Hot summer garden before it got super hot

June 29, 2022

I returned yesterday from the Madison Garden Bloggers Fling, and I’m already missing Wisconsin’s cooler summer climate. But dark clouds greeted me when I got home and then RAIN! An inch fell on my parched and heat-stressed garden, refreshing everything and sparing me from having to do a deep watering of all my new(ish) plants. Yippee!

These pics, however, are not from this morning, or even last week. I took them between mid-May and mid-June, mostly before this year’s early summer had started to feel oppressive. And that’s why everything looks so summery-fresh instead of summery-crisp.

The view of the Circle Garden from the deck, back when the purple coneflowers were still fresh and happy.

And back when all the ‘Bright Edge’ yuccas suddenly burst into coordinated bloom.

I loved this stage of summer.

Annuals ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome and ‘Fireworks’ gomphrena were color-echoing the purple coneflower in the Circle Garden.

And bat-face cuphea had started blooming, looking especially vivid against a backdrop of chartreuse ‘Everillo’ sedge.

Austin is Bat City after all.

In the island bed out front, Lindheimer nolina sent up several bloom spikes, now prettily gone to seed. That’s silver Mediterranean fan palm behind it.

But in summer, nighttime is the best time to be in a Texas garden, so landscape lighting is essential.

Japanese maple and giant leopard plant at night

Datura opens its fragrant, white trumpets at twilight, attracting sphinx moths.

And attracting me! I love to come out to enjoy the sweet fragrance of these night-blooming flowers.

My Fling coverage starts with my next post, so stay tuned!

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Digging Deeper

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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

12 responses to “Hot summer garden before it got super hot”

  1. Kris P says:

    Summer does have its moments, brief as they can be. Your night lighting looks great!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks, Kris. And yes, it’s good to remember to enjoy the sweet moments of summer when they come.

  2. hb says:

    and your “super hot” is hot indeed. Your late spring garden looks gorgeous.

    Here’s hoping for a surprisingly mild summer for us all.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      That would be a miracle, HB, since we’re already having one of the hottest summers on record here in Austin. But my fingers are crossed for you in L.A.!

  3. Tracy says:

    Love the new house color and lighting

  4. Teresa Gomez says:

    Love your lighting! And your Adirondack chairs! Would you happen to remember where they were purchased?

  5. Chavli says:

    The Circle Garden wide panoramic view is fantastic. I love how all the light blue pops in different areas, echoed by the Yucca rostrata (or dasylirion…). The night shots are exquisite.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks, Chavli! The coneflowers are faded now, but at least the yuccas are unfazed by the extreme heat.

  6. As much as I enjoy the many unique gardens you visit, I’ll often scroll through posts looking specifically for YOUR garden. Glad I found this, nice to see it in its glory days. Even here in Ohio, early summer is the best, before the heat and humidity brings disease and pests.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Robin, thanks for the encouragement to post about my own garden too. I confess I get discouraged by Texas summers. They are just so dang oppressive and long, and I don’t spend much time in my garden at this time of year. But I’ll try to remember your words and get outside more often with my camera. I hope your midsummer garden is still going strong.