The summer heat has

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affected my garden quite a bit. I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a conference for 5 days, and even though I left the plants with aqua globes (Larry could not water the plants this time) some were affected more than others. I keep hoping it will rain and relieve us a little bit, but even though I’ve seen tempting dark clouds hovering over Houston since Thursday, it has yet to rain…!! Sigh. Amazingly the new rose actually flowered while I was away – here is a picture of how the dry flowers looked:

The geraniums have suffered as well; we are well into the season when they get very ugly – it’s just too hot for them, poor things – so the leaves get yellowed and dry, many fall off, but if you’re patient, the geraniums will rebound and be beautiful again in the Fall -or what passes for Fall in Houston, when the temperature drops into the seventies and eighties. This is how they look now:

The caladium leaves actually dried up and died – or so I thought – but my mom told me to cut them off and keep watering the plant, as they would probably re-grow – and they did! Here the aqua globes saved me as they kept the plants watered enough so my stay in New Mexico didn’t kill them:

The impatiens couldn’t handle the heat though – they’re in ceramic pots, too which made it hotter for them – and also seemed to die. The white impatien was too far gone to save, but I noticed that the red impatien has begun to grow shoots! expecially arouund the area near the aqua globe. So I have kept it watered and hope the plant will survive:

This is the only thing left of the white impatien – a hole in the pot!:

The rangoon climber also got some of its leaves crisped….as has the poor fern:

Even the marigolds were feeling the heat – the tops got a little dry:

The banana plant always amazes me – in spite of it being in a pot, and the fact that it drinks water almost constantly (the aqua globe in this case lasts two days) it always sends up new shoots, and this year is no different – here it is with the new leaf!:

Keeping my fingers crossed that it will rain soon! Though right now at 3:20pm, we’re hitting 98 F + humidity (38 C) sighhhh…

• 18 Jul, 2009
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