Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I Needed This...



Well...

After a truly horrific week at work which resulted in me only getting a few hours of sleep for 3 days in a row, I was felling pretty run down and emotionally drained. In addition to the stress at work, we got a really heavy, sudden rainstorm on Tuesday (I believe) last week that wreaked havoc in the garden. I kind of dread the fist rainfall of the season...not because I dislike rain...I LOVE rain...but it's really hard on the plants (who just aren't used to the extra weight). I came home after work to find many plants had just collapsed under the pounding rain...the Joe Pye Weed...the Rudbeckia Triloba...the Verbena bonariensis...the various salvias...worst of all...my giant stand of Pokeweed that I've been growing in the backyard (volunteers that are in their 2nd season and were about 12' tall) had completely collapsed...which really surprised me. I was pretty bummed about it...and compounded by the utter insanity at work...I felt zombie-fied :-( Luckily, this weekend, we decided to just take it easy...sure we could have worked more on tiling the rest of the kitchen...the garden could use a little sprucing up...but we just relaxed...and I'm glad! Anyway...on Saturday, as we were poking around the house, we noticed this fat little bumblebee trying to get at the Agastache blooms. The poor thing would latch onto one of the tubular flowers and immediately, the whole stem would droop down under it's weight...we must have followed it around, laughing at it for 15 minutes...our neighbors officially think we're nuts :-) Luckily, now that I'm a little recuperated, I can catch up on all the other garden blogs!

9 comments:

  1. Bumblebees are so cute! Sorry you've had such a horrible week. I know that zombie feeling, I've had insomnia for years. Hope you and your garden recover!

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  2. Ha that was pretty cute! ;) Glad it helped you destress a bit from your week.

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  3. Great little video! I was out yesterday watching the bees on the sedum (autumn joy) marveling at the way they just keep working it. Watching them I was glad I'm not afraid of or allergic to them as they were very entertaining.

    As for the rain, I know what you mean! We had the most beautiful grass in the front garden. Tall with amazing blooms. Then the first rain of the season would hit and it would flop into the sidewalk and the neighbors drive. It had to go.

    Glad you are feeling more human. Human enough to make it to the HPSO sale this weekend?

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  4. I needed it too! Thanks Scott. Your laughter was contagious!

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  5. Glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend. We all need that now and then.

    We had heavy rains, too, and a lot of my deck contaners were knocked over by the wind. It's all a big mess. I will be glad to get them all put away (not until mid Oct)for the winter.

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  6. Glad you are feeling chipper! Wow, great little vid. I've never seen that type of bee. How exciting! And I've not seen that large-trumpeted hyssop either. I know you can't send me the bee (awwww) but perhaps I could persuade you swap some seeds this Fall?

    We're due some strong storms tomorrow with high winds and hail. After 6 weeks of drought I'm expecting a garden mess too. The plants are so brittle they will probably smash right down.

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  7. Thanks for the kind words, everyone!
    Alison: ugh...insomnia is the worst, mine only seems to strike when I'm stressed, luckily...so frustrating!
    Racquel: Cute indeed...it was a balm, for sure!
    Danger: They really do love the sedums, my Autumn Joy is covered at the moment too!
    Grace: Glad to share!
    Zoey: Sorry about your containers...it seems the weather is conspiring against all of us!
    Kris: Hope your plants weather the upcoming storms...I'll cross my fingers! I'll see if I can collect some seeds this fall, they have been blooming like crazy! This has been a great year for the hyssops in my garden!

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  8. Glad to hear you have the courage to grow pokeweed. It's rarely appreciated in this country, though I know it's grown ornamentally in Great Britain. Did you know there's a giant form, called Ombu in Argentina, that's the "tree" of the Pampas? Grows about 60 or 80 feet tall. An Amazing sight, but you immediately recognize it from the leaves and fruit. I have pictures on a post on the Buenos Aires botanical garden if you're interested.

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  9. Nothing like a little poking around in the garden with a camera to make you feel better :) I hope this week is turning out better than last for you!
    Aren't the bees a riot to watch? They were going wild this morning in my patch of Obedient Plant and the Japanese Anemones. I had a blast trying to catch them in motion. Never did get a good 'flying' shot, but got a lot of good ones on the flowers. I love the way they burrow right into the bloom :)
    Thanks for sharing the video. It's wonderful. Love that agastache!

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