The rain had kissed each flower lovingly

“When at morn I saw the world in a dewdrop dress,
I knew what had happened.
The rain had kissed each flower lovingly.
So sweet and so loving was the kiss
That it shone like silver
And the air was filled with fragrance.”
~Julia Cooley Altrocchi

I woke up bright and early this morning to discover that the rain had once again kissed each flower in my garden ever so lovingly. Nearly an inch of rain in the rain gauge – what a glorious sight! The delicate pink rain lilies that freely reseed about my garden were all abloom – another glorious sight!

Zephyranthes – aka rain lily – is a member of the Amaryllis family, with strappy grass like leaves. It flowers off and on throughout the growing season, triggered by rain or supplemental watering.

The rain lilies that dot my garden were originally planted over 25 years ago and I have long ago forgotten the exact variety or name.

My original gardens, started 30 years ago, were – in the words of Shelby’s mom in Steel Magnolias – pink and pink. Blush and Bashful – two shades of pink, one much deeper than the other, to paraphrase the scene from Truvy’s hair salon.

Yes, I loved pink. Pink roses. Pink daylilies. Pink irises. Pink rain lilies. But time marches on and tastes change. My gardens today feature bright and bold colors. Red. Orange. Yellow. But the pink rain lilies will remain. A nod to the former gardens. Of course it helps that the pink rain lily is the perfect compliment to a bright orange daylily.

I also doubt I could dig up all of the tiny rain lily bulbs now if I wanted to!

Did I mention they have even migrated out to our only small patch of lawn? I imagine someday – hopefully years down the road – I will be gone from this space yet the rain lilies will bloom on and on, for future inhabitants of this place to enjoy. Or curse – though I can’t imagine anyone hating such a lovely bloom.

Other soft pink flowers that will always be a part of my garden are the native coneflower (Echinacea) and rock rose (Pavonia). Both reliably draw in pollinators and freely self-sow about the gardens.

(Coneflower, shown above. Rock rose, shown below.)

It almost goes without saying, but hot pink is always allowed in my garden because it so nicely fits under the bright and bold category. Pink zinnias are currently blooming in what was meant to be my flower-free, dedicated vegetable growing polytunnel space. The polytunnel will, hopefully, allow me to extend the vegetable growing seasons a bit on each end. A winter cover will give a few tomatoes and peppers some protection against freezing weather, while also allowing me to start peas much earlier in the year. A shade covering in the heat of summer will, if all goes as planned, protect sensitive plants from our brutal August sun. Neither have yet to be tested, but they sound good in theory.

This spring has been filled with rainy days and cool, but terribly humid, overcast days. Alas. Due to our extremely dry winter, North Texas is still almost three inches behind on our average rain amounts. Longtime Texas gardeners know to appreciate this weather while we can because we never know when the faucet might turn off and the heat crank up.

My food forest garden – except for the zucchini – has been slowly turning out vegetables. Nearly every day, I have something to harvest and use as a base for a meal. The zucchini has been – well, it is zucchini, amiright? I froze two zucchini today, after freezing four zucchini and dehydrating three zucchini over the past weekend. We have eaten fried zucchini. We have eaten zucchini fritters. We have eaten black bean zucchini tamale pie, wherein I used two zucchini instead of the one the recipe called for. I have gone to bed confident that I have only two zucchini in the fridge to eat or preserve the following day, only to wake up and discover four zucchini await. It is a great problem to have, though, as I know I will make good use of the excess.

This has been the first year for the blueberries to produce. I am still a long way from having enough to make a pie, but there have been a few days I could possibly have a decent amount for a solo pancake, if they ever made it inside the house. It has been such a pleasure to pick and eat the blueberries immediately while still in the garden.

Keep calm and garden on. When life gives you zucchini, make fritters.

Southern Bulb Company is a fabulous mail order source for rain lilies (and various other bulbs.)

The rock rose photograph was taken earlier this month in my zone 8b North Texas garden. All other photographs were taken today, May 27th.