General Garden Notes

The weather is finally giving us a brief respite from near 100*F temps and killer heat indices...I think tomorrow's high is forecasted to be in the high 80s...

Good heavens...

Of course, the heat returns to the upper 90s by the end of the week, but I'll take a cool spot where I can get one because...

My poor garden needs a break...I gave up and ripped out the coleus this afternoon...I cut them back by about 8 inches last week, but the poor darlings just couldn't take any more of the brutal heat even with my dragging a watering can out there most every day...

Kind of ticks me off because I do enjoy my coleus...

I've got dianthus dying, rosemary dying (can you even begin to imagine?) and my hanging baskets...well...they're just sad sad sad...the cucumbers plants have given up the ghost & frankly, I'm glad...I can't recall what variety I planted, but these were the largest cucumbers I have ever seen in my life...and I don't really like cucumbers...I planned on canning them using a recipe from a friend's mama who makes the most di-vine pickles...until I learned one is not supposed to can on electric glass-topped stoves...in a way, I'm glad...I never have to grow cucumbers again...

The most successful thing in our garden so far this year (excluding the rampant wisteria that just laughs out loud when it sees one of us coming towards its entrenched bunker within the azaleas) has to be our gourd vine that is actually climbing along our brick walls, along the deck railing, and along the chain link fence...nary a gourd yet, but lots of blooms and lots of beautiful green vine...

I tossed around the idea of doing a cool-weather planting for the vegetable garden, but 1) I'm thinkin' that might be only 2 weeks in February so why bother? and 2) I am pretty sure I'm going to sweet talk Mr G into moving the veggie garden to a spot that gets some shade! A full day of hot Georgia sun is just too much for most vegetables, I don't care what the seed packet says...

I picked the current veggie spot this past winter, before having spent a summer watching the sun and shadows...I know better, but couldn't wait to do something with this barren piece of land we've bought...so my poor vegetables paid for my impatience...I've felt a pang of regret each time I stared into the garden trying to see if my plants would manage to hang on for just a little while longer...

At some point, I will be okay with not having to re-learn these same gardening/life lessons over...and over...again...

Tomorrow: Pictures of my beloved UCT-9!