Drought Conditions Continue

Recently I was told how "dreadfully dry" the rain garden is. Yes, I agree, it is indeed dry. But is it really dreadful? An artificially lush landscape it is not. An amazing demonstration of what can survive without a daily intervention of wasteful irrigation it is. The current drought condition is listed as Severe, and the Wildlife & Rain Garden has had no rain in well over a month, and no use of plumbed irrigation to supplement this deficiency. The only water given to this garden during the past 17 months was from a single use of a hose sprinkler in early September, fewer than a dozen occurrences of hand watering with a can for new installations, and two douses of about 5 - 10 gallons of water by bucket for the bog garden. No irrigation system has been used since the early part of summer 2015. Yet we still have had an incredible array of blooms, insects, birds, small mammals, and reptiles. The die off of vegetation due to drought stress has been almost zero (a few annuals didn't last as long as they should have). The bloom wasn't as grand as it has been in years past, but considering the lack of precipitation and very low soil moisture, the garden is still displaying quite a show of fall flowers and is alive with pollinators. Planting drought tolerant plants has carried this garden through a dreadfully dry season while providing nectar, pollen, butterfly host plants, seed, and inspiration. Come take a look and how dry is working for our garden.

Here's what's in bloom on November 8, 2016






















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