Ninety Days over 90 Degrees

If this is the weather pattern of the future, then I need to rethink my garden. It was 96°F  yesterday and will be 95 today.

2010 has set a record of ninety days with temperatures over 90°F. There has been virtually no rain in September (0.13 inches of rainfall).

Between the heat and drought, it is looking grim. Worse than grim, my garden looks downright bad. I cannot water it enough to keep it going. Rather than expand the garden this year or next, I think I will have to group the survivors together and make it less garden to maintain.

The drought has brought out the rabbits and the deer, foraging for food wherever they can find it. The rabbits are doing more damage as they cut down 4-foot high zinnias like little lumberjacks. I see blooms going down, and I find rabbits munching! The rabbits are even after the leaves on some salvias, such as nemorosa and guaranitica varieties.

The deer are eating the swamp sunflower, but I knew they would based upon past years. They left the zinnias alone until the last week, but the rabbits had already ruined the mass plantings. With no food in the wild, they will eat zinnias. I can't begrudge them this, given that they are all so hungry.

Fortunately, I planted a few annual purple fountain grasses this spring to perk up the agastache and salvia greggii groupings for fall. Without the grasses, it would really be a dull garden right now!

The last time I took a garden photo
September 10, 2010

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.