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Hot not a problem for Echinopsis subdenudatum 'Fuzzy Naval'
Summer's real heat finally arrived on the 24th, though this stretch of misery has not been as bad as Anchorage, Alaska (90F), Paris (108F) or Iowa (120F). (120F in Iowa?!?) Now the heat is really here, foliage is bleaching, flowers are shrinking, fading and withering, growth ceases, and the gardener hunts for indoor tasks, after scurrying out at 6:00am to perform emergency spot watering, before the sun hits.
Room repainted, carpet cleaned, furniture cleaned, stuff cleared, donated, recycled...those indoor tasks:
Heat loving plants are fine. Even the recently planted red Pentas, though the foliage is a touch bleached, continues to flower:
The Pentas planted last year and well established, is just fine.
I planted a 'Day of the Dead' Marigold a week ago. Well watered, it takes heat no problem. Hopefully I get flowers out of it. This is an annual.
Salvia 'Waverly' happy and feeding Hummers.
Some plants look all bad, some look bad here and there. Rose 'Lady Emma Hamilton' has flowers and foliage like this:
But a lot of it looks like this:
Three of the six-pack Eustoma are doing this, while the other three died.
The past two days we got some humidity blown in from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. It gave us sticky miserly, gloomy skies, and .1" (2.5mm) of warm rain.
As blooming wanes, the garden begins to develop its overgrown, tired, late summer look
Hydrangea flowers toast.
Raindrops on the pond
I've been watering the volunteer Lavender transplants daily, not so much because the plants need daily water, but because if not done, the soil dries out so much water runs off without penetrating. Daily watering keeps the soil open.
Stay hydrated, little guy!
Watch that asphalt, Jay:
How the weather makes me feel. At 6am I'm like this:
By 9am, this:
Summer veggies are doing well. Fresh homegrown basil soon!
I tried just a few bean plants this year, instead of a massive number that would mean a massive amount of green beans that would overwhelm.
Ornamental, too.
Just a few beans a day, adding up to a couple of small servings a week, has been ideal. Just enough has been just right.
The 'Sungold' tomatoes have been tasty and prolific.
The Valencias have been sublime
Still some beauty here and there. This year, it's not Paris. Or Iowa.
Rose 'Windermere'
Rose 'Young Lycidas'
Dahlia 'Duet'
Rose 'Earth Angel'
Agave 'Snow Glow'
How's your summer this year?
"How's your summer?" Hydrated! We managed to miss the hottest days of the year so far, also the most humid, by gathering at a faraway breezy lake (still pretty hot, but bearable), and returned just at the right time behind a rainy front to be able to open up to a gift from the universe: dry, dry air with nights in the fifties and highs in the low 80s. Mood: Euphoria. Last group of daylilies to bloom are in full cry. Weeding is easy in the springy soil. Even watering is a treat, not having gotten old yet.
ReplyDeleteThe word 'hydrated' was no sooner on the screen than I felt a pang of regret, fearing to jinx away rain for the rest of the season. It's been known to happen. Still reveling in dry air, though, despite normal heat levels returning.
DeleteScrolling through your flower photos, I'm stopped every time by that ultra-voluptuous shot of rose 'Windermere'. It should come with an adult advisory! ;>
That lake getaway sounds lovely. I like breezy. Dry air with nights in the 50's days in the 80's', sounds close to ideal. Most plants are pretty happy with that, and some gardeners.
DeleteWhat has made me feel better is watching 'Shetland' on PBS, the gloom, the rain, the cold, wind, sea, birds...ahhh...
'Windermere' is so photogenic, I think I take basically the same photo over and over again, but enjoy it every time.
Yes, things got nasty this week. We got a half-hour splash of fat rain droplets yesterday morning too, wetting the pavement but not even registering with my roof-top weather system. I used the time to pick a trug-full of lemons but I probably need a couple hours more to make a significant dent in the tree's lemon load. (If we get another horrific heatwave, I know from experience that I'll lose all the fruit in one fell swoop.) The dust from remodel activity in what's currently an open kitchen/dining/living room is settling on all the plants in the surrounding area so I was out late yesterday afternoon hosing plants down so the leaves can breathe. The 6-pack of zinnias I bought when out with you because my seedlings have been taking their own sweet time to flower wither despite daily watering while the well-rooted seedlings are fine so it seems that I just need to exercise patience. Meanwhile, biting and stinging bugs are everywhere!
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole lot of lemons! What type are they?
DeleteI did Zinnia seeds last year and the plants were slow! Fertilizer sped them up a bit.
Our remodel dust chose to stay in the house. That was just as bad! My sympathies on the dust and biting bugs. I spray off the Acer palmatums in hot weather--seems to help them.
Hope you have resolved the roof issue!
There is some uncertainty but Thursday could have been the hottest day ever recorded in the UK if 38.7C (101F) is verified. That is hot for us. Down here in the south west of the country it was almost 10C lower but still hot enough to find a job indoors. No shortage of those..
ReplyDelete101F and Boris Johnson in the same week. Oh, boy.
DeleteSummer here has been so very nice so far. We will have some heat this weekend , but it will cool off at night. I think I have run the A/C maybe 3 times. Still, August is my least favorite month in the garden and it is approaching. I'm going to do my big summer pruning of the roses tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIf it cools off at night I'm okay with heat. Ran the A/C for the first time yesterday. The second week of July to the third week of August is the worst here. September can bring very hot days but it seems to cool off more at night, making early mornings gardenable.
DeleteI have some summer rose pruning to do myself--maybe this coming week will be a little cooler. Good luck with yours!
It has been hot here for the past two days but overall, I have loved the mild weather we've had this summer. My 'Lady Emma Hamilton' looks horrible after being so pretty earlier. I hope that it does a rebound.
ReplyDeleteOur summer was mild too, up until this week. It was a delight.
DeleteHere 'Lady Emma' oscillates between gorgeousness and yuck. I'm tempted to try a different rose in that spot next year.
I love the way you illustrated how you feel in the garden. ha... I could say the same. We had such a wonderful spring and early summer I hate to complain. It has now resorted to its usual late summer drought-like weather and the forecast for the rest of summer is hot and dry. I tried to plant a few native plants that I purchased yesterday and I couldn't get the shovel into the ground in one place where I wanted a grass to grow so I had to choose a different spot for it. We are at the point when I open the door early in the morning to let Annie out you don't get a whiff of fresh air but a snoot full of dry dust. UGH... I hate that but as usual will have to accept it. The few Zinnias and Tithonia that I planted by seed this spring are still hanging in there. I am grateful for that. Watering will be on the agenda for the next month or so.
ReplyDeleteWhen it is so hot I do feel like yesterday's day lily flower. Mushy and droopy and done for.
DeleteIt sounds very hot where you are. Poor Annie having to go outside! She must not like the heat either. My dogs want to come back in quick!
Watering is on the agenda here, that is for sure. I check often for "days until autumn". Today the count is down to 34!
Stay cool and safe.