Shhhh, Don't tell anyone but it's raining.

I don't want to scare it away, but I did want to let everyone know we are finally getting some very much needed rain. PRAISE THE LORD!

Yesterday I planted the rest of the irises and daylilies. I just about have things caught up as far as planting things that I already had and needed to
get in the ground.

I do however have another box of irises and daylilies still to come in. (sigh) Then Monday I'll be getting some from our Iris Society sale from the hybridizers. That's always alot of fun. Cause we never know what's available until we get there. Then we all scramble to look them up in our books and so forth and find out all we can about them before we buy them.

Tomorrow we are suppose to get some more rain. Right now it's just a nice slow rain and that's what we need instead of the gully washers we usually get.

This is a photo of our last rain, it poured here and of course it all ran off and very little soaked into the ground. Hope all you others are getting a little rain for your gardens!

Marian

We have been having rain for the last week or so, unusual for us. Most of the time in last August and September it is very hot and dry. Trying to wash and dry iris has been a mad scramble. Been trying to make sure things don't rot!

Our iris society had our annual give away last night. I got CARNIVAL OF COLOR; GITANO; FANTASY RIDE; FALLING FOR YOU; and MONSOON MOON. And a door prize of a hibiscus.

Today we were setting up for our fall sale, which includes other plants, besides the iris. Daylily society is also having a sale and a landscaper also set up in same building. Should be interesting.

Rose

Praise God, rain in our area too

Took me a long time to recognize it. I thought it was sweat

Oh I meant to tell you I was out all day yesterday doing a rain dance and aiming toward TX. LOL. I am so happy for you. Mumms the word.
Steph

Congrats!!! BEV
This was early spring.

Marian, did you see my post the other day?? From Monday thru Wed. we had around 8"!!! I need to dig around 8 more iris and they are threatening more rain! I have 17 dug, and they still need to be dipped! I'm glad you are getting some much needed rain. pic Glowing Smile

The picture above is when we got about 8 inches in one day. The pond and everything else around here flooded. It was crazy and didn't do us very much good. I think most of my catfish are probably in the Gulf Coast by now from that Gully Washer. LOL

As for this rain it has been a very nice slow shower for most of the entire day. It did rain hard a couple of times but then it would lighten up and just be a nice soft slow soaking rain. We've needed this in the worst way as everything is hot, dry, and a tender box just waiting for someone to toss a cigarette on the ground and burn up all of East Texas.

All of Texas has been needing rain and we're just grateful that we got some. I even threatened to wash the car so it would rain. LOL All last week we had clouds all around us and nary a drop of rain.

I think if you can look at the left bottom side of the photo you can see the water running over the dam and flooding everything downstream. Shhhhh, it's ok with me if we get this slow soaking kind of rain for several days.

Happy Gardening, Marian

I forgot to tell ya'll I went out and played in the rain for a little while earlier today. I spashed in the puddles and was soaking wet before I came back in. LOL Ahhhh I just love to walk around and look at everything when it's raining lightly. Everything looks so pretty and the color is much more vivid without the sun beating down and washing the colors out.
Grin> Anyone else walk around in showers looking at their plants?
Marian

We had rain, thunder and lightning here is San Jose. Lightning just NEVER happens here so it was exciting. It's only the second time that I've seen lightning here in the 22 years that I've lived here.

Nicky, 'Glowing Smile' is beautiful. I like the more subtle colors like that.

Sharron, you're so funny! I'll have to share that one about the 'sweat'.

Carol

Steph, thank you ever so much for doing the Rain Dance and sending it our direction. Much appreciated. I'll remember to contact you the next time we need some rain. (wink)

Sharon I've been there before when I couldn't tell if it was sweat or rain. Ya'll got to understand that with the humidity here we have sweat pouring off our brows, hair, nose, and so forth so at times it is hard to tell the difference. LOL

Nicky, I agree with Irislvr Glowing smile is very pretty! I did see where you posted about all the rain ya'll got and was thinking have you ever noticed that you either get no rain or so much so hard and fast that it doesn't do alot of good?
I'm just so very thankful that we got this nice slow soaking rain for over 24 hours. We still have a chance for more rain, but right now the humidity is so high you couldn't do anything outside if you wanted to. It's like trying to breath under water.

Bev, I love the picture with the raindrops dancing above.
Got to run and get ready for church.

Hugs all the way around,

skipped church today, didn't want to miss one moment of this lovely rain. Thanked God right here in my own person cathedral.

Lovely, went to academy sports yesterday for 2 new sweat head bands. I wish I didn't have to wear the glasses to garden in, but alas, old age and bad sight have got me. I am afraid I wouldn't see the baby copperheads that are in season just now, not to mention the spiders down in the tall weeds.


