Wordless Wednesday
Category: working in the garden
Heat wave test
It’s 97° right now (noon) in D.C. and expected to get to 102° today.
What’s holding up well in my new garden? The goldenrod ‘Firecracker’ for one. Not yet blooming, of course, but the foliage is absolutely sprightly, I would say. Such a great plant!
All the ornamental grasses look good, even the two miscanthus that are still sitting in their pots waiting to be planted after 6 weeks. My lamb’s ear looks great (I have the old-fashioned variety that flowers wildly; it’s messy, but I like it). The Rudbeckia laciniata is green and upright, but the leaves are drooping a little. My two little rosebushes (‘Cinco de Mayo’ and some small apricot David Austin) and a mature weigela with burgundy-tinged leaves (came with the garden) also actually look fresh.
My almost 12-year-0ld dog, Sophie, keeps wanting to stay outside and lie on the warm stone walkway or the deck. I’m wondering if it feels good to her touch of arthritis. I make her come in after 15-20 minutes, though, so the Animal Cops don’t show up.
What’s not fresh looking is the bigleaf hydrangeas and a still-unidentified viburnum (also from the old owners). They wilt at a look. I think they may both go at the end of the summer and be replaced by oak leaf hydrandreas (both regular and dwarf). I passed one yesterday evening that had toasted-looking blooms (still pretty), but still upright stems and leaves.
Need something to help with the heat? Check out this fun video clip at PigTown Design and then the creamy lemon popsicles recipe at Content in a Cottage.
Also, try to remember how long and cold last winter was.
Something to read
First, I’ll show you this weather map from The Washington Post, which predicts that D.C. will be about the hottest place in the country today and tomorrow (plus “the air is so humid you could probably wring water out of it”).
In the same paper, Adrian Higgins has an interesting article, “When it rains, it restores,” on three home rain gardens in our area, with a good illustration on how to create one.
Anne Raver, in the New York Times, writes about Philadelphia landscape architect Margie Ruddick’s choice to grow a “wild” front yard, which earned her a summons from the city (later dropped).
In the Los Angeles Times garden blog, there is an article on using weeds to protect and improve a community garden, “Long Beach garden fends off pests with stealth weapon: weeds. “
It’s followed by information on great new victory garden posters. To order, click here.
Got a chain saw? There’s a photo of a really beautiful log garden wall in the slideshow accompanying “How to make a walled garden,” by Bunny Guinness in The Telegraph.
This is from last week, but The Baltimore Sun garden blog has video and photos of the winners of its 2011 Garden Contest.
Here’s hoping for cooler weather next week. . . .
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday
Midsummer in my garden. . . .
It’s deluxe!
Even though my garden is only about 16′ wide, I so want this Deluxe Tractor Scoot — but in lime green with the plastic trug in orange. I would scoot up and down my long walkway and then leave it out on my tiny “lawn” as an ornament. It’s $99.95 at Gardener’s Supply Company.
enclos*ure 