The front garden is not under irrigation so I spent some time with hose in hand. The sennas are just starting to grow. One of the toughest plants I grow.
I ahd to remove almost all the blanket flowers. They had been attacked by some sap-sucking bug. But ave no doubt that as the weather cools I will begin to see seedlings develop.
This is a garden with little shade. But the sentinel Yucca rostrata does offer a little respite for some plants from the mid-day sun.
Even so the plumbago is bleached out. I am grateful for that little patch of color.
The only other color in the garden is from the Pride of Barbados, Caesalpinia pulcherimma.
There is only a short window in the morning when I can work outside comfortably. Daytime temperatures are starting off at 80° and soon climb above 90° We are in for a full week of temperatures in the triple digits. I set myself a couple of jobs every day but much is left undone. It has taken me a week to getting round to fill up the bird bath. Tomorrow I plan to cut back the roses so that they will bloom again in October.
I have moved many of my cactus and succulents into the shade of the patio, and away from the brutal afternoon sun.
Oof, 9 weeks! I'm about to prepare for 2 weeks and am already daunted by that. After a 'mild' summer, August roars in as per usual around here.
ReplyDeleteI see nothing but a beautiful, lush, Texas garden in these photos.
ReplyDeleteYour Caesalpinia is beautiful but I can imagine the shell-shock you feel as you evaluate the damage done by hot, dry conditions elsewhere in your garden. This morning's newscasts mentioned the terrible heat stretching into Texas and beyond. I hope the Death Star's blast is less intense than forecast. Although our summer has been downright moderate by comparison thus far, I've gotten little done but basic maintenance myself. The bigger projects on my docket will have to wait until summer is more comfortably behind us.
ReplyDeleteWhat Loree said. I don't see a burned up landscape. You work wonders with your setting. Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteIt’s easy to take photos that hide the bad bits and of course I have removed 12 bins of dried out plants.
DeleteYour garden looks quite restful. Too much colour in the heat can be draining though the Pride of Barbados looks stunning. Hard to compare your Texas garden with England. Bet the English gardeners would be quite envious of what you can grow.
ReplyDeleteI just returned from Scotland and seeing a couple of lovely gardens. Very different gardening there. And I had moment of total envy. But then I remind myself that I have almost 11 months of gardening (of some sort) while they only get a few.... And seriously... your garden looks really good for August!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back home. It's hard to be a traveler and gardener but I can't imagine giving up either. We only took off for a week and my garden struggled. Now we'll just hunker down and try to keep things alive until the weather cools.
ReplyDelete