Hanging in There, not Dead Yet!
Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 3:45PM Drought and burning temperatures persist. Here is what my front garden looks like now:
The arborvitae ferns (in the foreground) are turning brown in the triple digit heat. The azaleas above them are turning yellow, definitely not a good sign. The good news is that neither the ferns nor the azaleas are dead yet, and the temps are predicted to be 15-20 degrees cooler next week. We may even get some rain this weekend. So if we can hang in there a little longer, things may get better.
The 50% chance of rain makes me nervous. I would like better odds. Too many times black clouds have hoodwinked us with unfulfilled promises. I took these photos just last week, but the deceptively dark clouds passed over without releasing a drop:
I usually can find beauty in the garden, no matter what. I can appreciate the dead stuff, but it would be easier if the following shots were taken in November or December:
Nature created this collage of prematurely dead leaves.
A dead branch fell on a chair in my woodland garden, creating an accidental composition that appealed even to my drought weary eyes.
Leftovers from a squirrel banquet made me genuinely smile. Someone really enjoyed those pinecones!
Despite the premature aging in the garden, there are spots of color. Autumn crocus is a delight. I put these in only a couple weeks ago, and already Colchicum 'The Giant' is blooming. These were an experiment, and I plan to plant more:
Spider lilies (Hymenocallis) appear like magic every year, supplying bright color for very little maintenance:
Eupatorium coelestinum, also called hardy ageratum and blue mistflower, are favorite wildflowers. They will reseed themselves around but are easy to pull, and I do not consider them invasive:
Somewhere in my closet are long-sleeved shirts. I am looking forward to digging them out. I may even sit a pumpkin or two outside to celebrate the new season, once the temps drop enough so that they don't cook in the sunshine.
Colchicum, drought, fall, spider lily, wild ageratum in clouds and sky, fall, weather
Reader Comments (8)
You indeed found some beauty even among the dry conditions. I'm with you on the Blue Mistflowers. They are so welcome, for so many reasons, in my fall garden. The rabbits eat them if they aren't caged, but they don't get them in my caged garden. Win. ;-)
I never cease to be amazed at how adaptive squirrels can be. I can appreciate the frustration of watching those clouds pass you by. I wish I had a rain dance to share with you! In any case, I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get those cooler temperatures and rain.
The spider lillies are out in full force here, and there's much evidence of squirrel meals... and everything else looks much the same as it does in your garden. BUT!! We've had a little rain this morning and the temperatures are indeed cooler. Hopeful we're actually headed into Autumn! xo
I so hope you get some rain and cooler temps. Your spider lilies and hardy ageratum seems to take the weather in stride - beautiful flowers.
We definitely need a rain dance here in Central Alabama (Chilton County). I haven’t seen rain in several WEEKS! I enjoyed your fall flower photos, and the autumn crocus is unbelievable! I need to get some and try them next year. I stumbled across your blog in a post in Fall Pathways and enjoyed it very much!
My mother loved your blue mist flowers.
Hope your rain happens soon - so tantalising, we had some good rain forecast for Tuesday, but they have cancelled it.
I just planted some of those spider lily bulbs I received from a friend. We have them growing around our Extension office and they are fabulous. I need to add more bulbs for fall to my garden. You're fall gardens looks lovely.
I wish I could give you some of our rain. We have more than enough.