Hi ellenrr!! Glad to hear you're managing to survive this awful heat. It's supposed to hit 101 here today and there's no rain in the forecast. Like you, I've been watering deeply--I use recycled milk & cat litter jugs with pinholes poked an inch from the bottom. I set them close to my plants, fill them with the hose and let the water come out the pinhole in a thin stream right at the base of the plants. So far everything appears to be coping well with the intense heat, even the astilbe & hydrangea. They survived last year's drought and we had a very wet spring so they at least didn't start the season with a water deficit.

I got pink salvia in a trade that I WS last year but it was marked annual so I was surprised it came up again this year. It's small but very pretty.

The only WS foxglove that survived was in a pot that I set in the ground last fall--the others must have succumbed to crown rot. I may try those again this coming winter as they never grew the second season so they didn't bloom. My lupines put on an amazing display this year so I'll definitely add those to my WS list again.

The white turtlehead I WS last year is up and grew quickly to 2 1/2 ft. tall. Buds are beginning to form so I'm really looking forward to them blooming this year.

People walking by are beginning to stop and tell me how lovely the garden looks these days and others turn to look as they pass by. There's not a doubt in my mind it's thanks to seed trading and winter sowing.

It's been very hot and we haven't had measurable rain in several weeks. I am watering daily, but water a different garden each day. I am hoping we get some rain, because watering with municipal water doesn't make the plants as happy or pretty as rain. I am still planting out and potting a few seedlings so of course they need watering almost daily at first.

Many blooms starting on the WS plants and it's so exciting! Melampodium, Petunias, Salvia 'Lady in Red' and 'Coral Nymph', Lavatera trimestris "pink beauty', Alyssum 'Carpet of snow', Dill, and tomatoes.

Ellenr, if your Foxglove was sown this Spring, then it will probably make a big clump of foliage this year, and bloom next Spring. Apparently a few varieties can bloom a little the first year such as Camelot. I sowed seeds from Swallowtail, and they are putting on size. I wonder if they will bloom a little this year?! :)

Gardenweed, the first time I WS Digitalis purpurea they became big gorgeous clumps of foliage and I was so looking forward to extravagent blooms. Then most of the plants succumbed to crown rot over the winter. They were in a lasagne bed and it was too rich! Now I have them in better drained soil, almost gravelly in one patch, and they're doing great.

My plants are managing well, some of the shrubs are a tad wilty at midday, but otherwise all is well. And that is because after I transplant and the plants are established I taper back on the watering until all they get is what Ma Nature gives them. I call it 'willful neglect'. I have no desire to tend the ornamental beds and borders beyond some weeding soon after planting. The tomatoes are doing amazingly well, and I think it's because I don't fuss over them. During the drought they get an overnight watering once a week but that's it. Thrive or die and not too much, if anything, has died because of the heat and drought.

doing ok here. I have a couple water loving plants, I put them next to the sump pump outlet, since the ac drains into the sump, they get plenty of water. I chose drought/heat tolerant stuff for the rest and they're hanging in there.

Garden is doing terrible! Way to hot here in MO. Everything is dying but the weeds! They are doing great but it's too hot to pull them. Have had heat indexes over 100 going on two weeks. I am only watering the upper part of the garden as that is where the tomatoes are.

Something has eaten off every leaf on my hollyhocks. The only thing left after the heat are the seed pods. It looks really strange.

I'm having trouble with the Bee Balm Impatients, Sunflowers that are in a plastic raised bed, and the Moonflowers that are growing within a tire. They need watering every other day. Between Air Conditioner and Watering, I got Electric Bill Anxiety.

The Annuals and roses love this heat.

Wellllllllllllll,I still have not planted all my WSed containers, it has been so hot, I have been staying in.I keep them all well watered,and in the shade,just waiting for a break from this heat,if I have to wait til fall to plant,then I will,so many have bloomed in the milk jugs, very small flowers,they look like mini's,ha ha,but,a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.Coming into canning season,so I may have to wait for fall.I'm ok with that.
cAROL

Most OK, a few not so hot. My old hosta that was looking so good earlier this month is not looking too good now. It has flowered and is dying/drying up.

Am I a terrible gardener-mother if I say I'm not going to worry about it?

PV

I've lost a good deal of the poppies, blooms rot before they can open. The heat/humidity has done a number on what little I was able to plant. :( Calendula Off. Didn't even come up for me this yr. Was terribly bummed about that one. I was so looking forward to that! Ah well. The one surprise I did get was a few poppies turned out to be White ones. It was a butterfly or hummingbird mix I sprinkled in a cruddy spot.

I hope the Lantana I planted comes back next yr. My day lilies that got transplanted from a neighbors yard bloomed even though the outer leaves withered. I'm currently waiting on the morning glories to bloom. My Fireworks Clem had one bloom that was unopened when I purchased it, it opened, so I was excited about that. :D

Veggies I'm having to water every other day, just to keep them from wilting on me. Potted flowers, I have begonias doing pretty good. Looks like I have pods on the pinks and hopefully soon on the reds. I also have a few young maple trees(neighbor dug them up and gave them to me) Not sure what they are, but they are doing better now.

Next year I will have far more things planted, winter sowing things and sowing things here shortly to get an earlier start on them. As well as putting things into the ground in the fall. I pray good blessings on each and every one of your gardens this year and next!

~Tina Marie

I'm not watering anything, didn't even drag out the hoses from the basement. The only thing I've lost are one clump of Rudbeckia. If they were first-year plants, I would have to water some.

I'm watering what I still plan to set out that are in containers, too hot to dig.

I have some real dry spots where I have my flowers, and everything has done ok with no supplemental water. Finally it rained. Now the Mississippi will flood starting tomorrow for the 3rd time this year from the deluge they got in Dubuque. And this is Bix weekend and RAGBRAI ends here, the city did some hasty rerouting for the RAGBRAI riders but don't expect any effect on the Bix.

My poppies did fine in the dry soil where they are, the purple ones, but they flower pretty early and go to seed fairly quickly before it got really hot. I think a few things would have done better if I'd fed and watered.

I've let my lilies go too long in the same plot and only got a top flower so I have to get those out of there in the fall, don't know if I should start with fresh ones or not.

I didn't ws much this year, but what I did is doing fantastic especially the tomatoes.

Alberta