Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Be careful what you wish for

Anyone who's read more than three of my posts is probably aware of my obsession with water and rain.  Even before California was officially declared to be in severe drought, I was concerned about our limited rainfall and diminishing water reserves.  In addition to removing all our lawn and introducing more drought-tolerant plants, we have three tanks to store rainwater, a gray water system to water our back slope, and drip lines and soaker hoses in various locations.  We jump on signs of water leaks and last year replaced the copper pipe from the street to the house to head off any further pinhole leaks.  We even save shower water daily for use in flushing toilets.  However, none of that stops me from praying for a good rainy season every year.  Forecasters hadn't predicted this would be a good water year but the storms that moved through California one after another for a few weeks now seem to have defied expectations.  Unfortunately, a lot of rain coming at once presents its own problems.  

We had our entire roof replaced and work on our chimney done in 2019 as part of our home renovation.  Barely 3 years later, after the strong burst of rain we've had with a few recent storms, our roof is leaking in the living room next to the chimney.  My husband was unable to locate the problem when examining the roof (although he installed a chimney cap he discovered was missing).  The roofing contractor will stop by to check his crew's work within the next 3 days but my husband suspects the problem lies with the chimney work.

 

The problem with our "new" roof is annoying but we know it's something that can be fixed and we have a tarp in place for the time being.  In the relative scheme of things, it's nothing by comparison to what others have experienced.  We haven't faced power outages, flooding, or mudslides, much less the loss of loved ones, as other Californians have.  While the northern part of the state was hit harder, Southern California had trouble with the last two storms, which led to evacuations in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

Meanwhile, the garden's response to the rain is already evident.

The leaves winding their way through the shrub here are those of the wild cucumber vine (Echinocystis lobata, aka prickly cucumber and lace pants).  It's not related to cucumbers at all and it's not edible, although parts of it have been used in folk medicines.  It can quickly grow 25-30 feet.  It's not native to California and prefers wet shade but it will grow in dry areas when they receive higher than average rain - bingo!  CORRECTION:  Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden identified this wild cucumber as Marah macrocarpa, which is also a fast-growing vine with non-edible fruit but it is a California native.

I planted this Isopogon anemonifolius (aka broadleaf drumstick) in 2018.  It hasn't bloomed often and generally produces just a single flower when it does but it looks like it's gearing up for a better year.

Leucospermum 'Goldie' is already producing buds.  It's bloomed as early as late February in some years but March is more common.

Limonium perezii only finished blooming a few months ago and it's already gearing up to do so again.

Seedlings of Nigella, Consolida ajacis (larkspur), Orlaya grandiflora,  Lathyrus annuus (sweet peas), and Anemone coronaria are coming along

The bulbs are rallying too.

The Hippeastrums got off to a slow start but all except 'Estella' have sprouted at last

The Dutch Iris and Freesias throughout the garden have sprouted

The Narcissi are flaunting their foliage and a few flowers

Scilla maderensis (aka Madeiran squill) has sprouted as well but it remains to be seen whether I'll see flowers this year from these 3 bulbs, planted in 2020.  After planting them I learned that it can take up to 4 years for them to bloom.  The best news is that I've avoided sticking a trowel or a shovel through them.  You can find photos of these rare bulbs with amethyst-colored blooms here.

At present, it looks like we're in for a welcome pause between storms.  The rain abated mid-afternoon yesterday and it appears we may be dry until Saturday, with another possible pause on Sunday before still more rain arrives late Sunday continuing into Monday.  If a genie ever offers me a wish, I guess I'd need to carefully outline caveats with respect to rain.  Our seasonal rain total (counted from October 1, 2022) is significantly lower than what's been reported for other parts of the state.  It currently stands at 8.23 inches.


All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

25 comments:

  1. Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice, slow rain once per week? It seems everything has to be extreme these days. I'm happy for your garden but sorry to hear about your roof. --Phillip

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    1. Do you recall the wonderful lyrics of the song 'Camelot'? I wish we could dictate a climate that was "perfect all the year" as envisioned for the mythical land of Camelot. Sadly, climate change is driving most of our climate extremes in California (and much of the world), both extreme drought and the atmospheric rivers we're currently experiencing.

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  2. Hooray for rain, boo for the problems it creates when it doesn't know when to stop. Your comment re genies reminds me of Three Thousand Years of Longing with Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton -- I love a genie movie! Roof stuff is scary to me but you seem very calm so I'll take your cue and not worry too much. I've been thinking of what my leucospermums must be making of all this rain too...

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    1. Ha! I don't think I've ever even heard of that movie but I'll have to watch for it - surely it'll show up on one or another of our streaming services eventually. The roof stuff is frustrating mainly because it's new! My husband is currently convinced that the problem is really with the chimney work done at the same time but I'm not getting up on the roof to check his theory - I'm freaked out enough that he's made half a dozen trips up there. We'll wait until the roofing contractor provides his evaluation before hounding our general contractor about the work his team did on the chimney.

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  3. Oh no, I feel terrible for you! I talked to a neighbor on Sunday, and they have the same problem--one small leak, and they can't pinpoint where the water comes in. So frustrating!

    Our total for the water year starting Oct 1, 2022 is 14.21" according to UC Davis. That's impressive, but I'm ready for a week or two without rain.

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    1. Yes, we'd have to have that imagined genie guarantee suitable pauses between rainstorms - and preferably deliver the rain in slow, steady doses rather than damaging downpours! As it is, I have 4 plastic trugs of water I can't store and that I'm reluctant to distribute in my garden until we dry out a bit - and by the time that happens, 2 more rainstorms will be here. I hope you have no further problems up your way, Gerhard - the loss of that tree was more than enough.

