Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Weather and a Wednesday Vignette

Much as I love waking up to find the sun shining and the garden glowing, I've come to celebrate the cloudy, overcast condition that usually characterizes mornings here in late spring and early summer.  Referred to sequentially as "May Gray" and "June Gloom," it keeps the heat at bay, at least for awhile.  Back in April, there were predictions that El Niño might add insult to injury by following up our largely rain-less winter with a diminished marine layer in May and June.  Fortunately, that hasn't happened.  It did get hot here late last week but the morning marine layer saved us from the worst of it here along the coast.

The fog literally looks like a blanket laying over the ocean - on Saturday evening that blanket stopped just short of the Los Angeles harbor itself

And this was the scene on Sunday morning - all we could see of the house below us was the cap of the chimney

And the houses usually visible looking northeast were gone

By late morning the sun had reached us but the fog continued to envelop the harbor into the afternoon


Gloomy mornings also make it easier to take photos and I took advantage of the opportunity this past weekend.  I'm sharing a photo of the noID lily in my back garden as my Wednesday Vignette.  It deserves its moment in the limelight and the flowers are unlikely to last until Bloom Day.

Although the lily itself is fairly nondescript, its companions boost its presence in the garden.  Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) provides the backdrop and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' complements the lily's soft pink bloom.


"Wednesday Vignette" is hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum.  Visit her site to find the images that captured her attention and that of other participating gardeners this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

22 comments:

  1. Nice. I love the foggy weather and the foggy pictures. That lily is pretty nice, too.

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  2. Hi Kris, your photos of your garden in 'June gloom' are quite fascinating! I am out of town, but hope that we have June gloom in San Diego, too, just to keep the temperatures low a little longer before the real summer heat hits.
    Love your lily, so feminine and elegant!
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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    1. I expect that San Diego is also enjoying the June gloom and I hope that you're enjoying your trip, Christina.

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  3. “The weather is so very mild
    That some would call it warm..."

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    1. If only the spirit of Ogden Nash could conjure up a thunderstorm for us as he did in the following verse, Eric.

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  4. Looks very atmospheric and it's pretty in its own right!

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    1. while driving through the fog gives me the creeps, it makes for a pleasant change when I'm snug at home. And it really does put a lid on the heat.

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  5. you can feel the garden heaving a soft sigh of relief, for the gentle damp of fog. It does, make a difference.

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  6. Love my June Gloom ! When we were teenagers Manhattan was our Beach of choice, but my friends cousin lived in OC and went to Huntington. We used to have heated arguments about which beaches' marine layer burned off first !

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    1. The duration of the gray/gloom has varied quite a bit, Kathy. Occasionally it hangs until 2 or 3PM here but more often it moves out between 10 and 11am.

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  7. Oh, pink lilies and Mexican feather grass, what a great combo that I don't think I would ever have thought of. I love it!

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    1. I planted the lilies in the middle of 3 clumps of Cuphea with the thought of hiding the lilies' dying foliage as the Cuphea beefed up after its winter haircut. I never thought about the Mexican feather grass but it does make a nice backdrop.

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  8. Loving that June Gloom. Long may it hide your neighbor's houses. :)

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    1. The fog does add a lovely sense of living far, far away from neighbors.

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  9. I wonder if your view-loving, foliage-hating neighbor complains to NOAA about the fog obscuring her view?

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    1. That gave me a good belly laugh, Peter. Thanks!

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  10. Marvelous combo, Kris - beautiful against the softness of the grass. I always love fog - it puts everything in such a dreamy state. And I love it when it hides the uglies and softens the harsh. I hope it keeps going far into July for you!

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    1. As I recall, the gloom did creep into July a bit last year. If it became a regular phenomenon, we'd be challenged to find an appropriate expression for it - I can't think of anything that rhymes with "July." Maybe "summer salve"?

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  11. I love the combination of lily and pink cuphea :)
    And I still miss a good coastal fog... So glad the marine layer is still doing its job!

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    1. We were socked in by fog most of the day yesterday - the sun didn't break through until after 5pm. Today is starting out the same way - it's wonderfully cool and damp.

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