The Garden in the Heat

 
The heat is on this week in the garden with oppressive humidity and temps reaching the 90s. I will then be saying goodbye gradually to some of my spring annuals. This gerber daisy will be staying in shade from midday on to survive.

The calendula is just now blooming. This variety, cantaloupe is my favorite. I will see how long it can last.

The daylilies are native here, and they bloom for about a day and then they are gone, but they are so pretty when they bloom.

 

I have put the daylilies in a native hedgerow where I also grow blackberries, like they grow in the landscape here.    

This daylily is a purchased one that came with the house, and every year when it blooms with this coreopsis, I love how it looks. 

The hydrangea is blooming, and it is gorgeous this year.

The yarrow has bloomed and is a heat lover that will thrive through the summer.

The feverfew is also in bloom. It is not as much a heat lover as yarrow, but it will have a period of blooming right now and be really pretty.

This rudbeckia and hyssop self-sowed and made this beautiful little flower hedge along the margins of the main garden. 

A little cottage fence, added to the garden this year, really makes the rudbeckia look charming. 

The daisies are a favorite also, and they are loving the heat along with the Pow Wow echinacea I grew from seed last year.

The lavender is a heat lover and should continue to bloom and attract the bees! 

These hostas used to be under a tree and enjoyed some shade, but the tree had to be cut down, and they don't have that much shade anymore. Hostas are not extreme heat lovers. I want to try to "save" them this year, so I am trying something new. I have put a shade cloth over them to see if it helps. By August they are usually burnt and way past pretty. 

These containers are filling out and getting so pretty! I will monitor them for stress and move them if they have too much heat.

I will probably have to say goodbye to the pansies soon. They are one of my favorites, but they don't like heat.

I have had success moving the pansies to a place where they get shade from noon on, and they have made it all year in the garden. I will try that again this year.

The tiger lilies are another one of my favorites! I love it when they bloom, and they love the heat but don't last long.

This is one red trailing verbena. It has been the most beautiful verbena I have ever grown, but it wasn't highlighted here on the ground, and I came up with a new spot for it.   

I put it at the top of this container arrangement, and it really made everything look so much better. The photos are gradually being taken with my phone, which really changes the quality of the photo, but you can't get the DSLR camera in the heat. 

This is what I call the little English garden, and I am still enjoying the violas, which are just delightful. They just happen to be beside a snapdragon that, when it bloomed, matched them perfectly. But the violas and snapdragons won't like the heat, so they may not last long. In anticipation of that, this bed is already sown with summer zinnias that will take over when they falter. 

A little bouquet with a mix of late spring flowers and summer flowers. The bachelor buttons will not survive the heat, but the rudbeckia will go a few months and love the heat. How do you understand all of these complicated flower growth habits? With much practice and patience. I often get so excited when my spring flowers are in full bloom in all of their glory and then a heat wave would knock them out. Enjoy every moment and don't stress!

In Victory,
Sherry