The last frost was April 17. Yesterday, the temperature went above 90°F as it will today, tomorrow and Tuesday. It seems like the spring planting season gets cut shorter each year as the window of reasonable temperatures for planting lasts less than two weeks before it is too hot. I'm glad that I took advantage of last fall to plant a few perennials. I may begin adjusting my planting schedule for hardy perennials to be planted in the fall and tender perennials and annuals in the spring.
The newly planted suffered terribly yesterday so I did something that I don't like to do - I watered the garden at night so that the ground would stay moist for several hours. There are so many annual seeds that I direct sowed in the garden and the soil needs to stay moist for the seeds.
I walked around the garden several times between 7:30 am and 8:30 am in an attempt to take some garden photos. As you can see, the sun was already too bright and harsh! I have several plant combinations that I want to share with you, but it's difficult to capture the true color of the plants in the bright light. The cottage garden and front deer resistant garden run east to west on the south side of the house, so the light is strong from morning until sunset.
The established, flowering plants are at least happy with all this heat. The Knock Out® Roses, cottage pinks, allium, more Dutch irises and the Spanish lavender started to bloom. The Encore® Azaleas and Lady Banks roses are in full bloom. At least they are happy with the heat!
Story and photo by Freda Cameron