Floppies

I'm not talking floppy discs here (does anyone still use them or even remember what they are?) but floppy plants.
How do you define "floppy"? The dictionary tells us it's "soft and not able to keep a firm shape or position/ soft and flexible "
Some plants are supposed to be less straight-laced than others but when they start to sprawl action has to be taken.

Most things in the garden had spread somewhat by this time in the season but visitors were still able to get along the path without tripping over lots of greenery or being hit in the eye by a stray branch.That's an achievement....

Then two days ago it rained heavily. Yesterday was the same. This photo was taken yesterday morning. Things didn't look too bad even then, although everything was slightly wet and droopy.

Then by today (the sun actually came out hooray), I found some of the plants looking a bit the worse for wear, such as these pots of pelargoniums and surfinia petunias

Something you should know about our garden is it's densely packed with plants and they sort of hold each other up... so when one gets flattened there tends to be a domino effect......

If not caught quickly enough vertical plants end up in a horizontal position and then flower stems start to grow again in a different direction. So when I go to rescue them and try to stand the plant up by whatever means at my disposal the flower spike has begun to  grow at 45 degrees and looks distinctly odd. Here's a good example: Crocosmia rosea . It is a plant that nearly always flops even before a shower but I never remember to prop it up until it's too late. 

Not all is untouched by man (or woman) some strategic supports are put in place early in the season. These usually consist of a length of mild steel bent into a loop with two legs. It can then be pushed into the border as things grow and lessens damage to all manner of plants. It also stops them from straggling all over the path.

This is the ideal scenario but as ever I don't always have enough supports or am only reminded when I see a plant in a prostrate position.
The support in the next photo was hastily pushed in to keep the C. Lucifer upright but usually they are not as noticeable. The Peony "Jan van Leeuw" would have been in an ungainly heap by now if it hadn't had the metal rod holding it up.

One other major piece of support is for climbers and is placed along the wall of the garden. These are ingenious (thought of by P) as they are made of mesh usually used by builders to reinforce floors.
They are not too expensive, last for ages and have a rusty patina which blends in with the red stone of the wall. This mesh is supporting the rambling rose "Sailor"

The other place that I have used supports is with the bamboo. These metal rods tend not to be big or strong enough for this job so they are combined with bamboo stakes (from our own bamboo patch. I love to reuse!) which holds everything up most of the time.

 Another consequence of rain is the growth spurt put on by some plants. This bamboo spike is about nine feet tall and as thick as my thumb. I don't remember seeing it a couple of days ago...

Alan's (It's not work it's gardening)  root pruning advice may be needed sooner rather than later.

Lastly we have the grasses. Stipa gigantea in particular is bowed under the weight of the rain. Even if I give it a shoogle to get rid of some of the water it still stays stubbornly bowed. Supports or tying up with string always look horrendous with clump forming grasses. So I'm inclined to leave it until the arching plumes are past their best (walked on, broken and totally flattened) and then cut them back.

I do remember visiting a garden once on a windy site. The stipa was tied up in a bunch with string. The owner informed me that she always did that because it got bashed by the wind. Perhaps she should have moved it....