Dramatic light after rain and hail

“April weather, rain and sunshine, both together,” that's how an old English country saying goes. And that's what we had yesterday afternoon (March 10, 2021) even though April is still a few weeks ago. 

Not only rain and sunshine, but hail as well. Pelting down on the roof, it sounded worse than it actually was, but Woodland, the closest town to the north of Davis, got so much of it, it looked like a blanket of fresh snow. I'm grateful we were spared because hail can disfigure soft-leaved succulents like nothing else. I'll know soon enough if our plants sustained any damage.

After the rain had stopped, the clouds to the west parted enough for a brief but brilliant display of sunshine, made even more dramatic by the dark clouds to the east. I quickly snapped these photos of the streetside plantings because everything looked so clean and vibrant.

Aloe marlothii is still in full bloom

The newly planted corner

Aloe 'Tangerine' (with ×Mangave 'Mayan Queen')

Drimia maritima and Echeveria characias 'Tasmanian Tiger'

Looking east

Aloe 'Moonglow' (and Yucca rostrata and Agave americana 'Mediopicta Alba')

Aloe wickensii (and Agave ovatifolia)

I'm really happy with how this bed looks this winter

Looking west. The white-flowering mound in the photo on the left is a Moroccan daisy (formerly Rhodanthemum hosmariense, now Pyrethropsis hosmariense)

Aloe 'Erik the Red' is the star of the show with its tall redREDRED flower spikes

① Aloe 'Erik the Red',  ② Aloe spectabilis × vaombe,  ③ Aloe globuligemma,  ④ Aloe beetsilensis× striata,  ⑤ Agave wocomahi,  ⑥ Agave sebastiana,   ⑦ Agave palmeri 'Dwarf Form (Sonoita),  ⑧ Aloe dawei 'Yellow Form',  ⑨ Aloe capitata var. quartziticola,  ⑩ Aloe chabaudii,  ⑪ Yucca 'Bright Star',  ⑫ ×Mangave 'Kaleidoscope'

Aloe capitata var. quartziticola

Looking east, with the sunlight fading

Yesterday's rain came in bursts so it was hard to judge how much we actually got. According to the UC Davis weather station, it was 0.27 inches—not all that impressive, but at this point I'm grateful for every drop. In our summer-dry climate, this is the time of year when plants need to get fat and happy so they can sail through the long rain-free summer.

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