There’s been a large amount of rain about these last few days with more to come. Spring is a time for rain and we can still even get late frosts into early November in these parts.
In between showers and after torrential rain it’s been nice to get out and check out the spring flowering that’s been going in regardless of my dislike of getting a drenching .
It’s been a particularly good season for roses so far, they seem to be bigger and brighter than they have in previous years, I guess the cold and wet winter has been good for something! Deadheading the old roses off the bush keeps the plant looking fresh, cutting the stem back to either a node or new growth will stop the unsightly dieback caused by not cutting the flower off far enough from spoiling the look of the shrub.
One thing that always fascinates me in the garden is the phenomenon of fasciation (see what I did there?) The flattening out of stems can cause the stem to fan out and produce double the number of flowers which is always interesting. The cause is thought to be either a hormonal imbalance, a result of insect attack during formation, or even a virus. Whatever the reason, fasciation doesn’t affect the overall growth of the plant and if the affected stem is cut out the plant will continue to grow. Personally, I just leave the stem on as it can be fascinating to observe.
All this rain we’ve been having will give us a good start for the summer dryness and heat so I guess complaining about it is a waste of time. I will have to start using that extra inside time in a better way so as not to waste it.
‘Til next time!
The Flowerpot Pen 