We have just completed the hottest recorded July ever for our region, based on average daily temps. Even worse, we are also trending away from August as the rainiest month of the year, on average. Our gardens look as though they've been baked, roasted and and broiled.
I have gradually added tougher, more drought-resistant plants over the eight summers we have lived at our Chevy Chase residence. But I still have a soft spot for astilbes, hostas, actaeas, and ferns, none of which do particularly well in anything but a shady, damp environment. So, I try to at least give them shade. And I try to focus hand watering on those groups of plants. Even so, I can't help them shake off the grip of heat so fierce that it only "dropped" into the mid- to upper 80s at night. Also, nearly every shady spot received at least some amount of direct or filtered sunlight, which is bound to wear down the shade-lovers by midsummer no matter how much water I can give them.
One decision I have made regarding garden design: I want to increase the number of echinacea 'White Swan' and decrease the number of e. purpurea. Probably in something like a 3:1 ratio. This means giving away a whole lot of plants. I shouldn't have too much trouble finding new homes for them. Once again, they have proven themselves to be real troopers when it comes to summer survival.
How has your garden fared this summer? About as expected?
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