Rain!

It really was lovely to see the rain today....it's been quite a long time since we've had rain, which feels unusual. Here in the Pacific NW we get a wee bit anxious if we have too many sunny days in the spring. I may have explained before that it doesn't rain here in the summer, so we rely on the snow pack from the surrounding mountain ranges for our water supplies.

At any rate, it was great to have the gardens watered by rainfall today too! Here's a shot of one end of my courtyard garden. It's a low water garden and rarely needs any water at all. In it you might be able to see the following plants: 
Rosemary, Thyme, Chives, Sage, Cranesbill, Yarrow, Digitalis, Parsley, Welsh Poppy and an Olive tree on the very far left. It's a dwarf cultivar called Olea europa '11th Avenue) which will grow no more than 12' and half as wide (fingers crossed). It was introduced by my friend Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery. It probably won't bear fruit since there aren't any other olive trees nearby, as far as I know. But very fun to have! What you can't see are a lavender plant and a sweet little violet that I moved from my old garden. The yarrow and the seeds for the Welsh Poppies came from there too.

I should add that this garden is very much about the survival of the fittest. I never planted the Foxglove - I have no idea where it came from, but it is HUGE!