one man’s obsession with Mediterranean Climate Gardening
  • Home
  • About
  • My Garden
  • Random
  • Contact
  • PALMS
  • CYCADS
  • SUCCULENTS
  • FLOWERING PLANTS
  • LANDSCAPING
  • Reviews
  • TOURS
  • HODGEPODGE

A closeup view of a Southern California rainy day garden

A rainy day garden: often a curse in the tropics, but a rare treat in Southern California. I can honestly tell you that I have never said, “Oh, darn. It’s going to rain” while I have had my garden here in Vista, California. If you do not live in a low-rainfall Mediterranean climate, you can not really understand why rain is such a celebrated event here for us fellow gardeners. To help my readers understand more, please reference the table below.

  CLIMATE   Vista, California   United States
  Rainfall (in.)       14.1      39.2
  Snowfall (in.)       0      25.8
  Precipitation Days       35      102
  Sunny Days       258      205
  Avg. July High       77.8      86.1
  Avg. Jan. Low       45.9      22.6
  Comfort Index (higher=better)       82      54
  UV Index       5.9      4.3
  Elevation ft.       428      1,443

The graph really helps drive home the reason why I love living in our “climatic wonderland” of Vista, California. It also helps explain why tourists flock here from around the world. Looking closely at the table above, two things need to be pointed out. 1) On average, there are 258 sunny days per year in Vista, California, while the average for the USA is 205 days. This means we have close to 20% more sunny days than the rest of the USA when averaged. 2) Average rainfall is 14.1 inches versus 39.2 inches for the USA. This means, on average in the USA, you get almost three times the amount of rain we do. That is a lot of sun and not a lot of rain for us here in Vista. So when the sky is dark and the rain is coming down, it really is a time to celebrate your Southern California rainy day garden.

In a continuing effort to show my affection towards the magical properties of rainwater, I thought I would post some closeups of various plants holding onto to raindrops. I don’t yet have a macro lens (hopefully a birthday present from the wife; hint, hint), so these pictures were all taken with my 24-70 mm lens.

First up really isn’t a close up. However, I had to post a photograph of crotons showing off their reds brilliantly under wet, cloudy lighting.

Rainy Day Patio Plants

Aloe marlothii close to putting on a flowering show. The hill getting drenched in rain behind the Aloe marlothii is the garden of the late Mardy Darien.

Rainy Day Aloe marlothii

Agave macroacantha ‘Blue Ribbon.’

Rainy Day Agave macroacantha 'Blue Ribbon'

Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop.’ All the rains have made this guy too happy. The usual dark purple coloration is being replaced with a lighter purple with a rosette that is fully opened up. Once the winter rains stop and summer heat arrives, Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’ will darken again and shrink down some.

Rainy Day Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'

Aloe capitata flower.

Rainy Day Aloe capitata Flower

Variegated leaf on a Bird Of Paradise (Stelitzia reginae).

Rainy Day Variegated Leaf of Bird Of Paradise

Dypsis prestoniana loves all the rain we have been receiving this winter in Southern California.

Rainy Day Dypsis prestoniana Leaves

Dudleya brittonii with emerging flower stalks.

Rainy Day Dudleya brittonii

The blue leaf of a Cycas thouarsii x cairnsiana.

Rainy Day Cycas thouarsii x cairnsiana

The only water my Aloe pearsonii gets is water from the sky. So it is soaking in as much as it can get this winter.

Rainy Day Aloe pearsonii

Euphorbia obesa var symmetrica in a beautiful Chingwen Chen pot.

Rainy Day Euphorbia obesa var symmetrica

Aechmea ‘Alvarez’ has turned out to be a great outdoor bromeliad for Southern California. I love the colors in winter.

Rainy Day Aechmea 'Alvarez' Leaf

My new Skotak creation called Neoregelia ‘Cantankerous’ loves having its cup filled with rain water.

Rainy Day Neoregelia 'Cantankerous'

Same with my Neoregelia ‘Picasso’ that is in flower.

Rainy Day Neoregelia 'Picasso' Flower

Hibiscus ‘Rum Runner’ showing off its winter colors.

Rainy Day Hibiscus Flower

Ficus dammaropsis opening a new leaf in the rain.

