Thanks
to El Nino, we are experiencing an unusually wet summer. Its effects are
strange. The garden, normally bursting with produce, has so far produced very
little. Notable by their absence are juicy tomatoes. We still haven’t enjoyed a
bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, which is a disappointing deprivation.
On
the other hand, our flower garden has never been more lush. The coneflowers
bloomed prolifically and attracted many butterflies, mostly great spangled
fritillaries and tiger swallowtails. Now the coneflowers are past their prime.
Many gardeners would cut off the withered flowers, but I won’t because flocks
of yellow finches come to eat the coneflower seeds. (Sorry I can’t post a photo
of the finches – they fly away as soon as I open the front door.)
Just
as the coneflowers faded, phlox has burst into bloom. The swallowtails and
fritillaries love the phlox nectar, too. Three swallowtails posed for this photo.
All
of the blooming plants produce so much pollen that I seldom leave the house,
but enjoy the beauty through windows. Even so, my allergies are raging and
making life miserable.
That
didn’t stop me from making gooseberry jam yesterday. This is the first time I’ve
made it, and I wonder why. Made with a combination of green and purple ripe
berries, it is both delicious and beautiful.
I
would not be sorry to see El Nino come to an end, but all predictions point to
its intensifying. Sneeze! Cough!
Copyright
2015 Shirley Domer
1 comment:
Isn't it interesting that the flowers LOVE the extra rain, but not the vegetable garden?!
Thank you for posting photos of your flowers and the butterflies. Your pictures are beautiful, but nothing quite captures the beauty of your place as being there in person!
Love you, Mamacita!
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