Rain at last!

This afternoon, as Martin and I were bedding down a flat of allysum and marigolds, the rain began. Now, at 8:00, after some good pancakes (Buttermilk, Joy of Cooking--best recipe EVER) and some good company, it is still raining. The grass, which had begun to look crispy and brown, is deepening and trembling happily, greener and greener.

I took pictures, pictures of the embarrassment of roses that I gathered in my garden and placed on our kitchen table, and you will see those tomorrow.

But now, as Merry is putting Elephant to bed, I'll list quickly:

My Favorite Perennials So Far:
Tickseed: A sort of Coreopsis, bright yellow, cheerful and sturdy
Perennial Verbena: Spherical heads of nodding fushia
English Lavender (of course)--this is its second year with us and it's happy and makes me feel wealthy and fortunate)

My Favorite Rose So Far (scent and look):
(Keep in mind the David Austens have not yet bloomed, and while I love the happy-go-lucky, many headed floribundas, I have to go with the following rose, which I almost in my snobbiness did not buy, because it is not heirloom and is for the block-headed rose gardener. It is my SUBZERO white. It smells lovely, its growth habit is so far graceful, and I must add that it needs no over-winter-protective-mulching at all. I fully expect the David Austens to live up to expectations when they do bloom, but so far I must wholeheartedly recommend the rather plebeian, cheat-no-work, Subzero.)

My Favorite Annual:
The MARIGOLD, of course, for its fiesta colors, rich, evocative smell, and its ability to ward off nasty bugs. A runner-up is the ANNUAL VERBENA, with its spreading tendencies, fast growth rate, lacy leaves, and its crazily bright fuchsia color. And planted and sprouted quickly, the ZINNIAS promise a party before too long. I'll never forget one of my most tantalizing views of a garden; we were tooling through the hill country in Texas and as we passed a white house and yard I glimpsed a vision of glory: a cutting garden, full of zinnias, in full riot.

My Favorite Herb:
This is hard. I love the way mint takes over like breeding mice. I love the sturdy stalks and high-use of rosemary; I now love Feverfew, with its tight buds and white flowers. My spreading oregano is happy and lush and at hand for spaghetti sauces, and the basil I grew from seed is now drinking in the rain outside. Lavender is wonderful. . .tomorrow I intend to invest in some lemonbalm and Martin is beside himself waiting for his Holy/Thai Basil seeds from Seeds of Change. . .What is your favorite?

The Weed I Thought I Hated (and Mostly Still Do:)
Our hill was covered in Stinging Nettles. After one encounter with their lethally hairy stalks and prickly leaves, you too would loathe the nettle from the bottom of your heart. My mother and I spent much of one day digging up nettles, only to see them poke up again with a sprinkle or two.
So I did some research, and while looking for ways to kill the nettle DEAD for GOOD, I encountered enough passionate nettle lovers to make me reconsider my slavering hatred. Nettles serve purposes from tea to soups to treatment for the terminally ill to natural pesticides and compost enhancers (they speed decomposition). A more bizarre use is flogging Arthritis sufferers with the nettles. Odd, yes. And birds and other wildlife love the nettle's flowers. I suppose they are more popular in England that they are here in Pennsylvania. This praise-worthy versatility of the nettle has not completely redeemed it in my books for my hill, since being stung inadvertently or comforting their children after they tromp blithely on a nettle severely overshadows the nettle's virtue.

Oh, by the by, I did think it a great idea to have a Garden Show here at Wazoo, like the art show, except full of your gardening pictures. I know I would love to see the gardening efforts of everyone here, from the desert to the city to the countryside. And remember, this is loosely defined, so if you have a houseplant arrangement you love, or a garden made out of scrap metal, or a pleasant rockery like Paddington Bear, all is welcome. Perhaps we'll hold it in early July? What do you think?