Happy Independence Day

Balloon flower in the front flower bed and lilies below. Outdoors enjoying the flowers. No barbeque today. Too hot to stand over a grill in 90 degree weather.

Lilies are not the shade of pink pictured on the package.

Foxgloves surviving the heat with little added water. We had heavy rain last night which was welcome to plants and I'm sure everyone in Philly. Hopefully the temperatures and humidity will drop by tomorrow. Today would  be a nice day to start fall vegetable seeds and more foxgloves. What do I plan on starting? Lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, and parsley. Maybe collard greens. If I start them they'll go on the sunporch in September when temperatures start to feel more fall like. The lettuce would bolt during the summer but, we'll see once I get it started.

Fall blooming Montauk daisies and dahlias in the middle with it's first buds. Looking forward to the flowers opening.

Veronica is tall this year.

On the porch. African violets from work seem to love the humid hot environment and have some new growth since I brought them home for the summer. They'll probably need more sun to bloom. Time will tell.

Lowering the shades on the porch is a must with temperatures like we've been having since last Friday in the 90's and heat indexes above 100 degrees. Other wise we couldn't sit on the porch.

In the yard to see what my tomatoes are doing. I finally have the start of some tomatoes on each plant and my one cucumber plant has blooms and it looks like 2 tiny cucumbers forming. They must have known that no more container vegetables would go in the yard if I didn't produce some vegetables this season even a handful of tomatoes. Mosquitos are out in full force today and black bees. Haven't seen bumble bees yet this season in the yard. Cardinals continue to enjoy the feeder.

Cucumber

Little Sungold tomato won't give up. I thought it had dried up and died but it's still there.

Swiss chard did poor since planted and it looks like a bug on the leaf.

They have a plant support but it's too short. I'll support them with a bamboo stake when I'm back in the yard.

They're at least over 4 feet tall.

The geranium I planted in this spot has one leaf left. It's a native geranium. I know it's not dead and will return in the spring.

The 3 season cabbage. It may take that long for it to make a head.

Will plant elephant ear in cedar planter not today though.

Begonia still doing well.

Kind of late to mulch but will still have bags of leaf mold to apply and there's still plenty of heat July and August.

Impatiens even haven't bloomed much in the heat.

Still have 2 hellebores to plant. Haven't done much in the yard lately due to the heat.

Impatient has been food for something. This is the first year so many plants have been eaten.

Visitor on the blackberry. Obviously it 'sthe food of choice because some butterfly deposited it's eggs here.

Lilies

It took a while but the caladiums finally emerged. How jumbo they are still to be determined.

Still have many areas in the yard to clean/organize. The clay pots will be moved to the basement in the fall to prevent loosing more from cracking over winter. The ceramic container has been in the yard over winter for years without cracking and will remain on the steps.

Lily emerging. Squirrels left them along but has dug in the pot. Normally they eat the tops off containing the bloom.

Box woods have adjusted. I think they'll do well in the yard since I had another one in a container that has lived for years and is now planted out front in a container. They seem to do well in shade. The tag specifically stated that this type does well in shade.

Four survival strategies for summer heat. Water, air conditioning, cool clothing, and water ice. Have a beautiful day.