We had a heathwave lately, and my garden didn’t like it, nor did I. In fact I hated it, we had temperatures we never had before and the drought is awfull !!. We got a nice bit of rain yesterday but not nearly enough, besides not every part of my country got rain, and it is the same in other European countries and all over the world as we can see on the news. I have never longed for Winter but now I do !! Streams became pools and then there are the fires all over Europe and in the rest of the world. It is just scary !!!!
I’ll show you some pictures of my garden. We were able to use a waterhose to spray the garden and I did, but the sun was just too hot.
MY BIG RHODODENDRON RUINED it is supposed to be an evergreenTHIS WAS MY GOLDENRODMY GERANIUM MICRORHIZZUM . but once we get colder and wetter weather it will grow green again, this one is really tough
It looks like Autumn now, not only in my garden but everywhere. The temperatures are still high but less than before, still too hot for me.
It has been hot lately and dry, so the garden doesn’t look good at the moment, there are a lot of dry leaves of plants and of tree’s, it looks like autumn at the moment. But I found a few nice flowers who still looked good.
MALVA
This annual malva is so heath resistant, on a hot day the leafs are hanging vertically on the plant and you think it is going to die, but the next morning it surprises you and it looks fresh again with normal leafs. I was amazed !
ALBIZIA JULIBRISSIN or Persian silk tree
This tree is also heath resistant, it is a bee magnet, the whole tree is buzzing during the day. In the evening the leafs close up. It is filled with beautiful pink and white flowers , but with the heath they fade faster than usual. It is not a huge tree, ideal for smaller gardens.
BEGONIA
This begonia is a bulb plant, I bought a few of these several years ago, I put them in a pot in Spring and they bloom all Summer long, in Autumn I take the bulbs out of their pot and put them in an old newspaper and in a frost free but cold room. In Spring I put them again in new soil in pots. They thrive in the shade but they need moist soil. An old lady told me she had the same begonia’s for over 50 years !!! And each year they were covered in flowers.
HIBISCUS syriacus
This is a flower on one of my hibiscus bushes, they too fade sooner now that it is so hot but it is an easy bush, they come in many different colours and they are a real asset in your garden. They are winterdardy in Western-Europe but not in colder area’s.
FUCHSIA
This is one of my fuchsia plants, most of them like living in the shade in a pot, in moist soil. This one is in the sun, as you can see but I put it there to make this picture.
Summer was odd weatherwise. We had cool, we had hot and very hot. Bone dry but torrential rain once in a while but my garden is looking tatty. A few flowers are still standing but a lot has been scorched by the sun. Today is the last day of Summer weather, as of tomorrow it will gradually cool down and for the next 2 weeks we’ll get lots of rain.
SEDUM SPECTABILE, ALWAYS RELIABLE AND FUN FOR THE BEE’S AND THE BUTTERFLIESMY FAVORITE SEDUM, SEDUM SPECTABILE ICEBERGALWAYS PRETTY, FUCHSIA MAGELLANICAAUTUMN ASTERS WILL BLOOM TILL FIRST FROSTSAS YOU CAN SEE, NOT EVERYTHING IS PRETTY IN MY GARDEN, MY CANNA’S WERE BURNED TO A CRISP BUT AS YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE GETTING NEW FRESH LEAFS.MY FERNS NEAR THE PONDVERONICA VIRGINICA, ALWAYS THIRSTYAMELANCHIER (SNOWY MISPELUS) LOOSING A LOT OF LEAFSGERANIUM MACRORRHIZUM, WAS TOTALLY BROWN A WHILE AGO BUT GOT NEW LEAFS LATELY
The groundwater here is historically low, rainy weather is not fun but we need it, every single drop. Our local flora is dying cos they can’t stand the drought.
Last week we returned from our holiday in France, this year we visited the Ardeche, known for the many rocks, a popular holiday destination in Summer and full of French charm.
The Ardeche is situated in the South-West of France, a 1000 kilometer travel for us.
THIS IS A TYPICAL VIEW FOR THE ARDECHE
Normally there is enough water for canoeing but as the whole of Europe is suffering a lot from drought canoeing is not an option at the moment.
THESE MOUNTAINS ARE MADE BY VULCANIC ERUPTIONS ABOUT 8 MILLIONYEARS AGO MOST HOUSES ARE MADE BY THESE ROCKS TOO I JUST LOVED THIS LITTLE TERRACE WITH A ROOF OF A GRAPEVINE DARK GREEN TALL CYPRESSES. LOVE THEM !! WATER AND ROCKS AND MORE WATER AND ROCKS
We stayed in a lovely B&B as we always do when we visit France. I’ll show you more pictures of France in my next blog.
It definitely is Autumn now, cos of the drought it is early this year. But there still is a lot in bloom right now although you can see the flowers are a bit tired and the leafs are getting brown and yellow here and there. On top of it they had to go without my tlc while I was on holiday in France.
IT’S SEDUM SPECABILE TIME NOW AND I HAVE LOTS OF THEM
FUCHSIA MAGELLANICA BLOOMS FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS
PASSIFLORA CAERULEA THE ASTERS ARE JUST BEGINNING TO BLOOM DAHLIA WILL BLOOM TILL THE FROSTS COME BEGONIA’S STILL DOING REALLY WELL TAGETES (marigolds) ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR IS STILL GETTING NEW BUDS AND ALL
MY FUCHSIA’S IN POTS ARE ALL STILL IN BLOOM ROSA SEAGULL
On the other hand some plants look tatty, like the ferns, the Amelanchier tree(shadbush or june berry), the lavenders…. But hey, I am not complaining !
I hope you are all well and happy, wherever you are.
It is the beginning of August and for us it is the middle of Summer but the heath and drought have ruined a lot of plants so now it looks like Autumn.
It is the second year in a row, I think we should start looking for plants that tolerate more heath and more drought.
AMELANCHIER BURNED AMELANCHIER
I took this picture 2 days ago and now this tree is almost bare, all the yellow leafs have gone with the wind.
GERANIUM MACRORHIZUM
My gernaniums look all death, luckily I know they’ll come back when we have had a lot of rain and lower temperatures.
FERNS HENS AND CHICKS (sempervivum)
Even the hen’s and chicks are burned !!!! I have put most of my plants in pots in the shade but as we may not use the waterhose cos of the drought, I have to water them by hand, a huge job.
My poor garden, burned to a crisp !!! We had such hot weather lately, up to 38 C°, and a lot of my plants are burned. And as we have a severe water shortage as well we can’t water the garden. It breaks my heart to look at it ! It looks like Autumn even though it is only the beginning of August !!
THIS USED TO BE A DWARF RHODODENDRON
THIS LITTLE BUSH IS BARELY ALIVE.
THESE ARE ALL LEAFS FROM MY AMELANCHIER
FERNS NEAR THE POND
HYDRANGEA IN THE SHADE, BEGGING FOR WATER
LYTHRIUM SALICARIA NEAR THE POND
VERONICA VIRGINICA
As of next wednesday they expect thunderstorms but not everyone will get rain…
Does any of you know how to perform a raindance ??
GWENNIESGARDENWORLD 
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