Despite intense heat, the Cosmos continued
Sunday's temperatures
At last, cooler weather. Enough complaining about the weather. The house is cleaner than it's been for a while because I was stuck indoors for days.
High for the month of September (hit last Friday):
Bad timing for rose 'Drop Dead Red', which produced a big flush precisely when extreme heat could ruin it:
At least the plant itself looks fine. There will be other flushes.
Three good things, despite the heatwave, besides the heat wave being over.
#1. Home grown 'Suffolk Red' grapes!
#2. Aloe reitzii flowers herald the end of summer.
There they are!
#3. Ditto for Drimia maritimas.
One of the bulbs at the top of the front bank, with an emerging flower stem.
Leaves will appear some weeks after the flowers are finished.
Okay, one more, extra good thing...
How's your weather these days?
I'm glad you posted as I was concerned about whether the latest SoCal wildfire might be a little too close to you - I'm assuming no mention means it's not! I was surprised to get a bearded Iris bloom right at the start of the heatwave, which I promptly cut for a vase as I figured there was no way its buds wouldn't shrivel in the intense heat (although we topped out at 108F, not 112F!). I took my camera out this morning to survey the lost and injured in the garden and, because the temperatures were in the reasonably comfortable range, I ended up spending a few hours working on my cleanup.
ReplyDeleteI'm heartened by your Drimia blooms - I'd assumed mine would bloom in August, if at all. I'll check for signs of flowers later today or tomorrow morning (to minimize the possibility of encounters with the dreaded fire ants).
The smoke (and fire) all went southeast of us. We were lucky.
DeleteI was able to get back out in the garden also--happy to be out there again.
Be careful of those nasty ants!
That is hot, hot, hot! No, we rarely get above 100...although when we do get above 90, there's usually terrible humidity which makes it feel worse. Lately, we're in the mid-80s and dry, so it's not bad at all (IMHO). I love 70s-80s. Your plants look like they came through OK. Even 'Drop Dead Red' looks great considering the extreme heat. Yum--grapes! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt was bad here. We have not had much over 90 the previous two summers. This was a bad one though it could have been far worse. Plants are pretty good--two wet winters really helped.
DeleteThe grapes are fun. They were also incredibly easy (except for the mandatory critter protection).
Oh, those grapes sound delicious. My Drimias are putting out leaves now, I must have offended them this year. Gorgeous iris, isn't the cool off wonderful?
ReplyDeleteMy Drimias don't flower every year--they do what they want. Yes, cooler weather--heavenly!
DeleteCooler here too ! Hope the smoke is downwind of you . Everytime you post about Drimia maritimas I think I should have one. I'm not sure how it would fare in winter -and of course where would I put it ?
ReplyDeleteAll the smoke went southeast of us, although we could smell it faintly this morning when the marine layer pulled some of it our way. Marine layer is back, wheee!!!!
DeleteDrimia winter hardiness 20-25F, so maybe not?
So many good things to note when the heat departs! Big exhalation from the garden, the gardener -- glad you weren't impacted by the "Airport" fire. I'm assuming that's Dasylirion longissimum with your drimia, so good together. Enjoy the respite, hopefully that'll be the last of the extreme heat this year.
ReplyDeleteMuch cooler the past few days--can garden again. Yes D. longissimum. They do make a good pair.
DeleteMy favorite thing about hot weather like that is when it is finally gone. 112 is too much. Our weather has suddenly turned cooler. A relief. But that means I need to get cracking on finishing up any "summer" chores if they are going to get done. The Drimia is an unusual looking thing. I like the way the neck crooks around.
ReplyDeleteCooler the past few days, thankfully. Lots of things to get cracking on in the garden here, too.
DeleteThe Drimia flower stalks will bend this way and that for reasons only they know. Sometimes they change daily. They are fun to watch.