What Do July Rains Bring?

 

It has been dreadfully hot already this year and we’ve had some significant dry spells. It’s been hard on blooming plants and some of my established fern colonies were shedding fronds. I was out of town for about 9 days at the end of July and it sounds like we got a lot of rain (and indeed, one of my empty buckets had at least 8 inches of water in it!). This report by WSB confirms that some areas of Atlanta have gotten almost 13 inches of rain in one month. I’m sure some areas got more.

Woodland spiderlily

Before I went out of town, I had given up hope that my spiderlilies (Hymenocallis occidentalis var. occidentalis) would be blooming this year. This species doesn’t need to live in water like Shoals spiderlily (H. coronaria) but they do need good moisture. I was thrilled to see my plants blooming happily when I got home.

Ferns that had struggled with the heat have perked up. Mushrooms are sprouting and I found a large cauliflower one (Sparassis sp.) near the mailbox. I hadn’t seen one of these in years in my yard, but I figured the spores were still around.

Cauliflower mushroom

Here’s hoping the late summer blooms will benefit from the rain. It’s almost time for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census!