Someone told me that they heard that we have had over 6 inches of rain this May. The most remarkable part is that we have not been having any of the horrible weather that has been plaguing many other parts of the country. According to our local NBC station, it is only 0.04 inches from the fifth wettest year on record for this area—and Alberto may have some contributions tomorrow and Thursday. Continue reading “A Rain Garden Update”
Tag: rain garden
Of Snow and Alberta Clippers
They—the mysterious weather people “they”—predicted a weak La Niña this winter, which for this area means more precipitation and a chance that it would be a little colder than usual. I used the words “roller coaster” on November 25, and a roller coaster it is.
We had a balmy day and a hard freeze the night of November 9; the fig tree dropped all its leaves overnight, but the magnolia, pawpaws, and silver maple seemed to have their remaining leaves frozen in place. Then the temperature went back up again—it hit 64° on November 28.
The magnolia and pawpaws dropped their leaves slowly through November, but the silver maple held on. By December 12, we had our first snowfall, delivered by an Alberta clipper. It may be a winter of Alberta clippers. I’m glad I bought a new shovel last year.
Rain Garden Connection Is Completed
I got an email from one of the Water Resources people who helps with the Master Rain Gardener program for the county saying that there were free rocks available to us. Yay! Continue reading “Rain Garden Connection Is Completed”
The Rain Garden Hooked Up and In Action!
So what has been happening in this garden? August is a quiet month. The plants just wait for rain.
I have been stumped over connecting up the downspouts to the rain garden because of tree roots by the southern downspout, and some very ambitious nannyberries that I realized were in front of the northern downspout. Continue reading “The Rain Garden Hooked Up and In Action!”
C. R. A. P. in the Rain Garden
Contrast. Repetition. Alignment. Proximity. C. R. A. P. These are basic design principles, but not the only ones. This is a very handy mnemonic—a memory device—that I learned from William’s The Non-Designer’s Design Book* in another century. She laid it out as P. A. R. C., but it is just naughty enough for my students to remember when it’s C. R. A. P.
I’m a sucker for green and for texture. Green is very restful. On the other hand, an endless expanse of the same texture, even in green, can become either boring or overwhelming depending on the scale of the texture and of the plants. Continue reading “C. R. A. P. in the Rain Garden”