Bedraggled!

We had rain last night - up to a half inch.  That's a good thing because it has been incredibly hot here and we needed the moisture.  Hopefully more will come today and this coming weekend.

With a heavy downpour like we had some of the plants have that bedraggled look.  Others have it because the heat has got to them.  Here's a quick walk through for a peek at how things look.

In the perennial garden the black-eyed susans have taken the heat and rain very well.  One of the few plants that have coped.  The lilies behind are on their way to being done and the heat has pushed that date up fast.

 The hibiscus in this bed are just starting to bloom but the rain spreads the plant out and the weight of wet blossoms drags the branches lower.

 The rain collects on the red bud leaf.  This is a volunteer that one day will have to be moved out of the perennial bed.  It came with a bleeding heart plant from my mom's garden.

 Shasta daisies are really looking bedraggled.  Heat has hastened the browning of their blooms.  They need a good trim with the hope that new blossoms will set.

 The hostas' blooms in the glen garden are really looking straggly but I hate to clip them since the humming birds still visit.  They'll be gone before long.

 The Joe Pye weed at the pond garden is spread out even further after last night's rain.  After the derecho several weeks ago it looked the same and I discovered that rather than springing back it just changed the direction of the branch tips and most of them have 45º angles to head toward the heavens.  I guess after last night there will be another course correction.  Buds are set and blooms are not far off.

 This big grass whose name I have trouble remembering (miscanthus?) will right itself as it dries out. 

 For now it has a spread because the scupper from the roof sent a Niagra Falls onto it in the storm last night.  That water gets collected in the pond/rain garden.

 The hibiscus in the front garden also has the spread.  This one is loaded with buds and blooms and the weight of those will keep it spreading.

 By the front door a bright spot.  These susans have done so well this year.  No sign of the black spot that infested them last year.  They continue to fill out and I let them.

 My task for this morning is to weed the front garden.  Trimming the lavender will have to wait until tomorrow if it is dry then so I can hang it to dry.  I may have waited too long but the fragrance is still there even if the flowers are past their prime.  The weeds and volunteers need to go!  I hope I can show an after shot that shows off this front bed much better.