Saturday, July 31, 2010

We had rain


We had a good old-fashioned thunderstorm last night, with plenty of lightening, thunder and a good amount of rain. We are thankful. It is still warm and humid though, the storm didn't cool down the temp any at all. Right now at 7:45 a.m. it is 79 but with 93% humidity it feels like it is 89. A high of 91 is expected, and with the humidity it will feel like it's 106, which is what it's been like for about a week now. Really miserable out. Another thunderstorm is expected this afternoon, hopefully after I get home from work.

The 'tomato horn worm' is not hanging on the rose this morning. I did notice that a lot of my salvia coccina has chewed off leaves, which is in the same pot as the rose. I didn't see the worm this morning, but he's good at camouflaging himself. He was a huge worm, not one I want to see more of either.

Below is an epiphyte, an air plant which grows on host plants/trees without killing or hurting host plant. I'm not sure which kind this one is, but I'm sure someone will be able to tell me. Orchids are epiphytes, as are bromeliads, staghorn ferns, and others. It is on the palm tree out from the kitchen's screened porch. I love the green lichen on the tree also.






Here is Louis Philippe against the Norfolk pine tree's bark. I love the contrast.



Here we have Queen Crepe's purple blooms in the foreground of yet another 'shed shot'.



I want to thank all of you once again for viewing my posts and leaving your kind, encouraging comments. Glad you all liked the quote in yesterday's post.

******

The world is so empty

if one thinks only of the mountains,

rivers, and cities;

but to know someone who thinks and feels with us,

and who, though distant

is close to us in spirit,

this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


******


Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

11 comments:

Antique ART Garden said...

I love your blog Flowerlady.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Gina ~ Thank you. I hope today is a love filled day for you.

Love and hugs to you dearheart.

FlowerLady

Floridagirl said...

Yay for rain! We've had a pretty good summer so far where I live. Your epiphyte is a bromeliad. Looks like ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) to me. You are so lucky to be able to grow Queen's Crape! Beautiful!

Mrs. Mac said...

A good rainy Saturday wish for your gardens .. especially in light of the well/pump issues! God is blessing you right and left! Have a great day.

Ami said...

Wasn't it great to have the rain to soak our gardens? Of course, that was right after I hand-watered my garden since I came home from the work and saw my plants are drooping under the heat :) I love the contast of Louis Philippe against the Norfolk pine tree's bark too! Pretty!

Morning's Minion said...

What a pretty yard you have.
I'm surprised to see that roses can blossom in spite of such heat and humidity.
I hope the hornworm doesn't have a hoard of "friends and relations!"

NanaK said...

So glad you got some rain FlowerLady. Love the LP rose picture. I just received a rooted cutting from a fellow gardener and I am babying it in this heat. It is just a little thing but already has had two blooms. I hope mine grows up to be like yours.

Meems said...

Good morning FlowerLady,
Rain is always welcomed in this heat and humidity. It's been a few days since we had any so we are due for our fair share. What happened to the days of every afternoon a thunderstorm moved through quickly?

Your LP is a bright spot this morning looking so cheery. And I absolutely LOVE seeing epiphytes of any sort as well as the lichen on the tree trunk. So very FLORIDA!
Have a lovely Sunday, dear FlowerLady.
Meems

Rhonda said...

Oh I'm so feeling your weather pain...believe it or not we've had terrible humidity this year..and we're in the darned mountains for goodness sakes. Just the other day it hit 97..but our heat index was 105 because of the danged humidity. Luckily, we too got some great rain this weekend..it watered everything nicel, but-like you-it certainly didn't bring down the temperature any. I always did love the Louis Philippe..one of the few roses that loves Florida I believe and a fantastic color to boot!

L. D. said...

It is always a pleasure to stop by even though I don't always say very much.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

We've had a lot of heat, too. We had about 6 inches more rain than usual this season, but now, we're just having the heat, and are needing to do some watering, because the plants didn't get a chance to put down deep roots.

That does look like some kind of large moth caterpillar.

I love the air plant and moss on the tree!