Shooey! Things are struggling around these parts left and right as a result of little rain and relentless scorching days. Parts of our gardens look brittle and brown and crunchy. Also, I seem to have a Death Valley spot under the walnut that won't allow anything to live and it gobbles up otherwise originally happy looking plants and reduces them to wilting, withering, leaf-dropping specimens.
But there are little bits of silver linings!
Zinnias - "Green Envy" is my favorite.
My "stone wall". Actually, it is just a few stones lining a pathway and I plunked flowers down around them. Stone walls are so high dollar, so I pared down the idea significantly. But the flower-stone pairing still does something for me.
My first coneflowers and my first bee balm. Tough botanicals with terrific texture.
My first begonias. Pale green leaves with pale pink flowers that love the shade. What took me so long?
Baby watermelons. So beautiful. That is a little Willa hand, so (to scale) that is a little watermelon. Just in case there is any confusion.
When everything else has had enough, look to the cosmos. No these cosmos (photo above). (Although I do find myself crying to the heavens about garden failures occasionally.)
Sage. Of course, - it hasn't really, really rained, so the sage flourishes. You know, because sage flourishes in places like Texas. And New Mexico.
Sunflowers!! Make that volunteer sunflowers.
A small lavender harvest.
Petunias spilling over a galvanized tin container (panting beagle has been carefully staged to illustrate heat and humidity levels).
I'm also revisiting container gardening in small ways. Where I can control some of the variables. I have big pots of tomatoes, peppers, apple mint and basil on our deck now. The only spot where deer don't roam. Though they seem to be a hair away from gingerly walking up our steps and asking for a handout. And my cold, iced-over gardening heart softens at the thought of their starving bambis. And for a brief, irrational moment, I think, "Have at it, limpid-eyed, woodland creatures. I guess I can always plant more."
But there are little bits of silver linings!
Zinnias - "Green Envy" is my favorite.
My "stone wall". Actually, it is just a few stones lining a pathway and I plunked flowers down around them. Stone walls are so high dollar, so I pared down the idea significantly. But the flower-stone pairing still does something for me.
My first coneflowers and my first bee balm. Tough botanicals with terrific texture.
My first begonias. Pale green leaves with pale pink flowers that love the shade. What took me so long?
Baby watermelons. So beautiful. That is a little Willa hand, so (to scale) that is a little watermelon. Just in case there is any confusion.
When everything else has had enough, look to the cosmos. No these cosmos (photo above). (Although I do find myself crying to the heavens about garden failures occasionally.)
Sage. Of course, - it hasn't really, really rained, so the sage flourishes. You know, because sage flourishes in places like Texas. And New Mexico.
Sunflowers!! Make that volunteer sunflowers.
A small lavender harvest.
Petunias spilling over a galvanized tin container (panting beagle has been carefully staged to illustrate heat and humidity levels).
I'm also revisiting container gardening in small ways. Where I can control some of the variables. I have big pots of tomatoes, peppers, apple mint and basil on our deck now. The only spot where deer don't roam. Though they seem to be a hair away from gingerly walking up our steps and asking for a handout. And my cold, iced-over gardening heart softens at the thought of their starving bambis. And for a brief, irrational moment, I think, "Have at it, limpid-eyed, woodland creatures. I guess I can always plant more."
9 comments:
We have been very hot and dry too this summer. My flowers seem to have peaked way too early and are dying out. It sounds like you still have a lot going on in your garden. Good for you to find so many silver linings. Carla
Hnag in there, we are HOT HOT here as well. I just need to remember the snow storm we had the end of May: http://www.thisgrandmothersgarden.com/2010/05/no-no-no-unbelievable.html
I know what you mean about the dry weather. Part of our garden is under mulch which really helps but still...The thing is that the parts of the garden where the soil has lots of compost etc are not doing to bad but some of it is nearly new ground (second year) so its just clay and stones for the most part.
You won't get anything to grow under a walnut they give off a chemical when rain falls n their leaves that kills anything growing under them.
Hopefully you have been getting some of the summer storms that have been rolling through. Here they have been enough to keep things alive, but not thriving.
We have issues with the squirrels. And they have been knocking on the back door for handouts lately.
Did my sunflowers make it? We have been away on vacation. i will be out this Wednesday to check things out. I'm sorry we haven't gotten together more often, but I would still like to! - Bonnie
What a beautiful garden! I would have loved to walk there, and see all the gorgeous flowers! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for all of the lovely comments!
Maybe we should do a collective, long-distance rain dance?
It worked! We had rain yesterday!
Post a Comment