I know, another movie but somehow a lot of movie titles apply to gardening. The good is that we had rain up to eight inches in twelve hours. We really needed rain because of the prolonged heat and dryness. The bad is that the rain was torrential, many streets flooded, whole communities were shut down as were parts of the expressway, power outages and flooded basements. The ugly is what many of us have left in our gardens, irretrievable plants that I will have to cut down, whipped grasses and fallen tomato plants.
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| These Beckys did not look too bad but when I went to prop them up many of the stems were broken. |
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| Becky in the front was a little further along so I was almost ready to cut back even before the storm. |
I still have some pretty blooms left that have survived but most everything looks a little beat up. Guess what, the Japanese beetles survived still chomping away on my rose buses, dahlias and numerous other goodies
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| This cucumber trellis from Gardener's Supply is working! |
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The Dura Cage could not hold up to the weight of the Beefsteak tomato. Because it is made of plastic, the legs broke under the weight. It is a great design, but the material is not suitable to hold up the large tomatoes. I will contact the company and let them know they have a good idea with the wrong material. |
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| Variegated Heliopsis loves the heat and certainly didn't mind the rain. |
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| Tetrina's Daughter weathered the storm. |
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Heuchera Villosa Purpurea The flowers are lovely but they got hit hard also. I just can't cut them yet. |
I will have my work cut out for me the beginning of the week, mostly cutting down the Becky Shastas (they were so big they just could not withstand the downpours). I am really wrapping my mind around fall right now, bought some fake pumpkins at the craft store to ready them for container decorations. I cannot use real pumpkins because the squirrels instantly eat them. If you spray the fake ones with marine varnish, they hold up very well outside. Don't worry, I am not putting them out in July or even August!
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| Lemon Queen Heliopsis |