After the rain

I love the garden after the rain, the plants perk up and look happy and bright. I took the cloches off the melons so they could get some natural water. I have them on mounds with black plastic to keep the weeds down and cloches over them to keep them warm, after three years trying to grow them I hope I've got it right this year. I took the seedlings out of the glasshouse too, a bit of rain will often trigger them to grow. I'm waiting on some Asparagus seed and lemongrass to take off. On the down side the rain sure gets the slugs going, some beautiful " Summer Queen" lettuces are full of them and the strawberries seem to rot quickly when it's been raining. We have a rule here if you're going to eat strawberris or peas you have to weed them as you go. The kids are quick to tell tales on each other if they see someone eating and not weeding. My oldest, 13 spied the strawberry in this photo and said "bags that one", little did he know I'd eaten it not long after I took the photo.