It’s been a long, hot, and dry summer here in Ohio. We’ve not had a significant rainfall that makes a difference since mid June. Most of the garden is stressed from heat and lack of rain, and just barely hanging on. I’m stressed from the promising storms on the weather radar app that continually come to nothing, and also imaging how expensive my water bill is going to be.
But the little shade garden beside my screened-in porch is doing relatively well with very little watering. This little pot of begonias and ferns keeps it looking cheerful.
It’s the only color in this garden other than green and white, but it brightens the whole space. It reminds me of how little effort it takes to be the difference, and make others smile.
A new little begonia plant has even reseeded itself in the gravel beneath.
The clay pot containing this arrangement was bought new this spring, but has already acquired a lovely green, mossy patina that makes it look as if it has sat here for years.
And new baby ferns are springing up in the most unusual places, like right in front of the deck steps and between the pathway pavers.
This is a small, narrow garden that contains a rain barrel, and a combination of ferns, hostas, gooseneck loosestrife, and a lone hydrangea, that never blooms. Across the pathway, beside the rain barrel, is another shade garden that has lost much of it’s shade due to a dying tree.
And every little garden needs to have a focal point of creatures and orbs to give it a touch of whimsy. The rabbit’s name is Rhett and his partner, Scarlett is off hanging out this summer in the front gardens. Rhett’s face is still white after all these years from the time I spilled a bucket of white paint.
At least the weather has finally cooled, feeling more like autumn, but still no rain on the horizon for days to come. Time to pull out the garden hose again and give everybody a drink.
Happy weekend friends!
I love shade gardens for the cool they offer. Yours is lovely! Hope you get some good, garden-drenching rain soon.
Thank you Eliza. I love shade gardens more and more, even though if they have color, it is subtle. Chance of rain on Monday and Tuesday, but this time I refuse to get my hopes up. It rains in some parts of the city, and rarely here. Indiana seems to be hogging all the rain, and it dissipates by the time it gets to Ohio. Such is life. I feel really sorry for the farmers who life depends on it.
Despite your lack of rain, your shade garden looks lush. We are lacking rain in my community. It rains on the coast and the clouds literally part and to the east and west and miss us.
I so know that feeling and it’s so frustrating. Makes me want to cry.
Your shady garden made me smile too, Cindy. I miss the shade my former garden offered – even with a substantial number of trees and large shrubs, I haven’t been able to recreate that ambiance in my current garden. I’ve got my fingers crossed you get some rain soon.
I love a good shade garden, but my shade garden has really struggled this year with the heat, lack of rain, and a dying tree. I’m hoping for a cool fall with substantial rainfall. I was hoping that hurricane would push a little this way, as they often do. Fingers crossed.