Slow rain since yesterday, walked around in in taking pictures this afternoon, couldn't resist sharing

seeeee, it really did rain, I wasn't dreaming

Nicky, u shldn't have to dig they might just float up with that much rain.



white butterfly ginger is laying over almost to the ground

My ponds are down about 3 ft below normal

the wildlife doesn't seem to mind

Great photos Sharon. So glad you are getting rain and hopefully fill up your ponds. Very nice property also. Love the little guy in his cage.

to this day I get a little nervous when I here of over 5" rain coming down at once. but we've had a lot of rain this summer, which is the way it used to be around here. we've had drought last few years. not this year.

I get nervous because 10 years ago, about 3 weeks after Hurricane Floyd, there was a gully washer of a thunderstorm here. the ground was still saturated from the hurricane. we'd bought a new home in a new home neighborhood that November. between the hurricane and the thunderstorm, they'd cleared the building lot directly uphill from us and left a pile of debris to be hauled away. the storm washed that debris, like a deep scouring backhoe bucket, through a swale on our lot on that side that was designed to divert storm drainage. unfortunately, that's where I'd heeled in all my transplants, hundreds of irises and DLs. Found one mangled iris, really just a few leaves, downstream about 1,000 ft. Was so broken hearted I didn't plant irises again until we'd moved to another house.

Beautiful Pictures Sharon,
I just love the one of the squirrel in the bird feeder. So much for a squirrel proof feeder. LOL

Bonjon, man can I relate to the flooding and storms washing away all your irises!

You might recall how excited I was about getting all my irises and daylilies in the ground last week. Planted a couple hundred irises and about the same amount of daylilies and I was tickled pink about how beautiful my flowerbeds and gardens were going to look "NEXT YEAR".

Well I'm very sad to say that there will be no new beds choked full of iris and daylily blooms. Everything around here is flooding and all the roads are out. We've had over 10 inches of rain in the past 24 hours and it's still coming down in sheets. Everything around me looks like a river. The roads are not the only things washed out, so are our culverts, the water is flooding over the dams and we're just praying that the dams can withstand all the pressure. This is the worst I've ever seen in my life as far as flooding here.

The little picture above that I posted is nothing. Now go back and look at the picture and imagine that everything you see in that picture is about 1 ft under water and you will get an ideal of what I'm dealing with. To say that I'm scared to death is putting it mildly. Please pray for the rain to cease and for us to not have 3 more days of this flooding. One more thing, please pray that we don't loose electricity.

I hope all my fellow Texans that have been needing some of this rain are getting some. Hopefully they will not be flooding as we are.

I took some pictures of the irises that were washed way off, but remember I was also walking around in the water and couldn't stay out there for fear it might wash me away too.

I'll post photos when I can get to town and get them put on a cd.
I do understand how broken hearted you were about losing your irises Bonjon. I'm sure I"m going to be the same. I may never plant another iris myself. You might recall I had planted a bunch of irises on a rolling hill out back. I'm sure they have washed away too by now. I think I'll go lay down and have a good long cry!
Marian

Marian,

I just checked your hour to hour forecast on Google and you might want to start making some hard and swift decisions, dear. You will have plenty of time for that cry later. Just get to safety and keep yourself there until you can return. So what if you find later you didn't need to go. It looks like it is going to keep coming down. I do not know how critical you are this moment but do know YOU ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL YOU HAVE.

Katherine, praying.....

oh, Marion, you, your neighbors and your irises are all in my prayers! still raining after so much - - - and what y'all get, we tend to get 2 days later......

but don't do like I did - don't just give up for years. it will happen. we're here for you. If you lose very many, I will be first in line to send you some more. Been there, done that, I should be first in line for you!

seems to me I remember Cooleys going through a flood one year that really sidetracked them, back in the 90s sometime.

mariam,

I am soooo sorry. My heart hurts for you.

I can supplement your irises when the bad weather stops. Other DGers will probably do the same. I feel so guilty about bragging about the little over 2.25 we finally got.

Be safe....... gardens will grow again

Marion. I am so sorry to hear of this. If there is anything I can do let me know. I am praying for you all. BEV

Marian please just get to safety. We all will send whatever we can to help replace what you lost. I have a few iRIS AND extra nice EV Daylilies that would do better there. Hugs
Steph

The roads are washed out, there has been at least one death, and lots of rescues from the high water. Bridges are out all over this area. WE got over 15 inches of rain just today!!!! Please continue to pray for our little community of Pineview just south of Winnsboro. More rain, more flooding and no place for the water to go!
Marian

continued prayers for safety.

and don't laugh, but I was on here late last night and DG went down to a SLOWWWWW crawl (all the rest of the internet was fine!). Clicked on something I didnt' mean to, and ended up on an iris up for trade, and it was from lovelyiris! and I wanted it! of all things! guess I should look over her list of "haves" and see if I have any to send her! I already checked out her "want list" and she's got more expensive tastes than what's in my garden, so you KNOW what she's losing there today was NICE.

