A previous response addresses this problem very well. We are not only hot in West Texas, but very dry as well. A deep mulch is essential. Drip irrigation is not only efficient, but cost effective in terms of saving water while watering deeply. Find out which vegetables can thrive in your conditions and you should be able to garden very effectively. In Texas, the optimal gardening season is autumn. Many wonderful vegetables grow their best then. A lot of your languishing summer crops will also come to life and begin producing as the weather cools. Don't miss out on this lovely time of year to garden. Here is a link that might be useful: In the Charamon Garden

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My shasta daisies, columbine, daylilies, iris, lilies, sedums, mock orange, forsythia, crepe myrtles, beauty bush and sunflowers bloomed nicely. Out of about 10 cannas I only had 3 to bloom and two of them only put on one bloom session. I was really hoping to get a good showing from them this year. Speaking of deer, they eat the tops off my lilies, every cone flower I have ever planted and my salvias. The rabbits eat all the leaves off the daylilies for awhile but when the grass grows better they stop so the d/l still bloom. I do think it slows down their multiplying though. Ya'll's pics are lovely! I grow dianthus firewitch, siberian blues and several others without names. They've come back for about 5 years now and I don't think the unknowns are supposed to be perennials. ;-) Nancy

Dave: I don't worry about it. I use larger pots(even black) just because I know our season will outgrow the traditional 5 gallon. When the heat picks up, I just shade the black containers with a piece of plywood or something. When it really starts to scorch, 95F is the number to try stay below for extended periods. That's when flowers will shut down. But it's all about the soil temps, so regulate! For in-ground, MULCH! For containers, lift off ground, shield containers, and shade cloth (or partial shade/patio) during the hottest parts of the day. I'm inland San Diego and my plants never skip a beat even during the heat. Kevin