Thursday, July 5, 2012

the good, the bad, and the ugly

With the temps here in the 90's - 102F every day and no rain for weeks,
it's been hard to maintain the health of all my outdoor plants and flowers.
Some of my plants are doing well in the heat though, such as this
wild grass plant in front of my house. I have no idea what the
name of this plant is, and I also had no idea that it would sprout
large stalks of flowers after a couple of years!


A close-up of one of the sprouting flowers...isn't that amazing?!


The herbs are loving this heat, especially the cilantro (left).


And the hydrangeas are doing well, as long as I keep them watered.


However, despite every day watering, the fern plant is unhappy...


And so is this basket of petunias.


I moved this basket of flowers into the shade of my front porch a couple of days ago.


And then there's the grass, which is simply like straw. No one is even bothering to
water their lawns anymore.


What's the weather like in your area? If it's been excessively hot, what
are you doing to protect your plants and gardens?


8 comments:

  1. The weather here in San Diego has been very comfortable. Hopefully you're weather will cool down. Love all your photos!


    Jody

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm surprised your flowers are doing as well as they are in this heat. I've lost a few pots but I know it is because I am gone 4 days a week. It has been so hot here, I am hoping the heat wave ends soon. I water the lawn 20 minutes every morning, the part that doesn't get shade. It still looks bad!

    Stay cool!

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  3. That first plant is great. I try to water the plants every evening. But our grass is straw too.
    -

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your flowers are beautiful! We're mostly just keeping weeds alive around here. :-/

    Kelly at View Along the Way
    www.viewalongtheway.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's been a rough garden year for all of us in the drought zone. My poor garden is struggling anyway, then I got laid up with this stupid knee injury and can't even care for it. Brian is a lawn fanatic, but even he has given up on the lawn this year. Yes, the basket of impatiens you moved to the shade should have been there all along! LOL But the petunias might be saved. They need pinching and fertlizing, then they should come back strong in a few weeks. You admired my teacup planter, believe it or not it came from Walmart. But I've seen them everywhere these days. You asked about lavender, it needs full sun and sharp drainage. Did I ever tell you how we hung that planter on the garage? Just drilled it right into the siding! Yes, it made holes, but we don't plan to move it, so who cares?

    ReplyDelete
  6. It has been a struggle keeping things alive in the garden this summer! Next week we're supposed to be back in the high 80's with a chance of afternoon thundershowers so I hope that's true because I'm dreading seeing my next water bill!

    That grass with the flowers is beautiful! I don't know what it is but it's pretty. Some of my petunias have died and the rest I'm trying to baby along. I find in this heat that pots really need to be watered several times a day.

    Can't wait for fall!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That flower is so unusual! I've never seen anything like it. The heat is pretty bad here too. Lots of temps in the 90s which is unusual for us. My flowers are doing well despite it, but the grass is suffering. Your hydrangeas look great. I have one stinkin' bloom on mine...ugh!

    ReplyDelete
  8. oh my goodness I feel your pain, it's Africa hot here!m giggle. It's been in the 90's and 100's too. Are grass is suffering despite regular watering and my herbs ( except for the basil) and some of my flowers are really having a hard time. Love the photos too and that flowering grass is gorgeous xo

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!