Timing is Everything

Rain In Summer
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!
How it clatters along the roofs,
Like the tramp of hoofs!

How it gushes and struggles out
From the throat of the over-flowing spout!
Across the window pane
It pours and pours;
And swift and side,
With a muddy tide,
Like a river down the gutter roars
The rain, the welcome rain!

The tomatoes, as well as a few new perennial flowers (Blue and Red Veronica, AKA "Spike Speedwell" - who names these things?), went in today. Despite my fondness for the traditional Saturday siesta, some clouds came in and without checking the forecast I decided it was time to plant these babies, having bought them earlier in the week. The skies opened up for a long, beautiful summer shower just as I was placing the final bits of mulch, and everything got a perfect soaking with no effort on my part.

The tomatoes went in to the old mint field on the edge of the deck - I was torn between placing them in planters and fixing them in the ground, but thought it would be better to have them along the path of the soaker hose - I'm a big fan of working smarter (not harder) and if the success of any of these plants relied on my own personal motivation, it would be a sad sight out there indeed.

And now, the Veronica Sisters:



The pink flowers are nearly neon.



the blue is about half as tall as the pink on planting

Guidance from www.backyardgardener.com:

Veronica spicata is a herbaceous perrenial. 'Sunny Border Blue' produces erect sturdy spikes of tubular, dark violet-blue flowers from early summer to late autumn. This is a clump growing perennial with lance-shaped, crinkled, toothed, glossy dark green leaves. This species needs good drainage, moisture and full sun, good for sunny borders and rock gardens. Keep dead flowerheads removed to prolong the bloom time.