Let’s talk about the weather. Around here we went from flooding to heat wave in what seemed like a split second. June turned into August and watering was the name of the game. … and critters! Since we garden lovers water the objects of our garden affections. … the water deprived critters come calling. In our case this year it is been tons of raccoons. Our critter cam is filled with their antics. On one frame there are five! They are rototillers! Making a mess. They have torn through the cottage borders, breaking down blooms, broken limbs out of trees and scratched through the meticulously laid mulch. You know the drill.

BUT, that was NOT the most horrifying heat related experience I’ve had in the garden. One beautiful morning before it got tooooo hot I decided to do a mini photo shoot of my work area – THYME OUT. I took videos and stills and zoomed in on particular little areas. As I worked in this area I noticed something moving in my cute bird house Mr. G made for me. So I went to check it out… were there baby birds?????  On closer inspection I found that no … there were NO cute baby birds but a snake! …. INSERT SOFT SCREAMS MR. GGGGGGG HELP!!! I “know” in my head that snakes do good things and are mostly harmless but that does NOT make me like them more or fear them less. Friends, this is the kind of “garden surprise” that could drive someone to put a FOR SALE sign in the yard. Well, not really but you get the picture. G came and poked about in the birdhouse and got him to come out a little bit but he was not leaving his “shady” house. Everyone and everything is trying to beat the heat.  

How did this end? G and I hurried back inside to the air conditioning. We have no idea what happened to the slinky creature. I sincerely hope he found another home that offers more of what he wants and there aren’t any more such surprises for a while! I’ll be on my guard. 🫣

While we are talking about THYME OUT, here a few of the pictures I took before the terror began.

PERFECT TIMING

Mr. G is truly the hero of the day (every day) but especially in this “heat” as he finalized the irrigation to several of our garden areas. So with the press of a button or using the iPhone app  … all those babies get watered!

BEATING THE HEAT

LILIES

The lilies have been fantastic through the heat! They must have loved all the water because they are huge! I have felt like melting but the lilies continue on. 

Here are some of the show offs this week. Many more to come!

INVINCIBELLE LACE HYDRANGEA

Invincibelle Lace is knocking it out of the park! This is a big surprise to me. I planted two of them in the dappled shade of a Sweet Bay Magnolia thinking they most likely would not get enough light to be as pretty as I wanted them to be next to our sun porch. But that was not the case. Look at them! This is one of the amazing hydrangeas from Proven Winners. 

SUMMER HAIR CUT

The roses are through their first flush and I have given them their summer hair cuts so not too many blooming right now. But, there’s always a few to enjoy!

BLOOM THYME…

ROSE CHAT PODCAST

I have had some fabulous guests on Rose Chat! Here are two of the latest…

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CRITTERS & CRUD:  Crown Gall & Chili Thrips
Gaye Hammond, Master Rosarian
LISTEN HERE

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CERTIFIED NURSERIES
Justin Valdez
Director of Rose Research and Development
LISTEN HERE

🎙️Coming up next … Natalie Carmolli of Proven Winners and Kimberley Dean, The Rose Geek! Stay tuned. 

🌹As always with the podcast please share with those on your social media sites and in your newsletters! Help us get all the rosy info out!

Friends, let’s Grab some iced coffee or tea, and safely enjoy our summer garden season! For me right now … it’s early in the morning and late in the evening and very little in between!

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability” – Sam Keen