I wallpapered once. Now I paint. Much easier. Yeah, the rain is soooo great. The !#%$%^$% plants think they need 10" a week now and pout when you don't give them supplemental water. And I hate to water, just hate it. And the MOSQUITOES!! I have to spray just to go to the front gate! No to mention I can't even cut stuff back fast enough. I'm parking in the alley until I get a day off to cut back the pride of barbados that is hanging into the street. Can't get close to the curb. We got some rain from Chris, some from a low, looks like we aren't getting any from the next low though. Be careful what you wish for. This time of year most of our rain comes from, drum roll please, tropical storms, depressions, hurricanes. I'd rather water than get a storm. Though Allison flooded Houston & we didn't get a drop of rain. 1979 a tropical storm that had been downgraded to depression dumped 40" of rain on the Alvin area in one day. It rained so much during Frances my 30' avocado tree fell over. And last year we had so much rain from a storm that huge mature oleanders basically floated out of the ground. Not to mention coffins popping up out of the ground. Though you do get desperate and think "a tropical storm would be nice right about now". Tally HO!

pillog, I hear ya about the real political candidates. Fools, bullies, and jerks. Not all, but seriously, is this the best we can do? I agree that Alicia is no worse by a long shot, but really, besides being the real power (and charisma) between her and Peter, she's just a very beautiful face. Those early years were fantastic when she was recovering from Peter's betrayals and coming up through the ranks of Lockhart/Gardner. And Will. My friend thought he was a rat, but I loved him. So did Alicia. And now that she's risen to the top and beyond, what's left that's plausible? The quirky judges and courtroom scenes are fun, but the drama's gone. It happened to The West Wing and I hate to see it happening here. Although that new guy, the one who took Kalinda's place, is really cute.

"Dogged does it" is my motto this year, because it's a difficult one for me, too; still, most people who've posted here sound like they're having a harder time than I am. Bart and I are victims of the same long-lasting drought: basically northern and central Italy have had way-under-normal precipitation since last summer, with summer this year arriving about five weeks early. So it has been hot and dry for a long, long time. Unlike bart I can get running water to much of the garden, and have a magnificent helper, DH, though unfortunately he's in the hospital right now (he's doing fine and should be home in a few days). So far we've lost only a few marginal plants. I feel like I spend my life carrying around pots of water, and figuring out how to lived in a reasonably civilized life using as little of the precious stuff as possible, as we have a severe water shortage locally, with no end in sight. Our temperatures and humidity don't get as drastically high as many of you say; on the other hand, we live in a largely non-air-conditioned world and one lacking in swimming holes (as a Florida native I feel this), so that the most comfortable place to be is usually indoors, or at least in the shade. I have a big advantage in that I don't usually water plants after the first year, so that my plants are used to periods of dry weather and don't keel over in a drought. And this is a congenial climate for a lot of roses, so diseases and pests are unsightly but not deadly (I have to say I'd love to have fewer rose chafers). Even bart's awful badgers, which we too have suffered from, make a mess digging because they're looking for those same grubs that grow into rose-devouring beetles. Some things balance out. I hardly get any flowers in summer, and this year nothing for sure, because it's too dry, but then the plants are tempered and sturdy and I'm not too worried about their survival. Mainly we're watering the plants that have been in the ground less than a year. The drought this year is so bad, though, that I am watering some established plants that aren't quite drought-tolerant enough: the daphnes; and some of the sarcococcas are looking weary; while a sun-baked phlomis has scale; and so on. In the big garden we definitely need more trees, but they don't come just for the asking. Our native soil needs a lot of amending, so we amend, hugely. But it takes years to get everything to work. We've been busy on this garden for about fifteen years. This year if we can just get most of the plants through the year alive, it will be a success. Growth? Progress? Ha.

Here is a list I compiled of blooming plants that do well for me in the heat of summer. Bear in mind........these might not do well for everyone, but they work for me. I would think they would do well in any hot climate. My clematis have always done just fine with extra mulch/composted horse mature put on the base of the crown - same as I do for my roses. When I first started growing them, I put the proverbial stone over the roots to keep them shaded. When I realized it didnt make any difference, I just used the mulch. I just bought 3 more at Tractor Supply this afternoon. [Nelly Moser, Jackmanii and Rouge Cardinal]......needed some special feed for one of my older horses - came out with that, 3 clematis and 3 roses - Tiffany, that I had been wanting, 2 Sally Holmes, 1 for a friend. Same with Walmart - found 3 Lavender Crush I had to have........good thing every store I go into doesnt have roses! Hope this list helps! SUMMER PLANT LIST: periwinkles [Pacifica red is great] angelonia – dark purple and white show up best purselane/portulaca [does well in pots] – edging in hot sun hibiscus [tropical] – in pots or planted in ground lantana – New Gold is not as invasive mandavilla – climbing vine, loves hot sun plumbago canna Sun Coleus profusion zinnas [like white & yellow gomphrena [combo: orange marigolds or profusion zinnias w/ purple gomphrena] Fireworks is lovely – tall and spreads zinnas from seed [spray for mildew] salvia – perennial greggii [put in drifts or rows] - Blue farnicia esperanza Gold Bells - sun cant get hot enough for this one, blooms constantly blue daze Lady In Red salvia [overwintered well in pot in greenhouse in 2011- Celosia cristata – cockscomb celosia – loves heat Mexican Honeysuckle – justinicia Mexican heather Mexican Cosmos [tithonia] – hard to find, was at ARE Jerusalem sage potato vine [use new bronze color with fall blooming plants] grasses: purple fountain grass ,asparagus fern, ornamental peppers