Bougainvilleas LOVE the sun! They tend to drop their blooms in shady areas and when they don't get enough water or too much water. Full sun and plenty of regular water. NEVER let your bougainvilleas dry out between watering. Don't drown them either. In other words keep the soil damp- not dry and not soaking wet. Consider the climate you live in...is it humid or is it an arid desert? In the arid Arizona desert you will need a watering system in place where they get water every day or you will need to water them by hand and keep checking the soil to make sure it's damp (my bougainvilleas are in large pots and drain well, so for me, I water them every other day in the warm months and every day in the scorching summer). Trim them periodically to keep their shape. Be patient and your bougainvilleas will reward you! I also prune mine twice a year and they come back abundant and gorgeous again. I like mine a certain size and shape. It's also important to give them proper fertilizer/plant food. Some plants like bougainvilleas are acid loving plants and others are not. You need to feed them the right amount of fertilizer periodically that is specific for acid loving plants. You can always get free advice from your local plant nursery on the right care for your specific plants.

well, here it is 9 days after I first made this post and I've had maybe two days without a torrential downpour. That's the weird part about this, it's not just rain, it's thunder and lightning and walls of rain (and then I'll watch the news and they say there was only half an inch of rain that day!?!). If there's an area of red on the weather radar, guaranteed it's over my house. Sorry to hear of all the things everyone is losing. I have thought of a bright side....we will now have lots of space to fill with new plants and the fall plant sales are around the corner! Helen and Sally, are you still dry? The list is getting longer as more things either turn to mush or a nice shade of yellow. I lost a huge amaryllis nymph bulb that I want to cry about. I was looking out the window and it dawned on me I didn't see the leaves. I go out and it's just a mushy spot in the ground. I'm so mad at myself for not catching that sooner and pulling it. I'm also losing a rosemary bush I've had for over 10 years. The osteospermum, canna and mums are gone as is the sage. Got some sort of problem in the honeysuckle as it's yellowing now. But here's the weird thing...my rain lilies are not blooming! The leaves are above ground and still green, but no flowers. There's a house down the street that has them growing wild in the lawn and theirs aren't flowering either. But on a good note, I've got a really nice patch of some green ground covering weed and lots of brightly colored mushroom and funghi! Lori

Susan, Yes, I plant beets every year. I like them pickled with cinnamon, as small whole baby beets and later when they get bigger, I slice them and pickle them. Yum! Ten times better than the ones you get in jars at the store. Have a very earthy taste that gets processed out of the 'store boughten' ones. Just can't compare. They are easy to grow, too. I like to plant them in 3-4 ft. blocks, but sometimes I just plant them in rows next to the onions. Yes, I have a well. Even with the pump coming on every few seconds, the electric bill for my watering never is more than 5 or 6 bucks and I water plenty. (Sheeesh! Don't tell anyone! They might hike up my rates!) I have a white grape tomato that I bought from a co-vendor at the Stillwater Farmer's Market. It is called, Snow White and it tastes like a grape, I kid you not. They are kind of a creamy white color - just a touch of yellow to the white. really pretty in a bowl with the little red grape tomatoes. Delicious as antipasto and yummy just as a snack. Anyway, I saved some seeds and anxious to grow some this year. I grow several varieties of tomatoes, so I am sure to have gobs of extra tomato plants that I can can bring to Swap. I will have Sweet basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Spicy Globe, Thai & Cinnamon Basils, too. As long as it doesn't drop down into the 20s and last for days, you can cover your plants with sheets and weight them down with small rocks. You can cover them with lots of hay, too, and that works great. Hay is a great insulator. If you want to get really clever, here is one of my methods that works fantastically: Fill black plastic trash bags with leaves or hay. Damp is okay. Tie them shut. Lay these along both sides of your plants, down your rows. Secure them with sticks so they won't blow or roll away in the wind. The black plastic will really warm up the soil around the plants during the day and if it is supposed to get cold at night, you can just throw a sheet or lightweight blanket over the bags of leaves. The bags will keep the blanket off the plants and help hold in the heat. Makes sure that you cover them back up before it gets dark to conserve the heat in the hay or leaves. I have used this method to extend my growing season well into the colder months. I grew green beans all the way into December several normal wintery weather years. In fact, I harvested enough fresh, crisp green beans on Christmas morning one year to feed my entire family that came to dinner! Blah, blah, blah! Nuff said. ~SweetAnnie4u

I winter sowed them sometime around late January this year. It's technically a perennial and will bloom the first year from seed but so many references say "short lived", I wonder if most will end up being annuals for me. The one with tuberlar petals in the first photo was the earliest one to bloom. It started around late May and has been blooming off and on all summer. I have some that don't even have buds yet, but in all fairness, I think those are getting a little too much shade and root competition from my tulip tree. I've seen a lot of good comments from people growing Arizona Apricot so I'm really hoping those come back next year. Mine are still small.