Re: Rain!

Tim Dutton wrote:
> 
> Hi Tony and Moira
> 
> Nowhere near so much rain in our garden, I'm pleased to say. I recorded 6
> mm today, 37 mm yesterday and 24 mm on Saturday. However, judging by the
> amount of water in the main stream, there was a lot more falling in the
> hills nearby. Our work over the winter and spring on widening the stream,
> especially where it makes a sharp bend, has paid off with the water being
> well below the tops of the banks.
> 
> Pretty miserable yesterday wasn't it? I never even went into the garden all
> day. Saturday was not too bad though. We had an equestrian show to go to
> for our daughter Michelle in the morning and I managed to get sunburnt! I
> got a couple of hours gardening done in the afternoon as well.
> 
> Our garden does NOT drain well. Much of it now has the water table at
> ground level again (like it has all winter). Pressure from the underground
> water higher up the hill causes it to seep up through the surface in a
> number of places. This will likely keep up for several more days, assuming
> no more rain. This time last year we had a really dry spell and we were
> watering the rhodos, but this year it is wetter than normal for November.
> There will be no need to water anything for several weeks to come, I am
> sure.
> 
> Most of the roses are now in full bloom-"Dublin Bay", white "Flower
> Carpet", "Thomas Hogg", the climbing "Cecile Brunner" (starting to decline
> now) and "Olympic Gold". We have an unidentified deep pink rambler all
> along the front fence that has just started flowering and "Madame Hardy"
> has started to open some of its hundreds of flowers. Rhodos and Azaleas are
> pretty well all past it now.
> 
Hi Tim
Glad to hear you folks haven't drowned. Can't think why you get less
rain than we do!!

 Tony just roughly totted up our month's rain this morning and it came
to just over 250mm which is just on 200mm more than the corresponding
month last year. Should make a difference to the summer watering. I lost
a Rhodo last year in the upper garden and nearly lost a very nice
Hydrangea also because their moisture ran out before I noticed.

The climbing roses (happily easily enjoyed from indoors) on our western
fence are quite outstanding this time, they really seem to revel in the
moisture. As it happens they are all pinks, Tausendschon, New Dawn and
Souvenir de Mme Leone Viennot. The two former also host large flowered
clematis. T shares its possie with one of the medium blues (name
forgotten) and ND with Dr Rupple, a strong mauve-pink with deeper bar
(rather like a darker version of Nellie Moser). The clematises are
really marvellous also at this time, so the general effect is quite
stunning - a good thing, as much of the rest of the garden is
languishing under weed generated and protected by all that durn rain!

As it happens all these particular roses were grown from cuttings. It
seems climbers, especially the older ones, may be easier to reproduce
this way than many of the bush types (or at least I myself have had
particularly good luck with them).

Of the other roses, the best so far are Lavender Lady (absolutely
smothered in bloom) and an Austin rose which I bought as Fair Bianca,
but seems to have so much gold in its creamy heart I am now convinced it
is actually The Pilgrim. It has been in three years, but this is the
first time it has really performed and the very full flowers have
survived the wet very well indeed. I am hoping, though to get some
suitable wood this year to try a cutting, as I have read that several of
these roses are said to perform better on their own roots. Another I
would like to try this way is Pretty Jessica, which so far seems to be
growing poorly, though the individual flowers do really deserve their
name..

Cheers

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
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