Just wanted to thank each one of you for your prayers. The rain has let up for right now and I'm going to go out and try to salvage and pickup whatever irises and daylilies I can find before it starts raining again. (sigh) I'm exhausted from no sleep. Each time I closed my eyes and tried to sleep the scene of the wall of water coming at me just kept playing over and over in my head. I just layed in the bed shaking thinking about everything, everybody, and what all had happened so quickly.

Bottom line right now, we're ok, and after some hard work and so forth most of us will be ok. My heart is aching for the family that lost their loved one. The lady was only 44 years old. Neighbors still have some animals unaccounted for that hopefully will be found safe SOMEWHERE????

I can see light at the end of the tunnel. The sun has attempted to shine a couple of times today. We're still suppose to get more rain for the next few days. Hopefully the flooding is over with and we can get to work on cleaning up some of the aftermath.

Love each and everyone of you and thank you ever so much for the prayers. I'm sure I'll start cring once I get out there and start looking for some of my plants. They just didn't have a chance at all since they were in the beds we just made last week. I really am just sick over all this and if you don't see me online for a few days or more you will know why! The most important thing is that we're ok and that things were not a lot worse around here.

God Bless each of you,
Marian

Marian gather what you can, have a little dinner, make yourselves a cocktail and do what you need tonight in case more rain comes and then get some very needed sleep and forget what might come later. Your mind and body has had enough for awhile. Hugs and prayers,
Steph

Marion, are you in flood plan? Seems like I remember you were flooded out a couple of times before?

How awful...I am away from all floodplans thankfully

D

so am I, but my yard still flooded that one time.

Marian, how ya doing today hun? hope she hasn't lost power.

Well it has been just sprinkling here off and on all day. Now it's raining hard again. Can't repair or replant anything in the rain. Needless to say " I aint happy". Sticking out bottom lip.

Well D, I don't know how to answer your question and I'll tell you why. Our property is one of the high spots around here. However our home is not on top of the hill. Our home sits about halfway down the hill and is a pretty location. WE have the pond down at the bottom of the hill, the house, a meadow in front of the house and a grove of mature pine trees to the right side of the front of the house. Hard to explain.

But yes, we did flood here a couple of years ago and I lost over 90% of my irises then. That was from a freak weather pattern where everything here was underwater for well over 2 months. My plants just turned to stinky slimy mush. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about the smell of that mess. I had everything around here outlined in irises and lots of other plants. The only ones that survived that flood was elephant ears, banana trees, and cannas. They loved all the water and grew like gang busters.

I think I have some of pictures on this cd of some of the rain we got the other day. Let me see if I can figure this out. I may start another thread with some of the photos.
Happy Gardening, Marian

oh my!

When we were underwater for so long about 3 years ago I was so dishearted that I said I'd never plant another iris or any other plant. I've been an Iris lover for as long as I can remember. My grandmother and mother had irises as did several other people in my family. I had thought about digging them all up but I just knew the rain and water would be gone in the next few days. Then the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. As all of you know irises don't like their feet wet muchless underwater for well over 2 months. A few survived and came back but not very many.

Then one day I was talking to someone on here and told them about what had happened .They told me how wonderful the people on Dave's Garden were and that I should post something about it and ask if anyone had extra irises willing to share them with me. I had 3 different people send me some irises and most, but not all were NOIDs. Then one thing led to another. I planted those irises and got to thinking about how boring my yard was going to be without all my irises. The next thing I know I've got the Cooley's catalog back out and ordering a bunch of their irises. Since I suffer from OCD when it comes to irises, daylilies, and dolls I ordered as many irises as I could possible afford and then a few more than that. LOL (can anyone else relate to that?)

Well shot fire, I can't remember how to bring those other picture files up. Now it will drive me crazy until I can figure that out AGAIN. I told you I'm not very good with the computer.

Marian

The next thing I know I have a couple of other catalogs and of course it's all down hill from there. LOL My Iris collection was very well off the ground and running. I was in hog heaven and spent every waking hour that I could out in the gardens. Then shortly after all this with the irises someone introduced me to the Lily Auction. Of course I started out with a ton of the cheaper ones. I just couldn't see turning lose of so much money for 1 daylily. Then the next year I got my feet wet and went crazy on more than a couple. If my DH knew what I spent on a handful of those daylilies he would have me commited and that's a fact. Now the purse strings are a tad bit tighter and I'm not working and making the money I was so I have to be more careful as to what I purchase. I will not be able to replace any of the plants that washed away! It may the someone's way of having me to downsize??? It's probably kind of dumb for someone to have so many plants that very few people ever see besides myself.

I think I can find a photo of some of my irises I bought a couple of years ago from Cooley's to replace the ones that croaked and turned to mush from all the water.

Happy Gardening, and I wish some of you would get this rain we're still getting.
Marian

trying again....

Dearheart! I am so sorry...it's hard to imagine the devistation! I do know, because of my short time of reading your posts at DG, that you are so loved and cared about. Your friends are vast and wide and will do anything to ease your sadness. God be with you!

Marian I have a buy on the LA I have no room for and it is coming your way. Love ya
Steph