Re: Back here, at 40 degrees C
- Subject: Re: Back here, at 40 degrees C
- From: J* D*
- Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 10:08:24 -0700 (PDT)
I am curious to hear from the Mediterraneans on the
list about these summer thunderstorms. Do they occur
throughout the basin, or just in certain parts
(northern shore, or western coasts, for example)? How
much rain actually falls, and does it penetrate the
soil? How often? Are there classic Mediterranean
natives limited to those areas that receive the
occasional summer shower, like perhaps olives, Nerium
or Chamaerops?
Here in coastal California, we receive nothing more
than light stratus-borne drizzle from May to October
or sometimes late November. San Francisco, at about 38
degrees north latitude, actually receives less average
rainfall in July/August than San Diego, around 32
degrees north. The eastern parts of the state, such as
the Sierra Nevada, the Great Basin Desert, the Mojave
Desert, and the Colorado Desert, can get fairly
numerous thunderstorms in some years.
I hear the SW Cape also gets summer thunderstorms.
What about SW Australia? My Peter Dallman book tells
me central Chile gets even less thunder than coastal
California. I guess I'm most interested in hearing
about how these showers affect gardening, and how they
'feel,' or affect day-to-day summer living.
-Jason Dewees
--- robin corwin <rcorwin@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Alessandra,
>
> Those of us in the Los Angeles, California area,
> like Angela, who grow
> vegetables, may not like the overcast mornings and
> weak sun afternoons we
> have been having lately; but those of us who grow
> primarily flowers and
> roses find the weather wonderful. Usually, when the
> summers are extremely
> hot and sunny, some roses and perennials take a long
> summer nap, to be
> revived only when it gets cooler in the autumn.
> However, this mild weather
> has kept us in roses and flowers and, as a bonus,
> cut down on the irrigation
> that hot sunny days inevitably mean. Also, I think
> Angela gardens near the
> coast, where it is typically 10 degrees (fahrenheit)
> cooler than it is in
> our inland valleys. My vegetable gardening friends
> in inland valleys have
> had no trouble with tomato production. In fact,
> many tomatoes usually stop
> producing if it is extremely hot.
>
> I think I remember learning from a visit to Italy
> with Jan Smithen two years
> ago, that the summers there are not as dry as the
> summers in southern
> California. Don't you usually get a rain shower
> every two weeks or so? In
> southern California, we often get no rain whatsoever
> from about April until
> November -- not one drop!
>
> Alessandra -- I just love the Olive garden at La
> Landriana. I especially
> love how the olive trees, with their dark
> distinctive trunks and grey
> foliage formed a border and frame for the soft grey,
> purple and yellow
> colored plants. Where are the 100 roses going? and
> are they mostly modern
> varieties or older ones?
>
> I also think I remember reading that La Landriana is
> very close to the
> coast, on former marsh land, and that it was once a
> farm. I always thought
> this was one reason it was so floriferous.
>
> If I am wrong about any of these surmises, pleas set
> me straight.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Robin Corwin
> Studio City, Ca (inland valley)
> Zone 9/10, Sunset Book Zone 21
>
>
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