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  4. With so little rain, you rarely have to wonder about the soundness of your roof or chimney until it really gets tested. I hope it isn't a costly fix.
    On the other hand, your garden is clearly singing! Eliza

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    1. The roofing contractor was here late this afternoon with 2 members of his crew and they made 3 minor patches to their original work on the roof around the chimney. It's not clear those areas were the cause of the leaks but they did the work gratis even though the roof's warranty was good for just 2 years (!). My husband is planning to patch some small openings between the rocks in the chimney tomorrow on the theory that they may be a contributing factor and because he found signs they'd been patched before. This is just one of the joys of home ownership I guess, although I can't say we ever had a roof leak in the 20 years we were in our former house.

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  5. There is no accounting for the trouble that water can bring. Too much or too little but plant response is usually immediate to a good rain. And then all of a sudden it is dry again and now too little. I am sorry about your water leak and hope they find it quickly. It can be difficult as water will find a way in and travel quite a distance before it shows up. One of the reasons we were happy to leave our other house was forever walking around looking up after rain. The heart sinking when you saw another leak-sometimes in a new place. It was constant.

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    1. This is the first time in our 30+ years of home ownership that we've had a problem with roof leaks, Jenny, so I guess I should count us lucky. Yes, we're tracing one theory after another in trying to track the source of the leak. It's particularly frustrating because we invested so much time and money in improving the house in 2019, including replacing the roof.

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  6. Echinocystis, not Marah macrocarpa, which is native to So Cal?

    Oy, sorry to see you have a leak. Could be a chimney issue, as you say. Hope you can get it resolved without too much of an ordeal. Hooray for tarps in the meantime.

    That Madeira Scilla looks worth the trying and the waiting. It's a beauty.

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    1. Ah, I think you're right on your ID of the wild cucumber, HB! Echinocystis didn't sound familiar to me when I was looking for an ID but I didn't bother to search my own blog for the previous ID I'd pinned to it. Thanks for the correction!

      We got a little (gratis) help from the roofing contractor this afternoon and our fingers are crossed the small patches done by his crew plus some my husband is planning to make to the chimney will resolve the problem. The fixes will get their first test on Saturday!

      The Scilla's seller claimed the plants were easy to grow but didn't bother to add that the bubs might take 4 years to do anything. I'm excited to see the flowers but resigned to waiting another year or so.

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  7. Oh, I'll bet the garden is just loving this rain. It's so understandable that loads of rain at one time cause issues...even if you wished for rain during the drought. While I've only experienced a serious drought once here in this location, we've had "too much rain" events many times. And family members and friends, unfortunately have had flooding issues. Hope you'll have some breaks in the rain and that the leak will be easy to fix.

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    1. The garage at our former house used to flood (until we got a sump pump to push the water upward to the street) but that was years ago and I'd forgotten all about the downsides rain can have (excluding the mudslides prevalent in burn areas here). Hopefully, we'll have the roof leak resolved by Saturday when the next rain arrives - but we may not.

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  8. Glad the plants are happy and you are safe.

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    1. Thanks for the concern, Linda. We side-stepped the more serious problems others experienced due to floods and mudslides. I can only hope that the next 2 storms cause less harm in the areas at greater risk.

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  9. How funny that your "lace pants" turned out to be "man root"! Have you ever seen/tried a toilet tank sink? Garden looks great; looking forward to seeing the drumstick bloom; and best of luck with the leaks.

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    1. I did see a toilet/sink combo on one or another home design TV show. As I recall, it was used in a powder room setting. I'm not sure how visitors would react to that ;)

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  10. Heavy relentless rain comes with roof leaks. It would keep me restless and sleepless, such is my dread. I understand from reading the comments and your replies that, thankfully, progress was made on that front.
    When reading the post, I was relieved that the photo of wet lumber was followed by "green" garden photos, in the way of sprouting plant. Much better image to imprint on my brain.
    My resident rabbits chomp on new dutch iris shoots. Maybe because the choices are limited in my garden this time of year. Yours seem untouched.
    Chavli

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    1. Oh no! I hope the rabbits here don't go after the Dutch Iris - I have a LOT of those as I seem compelled to add more of the bulbs each year. The resident rabbits have chomped my Freesia foliage, however. I'm waiting to see how that affects flowering. Those critters do seem to be opportunistic with respect to their choices.

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  11. Fingers crossed the work the contractor did and the patches your husband is making do the trick!

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    1. Thanks Loree. As others have commented, finding the source of a roof leak seems to be much harder than I'd expected. It's VERY frustrating! I now have a better understanding why I see so many tarps on roofs.

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  12. Those roof leaks are such a pain -- especially when you can't find the source. I developed a roof leak during a fierce rain and wind storm the Friday of Christmas weekend -- with, of course, no roofers available. Fortunately, it stopped raining, and I was able to get a roofer here the following week. The problem turned out to be a bit of flashing by the chimney that had been dislodged by the wind.

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    1. My husband checked the roof and flashing around our chimney and thought it was solid but we were lucky to get the roofer and his crew back between storms #7 and #8. They did 3 minor touch-ups on their 2019 installation and my husband patched the chimney at the same time. That was followed by another run at repairing the chimney's mortar after storm #9 when the leak surfaced again. Storm #10 was too light to be sure that his latest patches have done the job. The biggest negative here is that my husband keeps climbing up on the roof by himself!

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  13. Still catching up. When we built our last house we had a metal roof. Nice and new ... but a leak in our bedroom. A roof leak specialist came - but ultimately ... someone drilled a hole in the wrong place, carefully capped all the Right screws, but left that Wrong one as a hole.

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