Heat is the story

Like most of the country we are baking in the sun. Some living things are quite happy in all this heat, like my beautiful Crape Myrtle trees, but most of us don't fair quite as well as the Crape Myrtles.  Last night we drove past an electonic billboard and it said it was 95 degrees at 10:20pm....that is hot..way hotter than usual here.

 Everything is M E L T I N G.......it is virtually impossible to keep up with the potted plants needs in this heat. Take my Impatients planting here, looks like its days are numbered...well at least the current leaves are due for a fall within the next day or two. It may get a second set of leaves, but it will never look as good as before the heat wave. Here is a photo of the victim...looking pretty sad.

You would think some of my perennials, especially those of the wildflower persuasion, could handle the heat. NOT. Look at these sad Black Eyed Suzies, they normally tolerate dry soil, but not out and out baking. Now they resemble bacon.
                                  

My other potted flowers fell to another fate of the country.....they became deer salad night before last. They had been a beautiful pot of Pentas, Portulaca, Verbena and Phlox Sublata. The Phlox is very much like splintery thorns, so they were not too appetizing, but the rest of it was a nice appetizer for some cloven foot demon. Yes demon, I am surrounded by green...they can find fare other than my plants. I normally douse the plants in smelly hand soaps to keep the deer away, but I guess I waited too long to recoat. Much to my disappointment my most colorful pot is now eaten away as seen in the photo below. A disappointing week here at Shore Side Farm House.