Hot.

The woman on the tv this morning seemed surprised that it gets hot in mid June in NC. We are only a little over a week away from the official start of summer. I bet she'll be surprised when it's cold in February too. It's already 84 degrees. The humidity is in the mid-90's. The heat index today could reach as high as 105, in the shade.

Some plants love this heat. The squash are producing. By mid week, I'll be eating fresh squash every day. The double orange ditch lilies are making their show now.



So is this unidentified plant, again from a trade last fall.



Maltese Cross has done much better in its second year. Last year a few blooms sprawled across the ground. It looked more like a creeping verbena than an upright grower.



Salvia subrotunda is cracking color too. With a few dozen self sown plants, the display should be great this year. The goldfinches can hardly wait.



That large blooming spidery rudbeckia is impressive too. I'll have to save these seeds separately from the others I collect.



The biggest disappointment this year has been the meadow garden. The cosmos are blooming and more are coming, but there's been a real lull since the clover died. It's reseeded heavily, so there should be plenty next spring too. I've got an idea to make this bed more interesting using grasses. I just need to divide some of my existing plants. I'll wait until it cools down a bit in 6 months.



Scattered storms in the forecast too. We could use the rain.