I'm worried as well in NE Ohio. Mid 20's and my etoille violette has already shot TONS of vines about 12in. It's against a trellis where it can;t really be covered, but I did toss a pieces of burlap against it as best I could :-/ Hydrangeas are all covered and cant cover the 10ft climbing rose. Hope they do OK!

As a lot of flowers and vegetables like warmer temperatures, I think we are just starting to see things grow faster as the night temperatures have warmed up and the days (on the days it's not raining that is) seem to be anything from cloudy to sunny and humid. I lost a few seedling cucumbers a few weeks ago as they were too wet for too long and then followed by a couple of cold nights. Their replacements seem okay- so far. My tomatoes are growing slow but steady, except for a 'grape' type of tomato (started from seeds from T&T seeds) which seems to be doing quite well. It's definitely going to be one of the more 'vining' type of tomatoes but it's planted beside a trellis so I can tie as need be. Speaking of morning glory, I had a few 'volunteers' come up from seed and am transplanting them as they come up. They seem to take a while to grow but I know I'm impatient. Last year, during our coolish cloudy summer the morning glory (bought as a plant from the nursery) actually did pretty decent. Glen

Diane, Poor little Nellie. Glad she's recovering from the heat exhaustion and so sorry to hear about the tonsillitis. It's not easy being 4 years old. The cure for anything at that age? Popsicles! Ice cream! Jello! Pudding! (Well, if I was an overheated 4-year-old OR a 4-year-old with tonsillitis, that's what I would want!) Your hubby is able to tinker and fix and build anything, I think, which is great! The folks at the electric company are already hard at work calculating how much their profit is going to rise....and it is all coming from your pockets! I don't know what's worse in the summer: watching the electric bill skyrocket when the heat arrives or watching the water bill creep higher and higher when the rains don't fall. Plants are just going to burn up in this heat. What are you going to do? (sigh) Sometimes you can't water them enough to save them (even if you try). Last year I lost one shrub in a row of shrubs. Undoubtedly it was because of the drought, but I'd watered them all the same. The others made it and that one didn't. I guess I probably should be grateful only 1 shrub died. At least a cold front is coming although, of course, the use of the word "cold" is relative. For us, it will mean perhaps an 8-10 drop in the temperature on Sunday from Saturday and, of course, if that happens we'll be thrilled....but we'll be plenty hot even with the 8-10 degree drop. Dawn

Robin, I looked up pictures of that and it's a real looker! Congratulations on getting flowers! Come spring I may grow St. Vincents Lilac again. You probably know that it has purple flowers,is related to the tomato, and is in the nightshade family. My seeds are old, but may still germinate. I've had a love afair with JMG's, and it seems I've not had room for anything else. Vines are so charming, aren't they? :) Arum