More Rain.

5-29-25 SHORT HILLS: Our trip south was uneventful. The bright sunshine when we left Vermont gradually gave way to clouds, and by evening there was drizzle. The next day it rained steadily, dumping 0.55 inches on top of the 1.2 inches that we got last week. Everything is soggy, and more rain is predicted.

We are both running errands and having medical visits. The sprinkler system is now repaired. We’ll need it when dry July and August come around.

New blooms: peony, tree peony, holly, red spirea. 

Peony. I like the single flower better than the usual many petalled.

Here's the whole plant, doing well in the shade.

Holly tree, female. The green things in the center of each of the small flowers will become a red berry in the fall if they get fertilized by pollen from a male tree. Hence the need for pollinators.

Holly tree, male. The center of the four petaled flower is just a yellow dot, the four stamens have the pollen available for collection by bees or other bugs.

Red spirea looking wet and soggy.