If it’s 108º F, you move out of the sun. But if you’re a plant, you’re stuck. Unfortunately, every summer in Sacramento seems to have more and more days of blasting triple digit heat. This time, it’s different: it rains, too. Last night, lightning ripped across the sky, rain pelted the landscape and yet the heat did not abate. All the world was just one giant sauna.
With all this heat, what’s happening in the garden? What plants still bloom? What’s thriving?
ROSES
Many roses shut down in the heat. Flower life is shorter, and the edges of the petals may brown. The plants themselves seem to muddle through.
White flowered roses fare better, with the “popcorn” type doing best of all: small flowers, white, in clusters.
The rose is one of Annette’s rescue projects. It’s a Chrysler Imperial, found discounted at a Home Depot. If it were a cat, you’d hesitate to adopt in fear of massive vet bills, but a rose is not a cat. It’s doing better, although it had to be dug up and potted so we could move it as needed and ensure that it was in good soil (the garden tends toward heavy clay).
FLOWERS
Mexican Lobelia. This is just coming into flower and the plants are looking fantastic. This is something some hummingbirds love, others ignore.
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’). These are in a meadow where the local humidity is high. They’re planted in a depression where water collects; good for summer but we’ll see if they drown in a wet winter.
Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora). Desert plants thrive in the heat, and the plant even seems to be pushing out more buds to celebrate the hot weather. A hummingbird favorite, too.
FOOD
Sweet Basil. Basil loves heat. And water. Give it both and you’re in caprese salads, pesto and fresh marinara all summer long. If there’s anything left at the end of the season, you can freeze the leaves for a bit of summer during the colder months.
Since basil is an annual, it’s gone with the first frost, so you’ll have to replant again next year.
Watercress. As an experiment, we threw some watercress into the fountain. This plant needs running water, but maybe it’s more a question of oxygenated water. Whatever, it exploded, covering the water to the point where we had to harvest regularly. A bonus is clouds of white flowers in spring, followed by a period where good leaves are scarce. (no photo shown)