Pruning and primping the garden

The suckers at the bottom of my pink Crape Myrtle trees (photo left) is the only substantial color in my garden right now....and I am not happy about it. No matter how I try the weather is a potent adversary, and I have been losing this battle for the entire summer.

Now that the heat has successfully fried my entire garden, I have attempted some damage control. I don't know if it will be successful, but it is worth a try.

 I chopped the top off of all my brown, bacon like Rudebeckia...Black Eyed Suzies, hoping that the small green parts of the lowest areas will grown something to replace the frizzled parts. My butterfly bush has sustained the same trimming. Yesterday I took a chance and fertilized the garden beds, in hopes that the heat will be gone in another three weeks and the fertilizer will make them pop out some flowers, now that we are beginning to have cooler nights. The cooler nights aren't so cool, 78 degrees...but a lot cooler than the high 90s to 100s we have had all summer.

I haven't mentioned the annuals I planted but they too are stunted and sad. Portulacas, so strong and sun-loving are just devastated by the heat this year.  They too look like bacon.  Surprisingly I had spread some Cosmo seeds before the heat wave rolled in, and those plants have grown, but have not blossomed. Maybe the cool of September will bring me some flowers.

Our tomatoes are downright terrible. We could throw a funeral for them. We had about a week of pleasure eating them, and have been mourning their loss since the wicked weather rolled in. The ground just could not sustain enough moisture to keep them hydrated. Even the Sweet 100s, our favorite little summer snack, have been devastated by the heat wave.

There are a few tried and true fighters with some color.

The Goldstrum Heliopsis is looking really good. This yellow plant came from the mountain climate of the Catskills so its flourishing here is a surprise. It does look pretty good...a bright splash in the brown yard. The Hosta, I think it is
Fortuna, looks good too.







This is a truly disappointing and tearful gardening year.