After one of the driest years on record in northern New Mexico, we've had two and a half inches over the past five nights, and all steady soakers.
My Bluestone plants arrived a few days ago full and healthy and very good sized. Today the sun came out and I could plant them.
In spots where I dug, though, the mulch and soil were nice and moist several inches down but still bone dry below that.
I planted:
🌱 Two Spanish Flare hellebores, one next to the rain barrel and the other to add to the two already in the potting bench curve.
🌱 Two Caradonna salvias in different sites in the circle garden. I planted them very close to other things, tucking them in -- I'm so tired of plants shrinking away from anything nearby and looking isolated and clumpy.
🌱 An Arctic Fire redtwig dogwood in the dining room window garden, in the irrigated spot where the disappointing Cheyenne mock orange was. I took that out.
🌱 Two Blue Ice amsonias, one to finish off the arc around the circle garden and one in the front of the potting bench curve by itself, between two lambsears. There had bee a pineleaf penstemon there, but it got woody and bare looking and I took that out.
Also, on a whim today I decided to divide the yellow tickseed that I now have in the white bowl and put one division in the ground in the circle garden. We'll see what becomes of that. It did so well in a container, blooming all summer. In the ground I may lose it.
I hope this cool sunny weather and all the rain gives these new plants a good start. I still have more coming from High Country Gardens next week.
Existing plants in the garden all look refreshed.
Lambsears had looked okay through the unrelenting sun and hot afternoons of summer with barely a quarter inch of rain for weeks, remaining blue and fuzzy-leaved, but suddenly they are standing up and fuller now. Everything is.
I've turned the irrigation system off for now.
An update, late afternoon: a storm rolled through, soaking us once again, this time a quarter inch.
Day after day of measurable rain, cool wet soil, then sunshiny breaks and then more rain.
New plants in the ground. Wow.