Sunshine on sparkly raindrops on red Japanese Acer in the garden...
I know I’ve done it before, but I just have to post the pictures when we have sunshine after rain. Everything in the garden is just so shiny and clean…
Blueberry bells after rain...
As Chaucer would say, April’s “showers sweet” have been very heavy this year and have certainly “pierced to the root the drought of March”. February was also dry this year, so the rain has been much appreciated.
Delicate wet blue Campanula starting to bud...
More raindrops on Fuchsia leaves...
My favourite Hebe 'Red Edge' after rain...
A Hosta in a pot looks fresh and new...
This Hosta, I fear, will suffer the usual slug and snail damage...
The first lily-of-the-valley to flower...
My old Rhododendron still manages a couple of blooms after all these years...
Wet leaves of Spiraea japonica...
The first flowers of wild strawberries...
And finally…
Pretty wild violets, self-seeded on the gravel...
Love rain? Here are my pictures of flowers in the rain from last summer…
Such a lovely selection. We have such heavy rain today I suspect gardens here will be squashed rather than refreshed.
And since you wrote that comment, still it goes on “raining, pouring, the old man’s snoring”
ahhh, but do you know the word for that fantastic smell of new rain on dry ground?
The only way to say that used to be “the smell of rain on dry ground” or similar, until a couple of Australian scientists researched it and invented the word ‘petrichor’ in the 1960s.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor
I love new words! That one wasn’t on my radar at all but I have now googled it and I see it comes from, in effect, “stone essence”. I knew the parts petr- and ichor but hadn’t realised that smell came from a particular combination of stone chemicals. For those who haven’t seen it, here is a bit more info.
Thank you for enriching my vocabulary. I always just assumed there wasn’t a word for it, but I do love the smell. I remember standing at my back door as a child and noticing the smell for the first time – I think it was after a drought and just before a thunderstorm.
Best wishes
It is a glorious word isn’t it!
http://elephantseyegarden.blogspot.com/2011/01/water-drought-in-beaufort-west-and.html
Absolutely! And I see from your blog that you know a thing or two about drought.
I also see you translate ichor as “blood”. Yes, I prefer that – “stone blood”. Although they say you can’t get blood from a stone!
Best wishes
can’t get blood from a stone, until it rains ;~) We had a chunk of Table Mountain sandstone in our old garden. When the builder chipped a bit off, the freshly exposed surface was red, and it took many months to weather down to a gentle sand colour again.
Ahhhh..my most favourite day, the smell of Mother Earth after a shower, and the bright clean colours of the plants. Even the fragrances are stronger…
thanks for sharing…
Into every life a little rain must fall
These are lovely and I am waiting for the sun after our rain/snow/sleet..
The winter sure hangs around late in your neck of the woods
Nice Photos, especially the red Japanese Acer. I have a Hosta which used to get ravaged by slugs every year, but now they pretty much leave it alone, although it still looks rather tasty.