Did you plant these in end of May/June? I always plant water/shade lovers like these in cool weather. Planting them in early Summer in Texas is your problem . They have gone from planting stress immediately to heat stress and not having any time to establish deep water delivering roots.. How much sun does it get? I can't really tell you how long it will take to establish. I do not know your ground or how growing conditions in Houston. My suspicions are that you will have stalled plants no matter what you do till it turns cooler. If it is getting sun, I would put up some cardboard baffles to protect it. Can you put in a temporary soaker hoses? I combine them with a manual timer and that saves gobs of time hand holding a hose.

I've posted a message on this forum asking a similar question. Abut the time you noticed your problem we had a similar issue in our zone 7 garden. Small catepillars ate just about every leaf in sight on the Creeping Jenny. We killed them, fertilized, and got some rejuvenation, but lately, everything has gone south (see other message).

Sue, I am about a stone's throw away from Scotts. My neighborhood, Apple Hill, is right behind their orchards. They sell their own honey there and I just know that their bees are using pollen from my flowers! I go to Scott's usually at least once a week, since I'm right here. They do have a fantastic selection AND they keep everything in good shape. I know if I get a plant there it will be hardy and happy. The advise is variable, but the folks are nice. They tend to be expensive...but there are occasional bargains and their fall sale is FANTASTIC! They also had a spring shrub and tree sale...30% off. I went crazy. Because of convenience and impulse urges, at least half of my plants have come from there. (By the way, I remember when they were only an orchard...It's been fun watching them grow. And, boy, have they grown!) (Oddly, I don't buy their apples...I go to South Glastonbury.) (Too much information?) One major caveat...do not have them do any landscaping installation. They are notorious for planting way too close to the foundation. A neighbor had them put in some foundation planting only about 3 years ago and everything has already encroached on the house, to the point that they need to be moved asap. I enjoy Comstock (and the ice cream shop next door!). I buy all my seeds there but don't usually buy plants. They do carry the Coast of Maine products which I absolutely adore, so I go there for those. Thanks for the other names. I haven't been to Broken Arrow, Quakin' Grass, or Country Flower Farms. More day trips! Patty

The birdbath doesn't have drainage right? If you water it, you'll have to guess how much water is the right amount. And if she forgets to water it, 2-3inches of soil in full sun, that's pretty awful treatment of any plant you put in there. I'd say at the height of summer, she might need to water it 2x a day. I have to agree with Ken, that you actually had the best idea, of using succulents. Don't they use them in roof gardens? They might adapt to those conditions, but, they might not either. Does a roof garden have drainage? If you wanted to use your idea of potting up a morning glory or something, in a pot surrounded by rocks and let it trail, that could work if she can take the pot out, water it, drain it and put it back. But a morning glory takes quite awhile before it blooms. The only other idea I have is that you change the location and put it in full shade. Plant up a fern/moss garden. A lot of ferns won't like drying out, but Japanese fern is better at that than most. Help her begin to appreciate plants that don't have flowers. You can use different foliage colors, add a heuchera or small hosta. I don't know if it will work any better in the shade, but I only know I wouldn't want the job of taking care of plants in a birdbath in full sun. Anything you do, will be an experiment and as long as you are comfortable with how short lived it may be, then I'd think your ideas are just as good as anyone else's. The daylily with grasses is a nice idea, especially if you keep it in a pot that can be lifted out to water and drain and return. The portulaca idea that Dee had, they are really succulents, right? They may trail. You could look at a list of rain garden plants - they are supposed to tolerate feast or famine conditions with water. And this is going to be outdoors all winter? I grow Arborvitae that stay in pots year round and I remember having to look for shrubs that were 2 zones more cold tolerant than I was. I think Arborvitae are hardy to z3, so I had 3 zones and they have not had a problem at all. You might need to use plants that are hardy at least to z5. Maybe you could add some small bulbs to come up in a moss/fern garden, like Scilla or mini daffodils, or snowdrops. Sounds like you and your MIL enjoy your relationship, hope you figure out something that is successful.