Hot and humid has been the norm this month. Usually July is the hottest month of the year here, but it seems like the heat is lasting longer this year. The plants love it though, with lots of flowers both ornamental and on the veggies. My purple petunias continue to provide colorful displays. I saw a hummingbird stop by them this week, but didn’t get a picture of it.
Petunias are one of the best flowers to attract hummingbirds, and much less expensive than the torenias that I’ve used before. In the hanging pots the pansies gave out, so I re-potted the pink petunias into them for some more color to finish off the summer. Next year, I’m going to put petunias in them from the start.
Impatiens continue to bloom prolifically in all three little table pots.
The front flowerbed is teaming with color, as the echinacea continues its summer show. These flowers have been going for at least two weeks now.
Purple phlox blooms next to Dusty Miller, which is still putting out yellow flowers. I need to clean out some dead flowers, but it has just been too hot.
Hydrangeas are prolific as well, with several colors blooming at once now. Most are now this mottled pink. I still haven’t had a pure tone.
And a few are this indiscriminate color of weirdness. I think I need to put yet more lime on the topsoil to push them farther towards the pink.
In the garden planter, the tomatoes are doing well, while the squashes all seem to be dying. I have kept Seven dust and diatomaceous earth on the plants and the ground to kill off bad bugs, so I am at a loss as to why the squashes are not doing well. I thought they had enough water, but maybe not. There’s no evidence of fungal disease. Certainly the box is overcrowded, and that may be a factor. I never expected all the plants I put in there to survive.
This little one is still on a vine that is turning brown, so I doubt it will get any larger. It is only the size of a lemon right now.
I harvested a second pie pumpkin, and more tomatoes. This acorn squash has been the same size for a month now, about the size of a large orange, so I brought it in. We’ll see if it is edible later. The undersized butternut squash I brought in earlier in the month rotted, so I had to throw it out.
Oliver came by a couple of times for a snack. His buddies Jack and Charlie were here, too.
Back on the veranda, one of the geraniums that I cut and put into the ground to root seems to be happy. It put out this lovely flower in an intense pink color.
On the bird feeder, the bright yellow goldfinches share the bounty with a chickadee. We are keeping a sharp eye out for the disease that is killing songbirds in the middle part of the country now. One of the symptoms is crusty eyes. We may need to take the feeder down if it shows up here. My Sweet Babboo keeps the feeder clean, using a bleach solution on it regularly. For now, we so enjoy watching the variety of birds that we want to leave the feeder up.
A little later, a female downy woodpecker stopped by for a visit.
How is your garden growing? Do you have some pretty birds stopping by?
From My Carolina Home 
You sure get some beautiful pictures of your flowers and furry friends.
Although flowers are generally more colorful, I rather like that indiscriminate color of weirdness. I bought dressy garment fabric that looked a lot like that. It made a very pretty blouse that seemed to coordinate with many suit jackets.
I’m glad to see your veggies are about the same size as mine, small. And my Marzano tomatoes have bit the dust but I did get enough tomatoes to make 6 batches of sauce. I only got 1 cucumber, lots of flowers but no fruit.
And now we’re waiting for hurricane Fred to come up into GA. More rain. We’ve had too much rain this season.
Joan
I only had luck with my tomatoes for veggies all the others had blossoms but no luck with vegetables very strange as there were bees and blossoms
While I know you dislike the summer heat…..here’s one positive vote for the summer heat. How I ever endured Midwest winters I’ll never know!!! Ha ha…
We had a break from the heat this weekend, thank goodness. It was too hot to even get in the pool for a few days. I went in with a granddaughter on Friday in the middle of the afternoon but couldn’t take the sun. We usually swim late afternoon when the shade is on our pool. Garden is full of weeds, sigh…..So no sharing photos of that mess. Yours is beautiful and I can tell you enjoy every aspect, but it’s the wildlife that I enjoy seeing the most. We have rabbits again in the yard since we no longer have an outdoor cat. The population was significantly reduced by our little hunter. We have trees full of cardinal pairs and they are fun to see flit around. Out in our woods is a derelict chicken coop. Turkey buzzards moved in about 15 years ago, and there are now at least a dozen that soar high above our house before diving into the woods.
I always enjoy reading every one of your blog posts, Carole.
I read and rarely comment. I am sorry for that.
I love your garden flowers, You and hubbs have managed to keep your little patch of the planet looking wonderful. Thank you always for sharing your beauty.
It has been HOT. I have not spent much time in the garden this year because the mosquitoes have been voracious and I am their favorite meal. So, I have had to abandon most of my efforts in the yard. No worries, I am busy enough with daddy, grand girls a plenty, household chores, and all of the regular daily tasks. I try to keep sewing and I have sent quite a few quilts off to be quilted by my local quilter. She does a good enough job and that just leaves many to be bound now.
I made without a pattern a lone star quilt that i thought I would just on a whim, try to make, and intended it to be small…. but it was a large quilt in the end, I gave it to my niece for her wedding gift and have not heard any comments yet. Everyone I showed it to said it looked incredible, and I have to admit, even though I was not in love with the quilt, the process, and finsh with no instructions, I was moderately proud of that quilt. Now I wish I had given it to someone else that would have loved it, and made the newlyweds some place mats and coasters 😂
Keep having fun Carole. You are inspiring
Always love seeing your garden and wildlife photos! I put petunias in my pots every year, and they do seem to like the heat. Now that it’s mid-August they aren’t quite as pretty, and probably need to be pruned and fertilized. We’ve been getting a hummingbird at our feeder every so often, and the nuthatches are back, too!
Your garden colors are beautiful. I learned something too, about geraniums. I am going to try it!
The yellow goldfinch photo with the blue of the feeder in the background is stunning!
Extraordinary amounts of rain and heat had my squash plants just hanging on. With some 5-10-5 fertilizer, they perked up. The zucchini, butternut and delicata squash varieties are back on track but the spaghetti squash is not looking good. Hoping your remaining squash plants surprise you with a nice harvest. Nothing beats fresh from the garden;
Thank you for your eye candy photos!
I had to stop feeding my birds here, but the Audubon Society lifted the no feed order for us. I just began feeding again this weekend. A few woodpeckers have returned as well as my finches and hummingbirds. I’ve only put out a duet and thistle thus far.
Your flowers are very pretty.
Your post always makes me smile “indiscriminate color of weirdness”. I redid the front garden this year – ripped everything out and stared fresh. Just called the fence company and getting a new fence means changing up the garden too. I use your garden for inspiration! Your flowers are always so beautiful.
Thanks
Always enjoy your garden posts. Beautiful flowers, veggies, and birdies.
Your garden is looking so beautiful and colorful! It’s winter here and we don’t have too much in bloom, so it is lovely to see your garden! xx
Carole, can you tell me what type of seed is in your bird feeder?
Beautiful flowers and it’s fun to see your birds there, too, Carole! Do you have a larger than regular sized lot? I must plant petunias next year, too!
I love the soft hydrangea colours, I have two which yet again have failed to flower, despite looking very healthy and happy!!
Lovely flowers. We don’t get a variety of birds like you do but do get galahs, I put out seed bells for them but I think the possums get them first as they disappear in a couple of days! We have wattle birds, they love the nectar in the flowering native plants.
Your garden is indeed enjoying the weather conditions. And the wildlife, too.
I am looking forward to our Spring planting in a little over a month here.
The garden is looking just fabulous! And I love that you have pumpkins already. I’m not ready for fall but pumpkins are always so cheerful!