Hellish.
Really, there’s no other way to describe this summer’s heat. Last week, Austin broke its 2011 record for consecutive days over 100F and there’s no end in sight. Don’t ask me how many days have skyrocketed over 100F, I haven’t kept up and I don’t want to know.
Despite the willful ignorance of some, this is the new normal.
As the days have become noticeably shorter, early mornings are lovely. I’m usually out in the garden before 6am, not-yet-perspiring, coffee-in-hand, enjoying the “cool” breeze. By 8am, sun up and death rays activated, it’s pretty hot. My son lives in Irbel, Iraq and we trade how hot was it today stories each time we talk. We’re about 7 degrees cooler than Irbel and with better infrastructure. Yes, Texas’ electric grid has held. So far.
All that said, the garden has held up well against the heat and drought. I water the whole garden with in-place soaker hoses (the tire-like kind that sweat) about every three weeks, with some targeted hand-watering as needed for new plants, plants that don’t have a soaker hose nearby, and container plants. It’s more watering than I usually do, but not so much to be annoying.
The photos which follow were all taken in early mornings, the garden being at its freshest when the day is young. At the end of each day (heck, by the middle of each day!), blooms are shuttered, leaves are crinkled, and the garden cringes with the heat, rendered bleached by the strength of the sun’s rays.
This is the shadiest section of my garden and it’s received almost no water this summer.
There aren’t many summer bloomers here, only the Turks’ cap, Malvaviscus arboreus, and Mexican Orchid tree (off photo) but the garden is green and lush; birds and squirrels bop through for seeds and such.
The main part of my back garden gets half-day sun at varying times of each day and the plants have been good sports about summer’s heat.
One of the best drought and heat tolerant plants I grow, and especially great in shade/part-shade, is the native Drummond’s Ruellia, Ruellia drummondiana.
The flowers close by mid-day (NO ONE likes this heat!) but are lavender lovelies each morning, open for bee business. I mostly grow this perennial in the back garden, as my full-sun front garden fries the foliage. I’m grateful it’s blooming, but it hasn’t bloomed as well as during a ‘normal’ summer.
In my back garden, I’ve opted for tough foliage plants that aren’t thirsty and needy like Soft-leaf Yucca, Yucca recurvifolia and Giant Liriope. Turk’s cap (tall plant, left in photo) and the Mexican Honeysuckle, Justicia spicigera (orange flowering shrub in background) are heat-loving prolific bloomers, providing for pollinators when other plants have shut down bloom production.
Earlier in the summer, the orange daylilies put on quite a show, but now, it’s all about their grassy foliage. Purple heart, Tradescantia pallida, is colorful and in wetter years, adds its pretty pink blooms, though they’re scarce now. Common Yarrow (right in photo) makes a lacy ground cover.
In the front garden, the searing Texas sun blasts its rays from early morning until late evening.
Native grasses are lush and full, smaller trees are growing apace, and perennials and shrubs are holding their own, some in bloom, others opting for dormancy. There are still a couple of sunflowers blooming; sadly, the American Basket flowers are done for the year.
The sitting area only hosts humans during early morning or at sundown, but the bougainvilleas don’t mind the lack of human company, as long as the sun is shining and they have their daily drink of water.
Overall, I’m pleased with how the garden is faring, but I’ll make some changes when summer is done and temperatures moderate. There are some mistakes (aren’t there always?) in plant choice and placement that are glaringly obvious with the challenging summer conditions.
As I recall, when the heat and drought finally broke in 2011, Austin enjoyed a most glorious autumn. Here’s hoping that this year is a repeat of that year: gentle rain at just the right time, September (and going forward) cooler days, a garden that flourishes, with gardener who is grateful.
My Gardener Says... 
I’m cringing at your descriptions of the heat and drought, Tina! Hell indeed! Given that, I am surprised your garden looks as good as it does. You’ve made some good choices in plants and placement, that is obvious. And you are learning as you go… kudos!
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It’s been a hot one. There are some crispy plants, some of which I should remove or move to a different spot, but overall, without resorting to all cacti, agave, and yucca, I’m happy with my choice of plants. And, always with gardening there are lessons to be learned. 🙂
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Indeed, it is a process of learning, the process is the point. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your garden during this horrible summer, it is lovely! I’m glad to hear you’re able to stretch the watering out to three weeks. So many local areas can’t water at all, and your garden is an inspiration. Drummond’s ruellia is going on my list of things to plant when the rain returns.
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My back garden which has more shade, can go three weeks (with a few exceptions). The front garden really needs a soak about every two weeks.
If you can’t find Drummond’s ruellia, send me a query through the ‘contact me’ button and I’ll get some seeds to you.
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Thanks so much for your offer of the seeds, I may take you up on that! And hopefully have some sort of garden goodie I can share with you :-).
