Glorious Morning

It's inspiring to sit outside this morning, in an incredibly comfortable adirondack chair (www.kcadirondack.com) and enjoy a slight coolness after such a hot stretch. The gardens are looking beautiful so it's a great view. I am sitting with my cat Zoe on my lap (that never happens - it must be a magical morning) and trying different settings on my camera to see which will give me the best depiction of the garden view. The first here is the auto setting. I then tried foliage and backlighting.


As for my garden, I had to remove the last lobelia plant. They all have expired now. Such a shame because I do love that color. I also had to remove a couple of dead periwinkles, which surprised me because they are usually sturdy choices. I have to say that the various begonias are winning so far.

Feeding

I am not as conscientious a gardener when it gets hot and mosquitos get busy. However, this year I am trying to be more kind to my flowers. As part of that commitment, I also am on a schedule to feed my plants every two weeks to see if that makes a difference. Despite the heat and humidity already this morning, I fed every pot and all the bedding plants. I expect to see the most difference in the bedding plants as many of the containers already have slow release plant food in them. As part of my effort, I also am trying a different fertilizer - Miracle Gro for Blooming plants. The spring planted violets are done now. They lasted a long time, though, due to the cool, wet weather. I already had placed new plants next to them in the pots to smooth the transition.

Tiny Holes

Once again, tiny holes are appearing all over my hosta leaves. I thought it might be slugs but I put out my anti-slug stuff and that doesn't seem to have had an effect. I never see the creature but it doesn't enhance the beauty of my hostas. So far, all the hostas are thriving. I am giving a little TLC to a couple of them. One that was robust last year has about 4 tiny leaves and I am trying to encourage it back to health. It was suggested that it might be having to work too hard to get moisture as it is under a large tree so I am giving it supplemental water. But really, after the first year I was hoping hostas would be virtually maintenance free. So holes and thirst? I have been misinformed, I believe. However, as they are pretty and good plants for shade, I will continue to nurture them.

Scorching!

I have had to water pots in the morning and the evening as we continue to teeter around the 100 degree mark. Most things recover with watering. I think the Lobelia have cried "uncle." They are such a beautiful blue but the tiny flowers do not like the heat. I admire anyone who can keep them thriving in this heat. But the good news is that so far, they are the only casualty. Obviously the impatiens are stressed but I went light on them this year so fewer to baby. And if these temperatures are any indication, I am glad I did.

The smartpot plants are doing quite well. They are planted with Moonflowers and I am excited by the idea of keeping them thriving to bloom time. Something that hasn't happened the last several years. I love the big white blooms in the twilight and the fragrance.

Challenging Heat

With temperatures in the high 90s this week, my garden will get a real test. So far the begonias - both Dragon Wing and the basic bedding variety (I probably should find a better description) are holding their own. After careful consideration, the two varieties make up the bulk of my planting. I have a few impatiens in pots and some dianthus scattered in the beds. I am pleased with the look of the newly renovated bed in the yard so far but it needs to fill in more. The lilies we planted are barely out of the ground. In another year, they likely will be in full bloom at this point.

I am very disappointed so far with the cannas. Those started from tubers are barely up. They ones I bought already at prime size are holding up well in the pots.

Coming next, an update on the pots.