July in the Front Range

This month we’ve had lots of rain for the past three weeks almost every afternoon. We live in a high arid desert area so seeing green instead of rock, pine needles, and dirt is not the norm. Neighbors say a decade ago wet summers sometimes happened, but they don’t remember a summer like this in the near past.

The Rocky Mountain Raspberry bushes that grow throughout our yard look better this year because of the rain. The white flowers, five petals with yellow stamens, lasted longer. When the heat takes over the shrub looks spindly and sick, but in truth that is just how this raspberry looks. The branches split easily, the bark chips, and the fruit is small and doesn’t taste good.

The beauty of many of the plants in our yard is knowing they grow among rocks and soil that few plants would tolerate. They appear quickly with rain and hang out as long as possible. They add color to a landscape that it 99% brown and green.