It’s a cool night, and the frogs are in full voice down at the creek. The rustlings outside remind me that the deer and fox are roaming as I work, and I’m reveling in having the doors and windows open. We’ve had several days in a row of hot and humid weather…highs in the upper 90s and nary a breath of air. It’s perfectly fitting to say that this coolth is a “blessed” relief!
Certainly, the flowers do better too in cooler weather. I’ve put in some annuals, and it’s best if they can have some cloudy, cool days while they get to the business of establishing roots. My friend Sydney Edison actually has a series of boxes and umbrellas that she can set over the new plantings around the garden if it’s too hot after she installs new annuals.
And the perennials seem to rush through their performance for the year, if it’s too hot. My foxgloves peaked just at the time of the heat, and while the top bloom emerges beautifully, the bottom bloom is simply fried.
I’ve been touring gardens, and the “linger-longer” cool provides a spread-out-and-enjoy attitude……while still needing my straw hat for protection.
Shortly, we’ll be in the midst of that relentless heat and drought time that we convince ourselves will not come “this year!” Mower blades will have to be raised, newbie-plants will have to have special-drink-care until roots are established, and we need to take stock of whether we have a goodly inventory of drought-tolerant plants in the beds. Wholesale watering cannot be the answer to getting through this time.
Some annuals that can make it through the tough times are: Burning bush (Kochia), Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia), Dusty Miller (Senecio), Four O’clock (Mirabilis), Gazania, Jacob’s Coat (Amaranthus), Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus), Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia), Rose Moss (Portulaca), Salvia (S. farinacea), Snow-on-the-Mountain (Euphorbia), and Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia)
Perennials that are tough are: Basket-of-Gold (Aurinia), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Blanket Flower (Gaillardia), Butterfly/milkweed flower (Asclepias), Daylily (Hemerocallis), False Indigo (Baptisia), Fleabane (Erigeron), Gayfeather (Liatris), Goldenrod (Solidago), Iris, Sage (Salvia), Sedum, Silver Mound (Artemisia), Spanish Bayonet (Yucca), Spurge (Euphorbia), Stonecrop (Sedum), Tickseed (Coreopsis), Torch Lily (Kniphofia), and the Yarrows (Achillea).
It’s a good time to pick up some of these and get’em established and in fighting shape before the onslaught of serious heat.
Certainly, the flowers do better too in cooler weather. I’ve put in some annuals, and it’s best if they can have some cloudy, cool days while they get to the business of establishing roots. My friend Sydney Edison actually has a series of boxes and umbrellas that she can set over the new plantings around the garden if it’s too hot after she installs new annuals.And the perennials seem to rush through their performance for the year, if it’s too hot. My foxgloves peaked just at the time of the heat, and while the top bloom emerges beautifully, the bottom bloom is simply fried.
I’ve been touring gardens, and the “linger-longer” cool provides a spread-out-and-enjoy attitude……while still needing my straw hat for protection.
Shortly, we’ll be in the midst of that relentless heat and drought time that we convince ourselves will not come “this year!” Mower blades will have to be raised, newbie-plants will have to have special-drink-care until roots are established, and we need to take stock of whether we have a goodly inventory of drought-tolerant plants in the beds. Wholesale watering cannot be the answer to getting through this time.
Some annuals that can make it through the tough times are: Burning bush (Kochia), Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia), Dusty Miller (Senecio), Four O’clock (Mirabilis), Gazania, Jacob’s Coat (Amaranthus), Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus), Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia), Rose Moss (Portulaca), Salvia (S. farinacea), Snow-on-the-Mountain (Euphorbia), and Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia)
Perennials that are tough are: Basket-of-Gold (Aurinia), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Blanket Flower (Gaillardia), Butterfly/milkweed flower (Asclepias), Daylily (Hemerocallis), False Indigo (Baptisia), Fleabane (Erigeron), Gayfeather (Liatris), Goldenrod (Solidago), Iris, Sage (Salvia), Sedum, Silver Mound (Artemisia), Spanish Bayonet (Yucca), Spurge (Euphorbia), Stonecrop (Sedum), Tickseed (Coreopsis), Torch Lily (Kniphofia), and the Yarrows (Achillea).It’s a good time to pick up some of these and get’em established and in fighting shape before the onslaught of serious heat.
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