Monday, June 22, 2009

Updates from the Inferno

It was 100 degrees here today, and has been in the upper 90s for the past week. No rain in weeks. Things that never wilt, like shasta daisies and purple coneflowers, are wilting. Just about the only plants that are thriving are eggplant and watermelon.

Here are a few flowers that have survived the inferno so far:
Pink double delight coneflower. I've had this for three years and this is the first year it's growing nicely.
Peruvian daffodils. These are so weird-looking - I love them!
Even zinnias are wilting, but they are resilient and respond well to occasional watering.
Beans and a few berries are the only things I'm harvesting from my garden, though yellow pear tomatoes are close. Fortunately, my friends and family are doing better with their gardens, and sharing the proceeds!
Cooking apples from Mom:
Tomatoes and bell peppers from Dad:
The yellow squash in this pasta I made tonight for dinner came from my friend Pam's garden:
(Tyler Florence's spaghetti w/summer squash recipe)
Between the heat and work, I haven't been playing in the garden much. I try to spend a few minutes every other night watering/weeding/cutting out huge nasty squash vine borers. I've lost a few new perennials to the heat, but most everything I planted this year is still holding on. Of course, it's just June - the hottest months of the year are still to come!

7 comments:

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It does sound hot. I love that coneflower, I've never seen that one before. Hope it cools down.
Looks like you're getting lots of nice produce. The pasta looks sooo good! I think that's one I could get my girls to eat.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

love the Peruvian daffodil too! Hope you get some relief from the heat and lack of rain. Think it is going to be a hot hot summer.

Susie said...

I love the title of your post and couldn't agree more. Yesterday was really tough at work. But then again it seems like it has been tough for several weeks.

Your coneflower is really pretty. Don't think I have seen one like that.

Darla said...

You ain't just a kidding about it being an inferno!

Dirt Princess said...

I love the double coneflower!!! The peruvian lily is great, looks similar to my cahaba lily

Ginger said...

Catherine- That coneflower gets real fluffy in the middle and is so cute! It's a small plant - about a foot tall.

Janet- Rain isn't even in the forecast!!

Susie- I don't envy you working outside these days!

Darla- I couldn't think of a better word!

DP- It does look a lot like your cahaba! I have them planted in full sun and they don't get much water - my kind of plant!

Prairie Chicken... said...

Peruvian daffodil - omg its like a pinwheel.. loves it!