Trying to Cope With the Heat

      It's official.  It's hot.  July is now the Gold Medal winner for the hottest month in the history of record keeping in America.  Both as a country and in the state of Delaware.  Even gardening in the early morning does not provide much comfort when it is already 75 degrees with full humidity.  Yesterday I was out at about 6:30, and a haze was hanging everywhere.

Hazy walk between rows of tomatoes,  August 8, 2012

Nice big Brandywine tomato on the vine

Haze and Joe Pye Weed at the end of the tunnel

      This is a shot from the corner of the garden.  The two rows of tomatoes are behind the black eyed Susan clump at the right of this photo.  We have been lucky to have had two separate one inch rains in the last couple of weeks.  I try not to water often, especially the flower beds.

Joe Pye Weed

Mixed Phlox

      It is time for breakfast.  More importantly, it is time for some air conditioning.  This has not been a summer of open windows and dinner on the porch.  The expected high today, 95 degrees.  And lots of humidity.  The weathermen said it would feel "tropical".  Duh.  And to think that they get paid for those pearls of wisdom.

Sunny Sunday, July First

Backyard garden, July 1st, 2012

Tetraploid day lily

Lily and phlox

Pink phlox

White phlox

Six foot African daisies

Volunteer sunflower

Tranquility, before the day's heat

Bicolor day lily

Rose campion

Cleome

      It is the first of July and it should be hot and  humid.  The yard should be a monotone dull green fading to brown.  Well I can't control the weather, but I can throw color at the boring green palette.  Have a beautiful first of July!

Early July Blooms

      Well it is pretty obvious that I didn't bang out a bunch of blogs about our recent trip to southern France.  Some how life intrudes on our best intentions.  I was fairly pleased however that the home and park gardens did not get too overgrown with weeds, as I had tried to get the gardens ready for some self cruise control.  The sun is out this morning, and it promises to be another day where I give up and seek the shelter of air conditioning.  So before it became unbearable, I took a stroll out back to grab some quick shots on July 7, 2011.