BEES AND BLOSSOMS AFTER WONDERFUL RAIN

Bee enjoying Mesembryanthemum

Borage blossoms were among the first candied flowers in medieval times. They taste cucumbery.

Dancy tangerines and blossoms smell glorious!

So many early-Spring-blooming posies all in one clump - bearded iris, chasmanthe, alstroemeria - luckily caught the day before those rainstorms!

Asclepias provide brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges.

Wasn’t that a wonderful two-for-one little set of rainstorms?  I love it when rains fall lightly for a while, which gets the top layer of mulch and open soil ready for the “entré” of heavier rain to come that thoroughly moistens the soil underneath, followed by a day’s clearing and then another rainstorm that gets the moisture even deeper.  This is the perfect way to get deep watering naturally! 
 
Of course, Sunday morning’s 5-6am tremendous thunder and lightning accompanied by the heaviest downpour I’ve ever experienced were amazing, and I was glad that the soil had had its previous opportunity to absorb the rain slowly.
 
Following the first storm, my various bins holding potted plants yet unplanted were completely full of rainwater, which I then upended into the garden.  The second storm brought only half-full bins, which I also poured into the garden.  Free water, with every drop caught by the mulch for long-term release to plant roots - doesn’t get better than that! 
 
I make a point of not tramping into the garden for a full day following rainstorms, to allow sufficient drainage in the pathways so I don’t compact even that soil covered with several inches of mulch.  And, I make a point of going into the garden in the late afternoon, when the sun has just passed over the hill behind us, since this time – still brightly lit but without contrasty shadows - is the best for photographs. 
 
But today, I saw how gloriously brilliant the mesembryanthemum was in the direct sun, almost fully covering the hillside, so I went up the hill early – only to find the bees happily buzzing in the mesembryanthemum and around the fruit trees. This is a good month earlier than it’s usually been in the past, which I assume is another result of the lack of real winter weather and the drought.  But, the best possible help to pollinating the fruit trees!