling, fragrant blooms as seen to the left. You'll see the native black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) blooming the same time here and there in the woodlands and the blooms really have a nice scent. This tree, originally native to the SE United States has naturalized over a wide range of North America although it can be a bit weedy and some States are becoming concerned. The wood is long-lasting for fence posts and the black locust is also a nitrogen-fixing legume.

Below are some updated photos of our deck planter greens filling out after 35 days from sowing. We'll probably cut some soon and it's been fun and easy to do this with my daughter. We'll probably go with herbs as replacements in the coming week or so. Well, back to applying coat 2 of 4 on our second upstairs room floor....