Refreshed by the rain

It's just amazing what a difference a good soaking in the rain can do for plants.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I went out into the garden a few days ago and saw new blooms on the native Woolly Bluecurls Trichostema lanatum. The plant produced a few blossoms in the summer, and otherwise seems kind of dormant. Okay, I did plant it several years ago in our native patch which consists of clay soil like all of the soil around here, hoping it will grow to a large shrub. Apparently it does prefer to grow near creek beds and soil that retains more moisture. But the shrub does seem to be fine in its current soil condition, and is drought tolerant. My neighbors have given up on planting Woolly Bluecurls in their gardens, because they haven't had any success with them. I hope this one continues to survive. It is a host plant to the Variable Checkerspot butterflies Euphydryas chalcedona.

The De La Mina Verbena Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina' , another California native, also responded so well to the rain.

It has been otherwise doing very well, and blooms throughout the year. As is normal for this time of year, the foliage was drying up, although there were still a few flower clusters blooming. All of the green branches and foliage you see here are a result of the soaking the shrub received from the recent rains.

Borage and California poppies are sprouting around the Lambs ears.

A couple of years ago, two borage plants grew in this spot. Apparently seeds from the blossoms lay dormant until they soaked and sprouted in the rain. Hopefully we'll see more lovely borage plants growing here, along with the poppies.