Rainy Day Ficus dammaropsis Leaf

Fully opened Encephalartos whitelockii male cone.

Rainy Day Encephalartos whitelockii Male Cone

Unknown Aechmea flower.

Rainy Day Aechmea flower

Bird of Paradise (Stelitzia reginae) flower.

Rainy Day Flower of Bird Of Paradise

Crassula clavata turning green from the smaller amounts of sun but greater increase in water that winter has brought it.

Rainy Day Crassula clavata

Nothing screams tropical like the rain bouncing off a big-leafed Anthurium.

Rainy Day Unknown Anthurium Leaf

I love taking pictures of aloe flowers after a rain. This is Aloe aculeata.

Rainy Day Aloe aculeata Flower

Agave vaombe flowers against a stormy background.

Rainy Day Agave vaombe

One of my Ti Plant (Cordyline fruticosa) leaves holding rain drops.

Rainy Day Ti Palnt Leaf

Many of the rocks in my garden show best when wet.

Rainy Day Wet Rock

To close out this blog post I just had to show this photo of the Balinese Goddess “Dewi Sri” holding a camellia flower. My 8-year-old daughter places a flower in her hands almost every day. In winter it is usually camellias, and in spring through fall, it is hibiscus flowers. I will miss the days when my daughter outgrows the cute little things she does around my garden like this.

Rainy Day Bali Statue with Camellia Flower

While that might be it for the pictures in this post, it certainly isn’t the last of the rains. I just read that we are expecting another pineapple express rain event next week. I haven’t had my irrigation on since early November. Looks like I will get through February without irrigation. At the very least. What a great year for rainy day garden lovers in Southern California.

Related posts:

  1. 20 late afternoon garden photos
  2. Tour of Gardens by the Bay in Singapore
  3. The amazing plants of Nong Nooch Gardens
  4. Massive Garden Project Update #1

Tagged: Agaves, Aloes, Bromeliads, Cactus, Cycads, Dypsis, Flowering Perennials, Flowering Shrubs, Garden Art, Hibiscus, Palm Trees, Tropical Plants, Weather

February 9, 2017

Comments

  1. Greg Stewart says

    February 12, 2017 at 9:49 PM

    Great photos. I love doing the same thing around my garden in this rainy season we are having in So Cal. However, I’m not the photographer you are. Nor the Gardner for that matter. But nonetheless I enjoy it.

    Reply
    • Len Geiger says

      February 12, 2017 at 9:56 PM

      Thanks for reading Greg.

      Reply
  2. Ross says

    February 17, 2017 at 3:50 PM

    Great to hear your finally getting some real rain in SoCal. I imagine it’s too early to call it drought busting, but it does quicken the pulse when the garden responds so lovingly. Nice pics too Len.

    Reply
  3. Pando says

    February 22, 2017 at 12:39 PM

    As always, beautiful pictures of a beautiful garden. I always enjoy reading your posts, Len.

    Reply
    • Len Geiger says

      February 22, 2017 at 12:43 PM

      Thanks Ando. Hope all is well with you.

      Reply

Comments: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

  1. 20 late afternoon garden photos
  2. Tour of Gardens by the Bay in Singapore
  3. The amazing plants of Nong Nooch Gardens
  4. Massive Garden Project Update #1

Archives

TAGS

Agaves Aloes Botanical Garden Bromeliads Cactus Cycads Dypsis Echeveria Epiphytes Euphorbia Fertilizing Flowering Perennials Flowering Shrubs Flowering Trees Fragrance Fruit Trees Fungus Garden Art Gardening Tips Germination Greenhouse Hibiscus Hiking Landscape Madagascar Mexico New Caledonia Orchids Palm Trees Plant Removal Potting Soil Propagation Rancho Soledad Nursery Rants Rock Garden South Africa Southeast Asia Thailand Transplanting Travel Tropical Plants Variegation Water Wise Weather Wildlife

Get The Latest

Keep up with the latest gardening news from Married To Plants.


CATEGORIES

  • Palms
  • Cycads
  • Succulents
  • Flowering Plants
  • Landscaping
  • Reviews
  • Tours
  • Hodgepodge

CONNECT

  • Contact



  • © 2025 Married To Plants. All Rights Reserved.