Raindrops On Everything

The wind and rain returned with a vengeance today and beset us until late afternoon.

Knowing what we were in for last night we lay down the patio chairs and furled the three garden parasols.

During a slight lull in the deluge I photographed raindrops on agapanthus, sweet peas, gladiolus, pelargoniums, fuchsia Garden News, dahlias, hostas, lilies, begonia, rose Festive Jewel. As usual each of these is individually named in its gallery which can be accessed by clicking on any one. Each can be viewed full size by clicking the box beneath it and further bigified with another click.

I was born 7 weeks premature in Leicester General Hospital in 1942, which must surely mean that I am lucky to be here. That is the same length of time that these Japanese anemones have sprung early into life.

We have four little toy ladybirds whose wings swivel in the wind. The top one of this pair among the Erigeron, pelargoniums, and fuchsias outside the kitchen door has reached the end of its clockwise rotation after which it turns anticlockwise; its companion has just begun.

The sidalcea in the Oval Bed simply bowed before the blustery blasts.

This lily in the West Bed was protected by a shrubbery canopy.

An iron urn at the entrance to the Gazebo and Brick Paths, and a chimney pot on the lawn are two planters benefiting from the recent rain.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s sublime sausages in red wine; creamy mashed potatoes; crunchy carrots and broccoli; and tender runner beans with which the Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Pinot Noir.

96 comments

  1. The flowers with water droplets are magnificent — and I am happy the sidalcea simply bowed in the wind — they will straighten up with a little sun and warmth!

  2. They say that premature babies have a stronger will to live, and so do war babies, i.e. those born during a war. Thus, you had been blessed at birth with a double will to live, Derrick.
    In pre-revolution Russia, cocaine was the rage among the higher classes of society, especially young ladies who believed that it would imbue them with mysterious paleness. They called themselves anemones. Your photo reminded me of that period, “the silver age of Russian poetry.”

  3. The patio umbrellas may be furled, but your glorious flowers are truly unfurled. Your garden looks beautiful–I can’t pick a favorite shot.

  4. I do believe raindrops make the flowers more beautiful.

    I love spinners in the garden. I have a couple of $2 childish ones you can buy in any cheap/reject shop but I love them.

    I had Pinot Noir last evening too. 🙂

  5. I saw some other pink Japanese anemones out in a neighbour’s garden today and I thought that they were very early too. Our white ones are not flowering yet.

    Lovely raindrop work.

  6. I would gladly have joined you and Jackie and helped you I finish the Pinot Noir. That rain certainly drenched your garden. No need to water for a while! I love the ladybug. That’s my daughter, DeAna’s special symbol. <3

  7. You certainly have been on the receiving end of wet weather! Our day yesterday peaked at around 95 degrees at 6:00 PM. Today we have mostly cloudy conditions, and it is 88 out there now.

    Your gardens are beautiful no matter what the weather.

  8. Rain sure does bring beautiful flowers! Your climate is so so different from ours, and the rain makes everything look so lush. It was hot again here today hahaha.

  9. Born 7 weeks premature in Leicester General Hospital in 1942 – yes, you are lucky and you are also strong! A survivor! I love the sidalcea and look forward to raindrops here.

      1. We got some this afternoon with LOTS of thunder and lightening – very close – and we lost electricity. Radar images said the storm was not at the beach south of us, so we went there. Electricity was back when we got home, so it was a good deal all around.

  10. Everything always looks great to me despite the stormy weather! You have an enchanted garden–but, then, a preemie just manages such things, I think! 🙂 (All my biological children were preemies to one degree or another….but you were indeed fortunate in ’42!)

  11. I relished those raindrop-bedecked flowers. Kudos to Jackie for the collection of toy-ladybirds. I imagine Ella is going to take a fancy to them one of these days.

    Your allusion to the Japanese anemones set me thinking.

  12. Like the new layout Derrick, your pictures before were great but they appear to be more vibrant in colour now.
    Enjoyable post and visit mate.

  13. Of course here, where it hasn’t rained for months, the sight of all those raindrops is most refreshing. Your garden looks beautiful, whether it is drenched or not.

  14. Very Beautiful Derrick. As an interesting aside I noticed the agapanthus. In some regions of Australia is has been declared a weed. If it is called a noxious weed then it must be dug out and destroyed. The fact that it is a native of South Africa – like Watsonia – it can fin itself very comfortable in Australia.

  15. Perhaps your family were in Leicester during the night of November 19th-20th 1940. This was when Leicester suffered its very own blitz and had a lot of casualties.

  16. Oh, I’m so so so glad you survived your premature birth, Derrick!
    7 weeks early…wow…your poor, Mum, too. I bet she was worried!
    My Dad was a premature baby, too. I remember his oldest sister telling the story of his birth. Sadly, with the very next baby…his mom died in childbirth. 🙁
    Love the flowers bejeweled by the raindrops! 🙂
    Watching the ladybugs spin would be fun! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  17. You are lucky indeed and I am lucky to be able to see this collection of wonderful flowers with rain drops! Are simply stunning Derrick! Those ladybirds are so cute ??

  18. The anemones often are called windflower here, thanks to the name being rooted in Greek mythology; the legend is that the flower sprang from Aphrodite’s tears as she mourned the death of Adonis. In that sense, raindrops on anemones would be a kind of mythological/botanical redundancy!

  19. It’s hard to think of agapanthus being a weed. Your pictures are superb today and the Head Gardener is providing you with excellent material. I was planning to list the ones I liked best, but there are just too many.

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