The Pond

Believe it or not, there are some plants that thrive in this heat. Number one--pond plants. I quit trying to grow water lilies years ago because of all the shade from the Bradford Pears. After losing the trees, I watched how the plants in and around the pond started to flourish. This past spring I decided to try my luck one more time with water lilies. I bought this 1 plant- Mayle Rose. Mayle Rose has not disappointed me. Not only has the foliage been beautiful and lush, the blooms just keep on coming. I was lucky if I ever saw a flower before with the shade. Now I look forward to checking for blooms each morning.
Really the entire pond looks good. I am trying very hard to keep the water poppy cut back as it will take over the surface, but I still have quite a few buttery yellow blooms. The sedge grass has been in this pond since the beginning, some 12 years ago! And, it is evergreen!
These hot days (and nights!) are just about to drive hubby and I crazy, but I try and find bright spots in each day. This morning it was walking out to feed the fish and seeing not one, but four water lilies in bloom! Ahhh..hot summer heaven!

"Broad water-lilies lay tremulously, and starry river-buds glimmered by. And around them the soft stream did glide and dance, with a motion of sweet sound and radiance."
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Losing an old washtub..

I seem to remember having an old wash tub in this corner..but where did it go? Do you think it is under all that coleus and sweet potato vine?? Seriously, can you believe the old tub has grown this much? Do ya think I need to do some trimming? Oh yeah..
I complain daily about the heat and what it is doing to most of my plants-but then I stop and notice how some things, like these plants, are holding up. I do have to water this old tub once a day, but that is not a problem if I can keep the plants happy. This corner is pretty shady-well, until late afternoon. Then it gets some HOT west sun for a while. Guess that is why I am so surprised the old wash tub plants have survived. I can't tell you if this is a "sun coleus" as I just buy all kinds of coleus in spring and plant them based on color, but my guess is that it is one of the types that takes heat better than others.

One more plant that is enduring our summer just fine is Black Foot Daisy. I have a love/hate relationship with these plants as I think they can be hard to grown. Reason: you have to ignore them, and I want to mother them. However, for these hot, dry summers they are perfect. Just let them be, don't water but a small bit, and they will reward you with lots of honey scented blooms.

Now I am headed inside to think about what kind of Kale to plant in the old washtub in fall!
Have a great week everyone--stay cool!

Mountains, Texas heat and a Surprise visitor

We have been on our annual
"Rocky Mountain High" camping up in the Rockies near Crested Butte. It was beautiful as usual..and cool!
The wildflowers up in the mountains have yet to
peak, but the flowers in town were breath
taking!
It was a good trip, with lots of hikes, fishing, campfires and oh my goodness stars at night!
The special treat this year was meeting up with our daughter! (Love that hat Jen!)

Before we knew it our week was over and we said goodbye to Jen, and headed back to the Texas heat. Thanks to a very caring young man, the flowers looked good despite the terrible heat! (Thank you so much Travis!)
The time outside these days is spent watering or mowing-not relaxing. The temps have been over 100 for 31 days now, and there is no break in sight. The high Thursday is suppose to be 110. That is actual temperature, not heat index. It's Texas-we always have hot summers, but not quite like this. It hasn't rained in...well....I don't remember the last time it rained. All of Texas is in drought conditions now. We are on water restrictions now as the lakes are going down fast. So, we sit inside these days looking over the garden. As we watched the birds, we noticed a surprise visitor..
All the other birds flew away when I went out to take this picture. I think we have a run away. He (she) didn't seem very scared of me so I know this little one is pretty domesticated. I have plenty of seed and water for it, but I hope it will just visit and find it's way back home soon.

Hope your summer is going well..and is cooler than mine! :)