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Your garden looks lovely! We’re in the same boat down here in Houston. By about 9:30 am, it feels like an oven outside with really no let up. Maybe now, at 9 pm. It’s relentless. Take care!
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All these pictures show your gardens looking pretty good despite the drought and temperatures over 100° every afternoon. Remembrances from 2011 raise the possibility of more wildfires this year, given at least six more weeks of maximum heat and little chance of rain.
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Yes, the temps aren’t going to abate for a while, that’s for sure. I know there are some wildfires south and I think there’s now one up near Cedar Park. Sigh, hope folks and critters are safe.
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Your garden is doing remarkably well for any conditions and especially the awful heat you are experiencing. It shows both your careful planning and caring tending. We are thankful here in a reasonably cooler Northeast to not be experiencing those terribly hot numbers. I hope you get a break from it soon although it doesn’t sound promising. That your grid is holding up is a blessing.
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I’m pretty happy with the garden, but it does look stressed and is so in some areas. I’m glad that I don’t just have grass; at least my native perennials don’t look that bad without water. 🙂
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Wow, that must be tough, day after day. But nevertheless, your garden doesn’t look frazzled at all, it all looks beautiful and lush. It’s interesting to see which plants can do well under these extreme temperatures.
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It really is getting old. I feel for those who work outdoors: construction, roofing, landscaping, they have it hard. That said, the human body can get used to the heat with lots of water, frequent breaks, and the right clothing.
It has been interesting to observe which plants struggle and which take the conditions in stride.
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I’m also impressed with how wonderful your garden looks, despite the hellish conditions you are currently living under. It’s a testament to nature’s resilience (with help from the thoughtful gardener), and a reminder of the need for green oases to help mitigate the effects of heat.
I hope your heat and drought will make way for the autumn you are dreaming of.
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Well, there are some mistakes, but overall, yes the garden is working out well. Fingers-crossed for a pleasant fall, but that’s a ways off…
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Hang in there…
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This has been epic. I’m glad the grid is holding so far.
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Epic is a good word. Hang in there!
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I can commiserate with your son, as we lived in Saudi several times during my husband’s career. 110 is pretty routine in summer, and we even saw 120 sometimes. Here, near Cypress Mill, all our water is from a tank. Despite the need to conserve, life still requires a few flowers on my porch!
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Yes, it’s very hot in that part of the world. Irbel regularly reaches 115ish, with a heat index in the 120s. Ugh. And yes, life does require flowers!!
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Tina, your garden looks great considering the weather there! Congratulations on doing so well and with moderate watering.
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Thanks, Hollis. Of course, I didn’t go out of my way to demonstrate some of the crispier plants :), but so far, I haven’t had anything decide it’s not worth living anymore. If they can just hang on for a few more weeks…
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Gosh, I can’t even imagine a stretch like that. Heat and drought together are horrible. We’ve had a taste of it here in the Madison area, but of course the temps are much more pleasant. Your garden looks great, though. I hope we’ll both get precip soon, and I hope you’ll get some relief from the 100s. Take care!
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Ugh, it’s been a stretch, that’s for sure. I’m fortunate though, I don’t have to get outside to work and can do what I need to do in the mornings. Some folk aren’t so lucky. Hopefully, late August/September will moderate.
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I haven’t been able to figure out why I’m coping better this year than I did in 2011. Perhaps even we humans can learn new tricks when it comes to adapting. I’m much more careful about hydration, that’s for sure, and working very early and late makes a difference.
Avoiding over-the-top media reports helps, too. My personal favorite was the local weather dude who proclaimed this the “hottest summer in 165,000 years.” That’s dramatic, but probably less than helpful. The night I landed at Roberts Field in Monrovia, it was 1 a.m., and the temperature was 106. I spend the night in a hostel with no electricity — and hence not even a fan — and one of the Liberian woman told me, “You’ll do better if you don’t think about it.” She was right — at least to an extent.
Your garden does look good. I’ve noticed many municipal plantings are doing better this year. One of the lessons learned seems to have been the value of drip irrigation systems. Less frequent but deeper watering has been adopted in some places, and it’s amazing to see how well those lawns and flower beds are doing. In time, they’ll go into serious decline if we don’t get some rain, but right now the grasses (and fires) seem to be the biggest problem.
In the photo with the Mexican honeysuckle, are those tube-like things on the left meant for the insects, or are they garden art — or both?
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The tube thingies are an ceramic project I did a few years ago. For about 4 years, I studied ceramics at Austin Community College. Just for fun, but it was a great class, wonderful teachers, great group to hang out with. I did some weird stuff. I like sculpture and hand-building, so didn’t throw much.
I think drip irrigation is more widely used now and of course, it makes sense to water deeply and infrequently, especially for shrubs, perennials and trees. I was working at Zilker Botanical in 2011 so was outside more than I am now. I was also 12 years younger. I’m really weary of the heat, but like the lady said, best not to think about it too much. Wise words. 🙂
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