Hanging on by a Thread

You might have seen or heard that Texas is in the middle of a massive heat wave. Variously described as hell and variations of the devil’s a$$, also shown in memes placing Texas in place of Mercury in the solar system, it all arrives at the same conclusion:

IT IS FREAKING HOT.

Temperatures have been over 100F for the last couple of weeks, and the forecast shows those temps continuing for another week or more.

Now, I love heat. I joke that I’m a lizard, because I love to bask. Having almost year-round warmth is one of the main reasons we moved to Texas. But this is getting ridiculous even for me. And my garden is truly suffering. It is, as noted, hanging on by a thread; a thread which I am desperately trying to make stronger.

I am now watering the patio plants every morning and refilling the birdbath about every other day. I keep a bowl of water on the patio, under one of the chairs, for the neighborhood stray cats, Jumpy the Squirrel who lives around here, and any other critters needing it. I have also moved most of the patio plants closer to the house where the afternoon sun is blocked. The house faces east-west so the backyard gets morning sun, and the front the afternoon sun. Fortunately, we have a huge, 20-year-old live oak in the front yard which shades the front of the house or I don’t think I’d be able to use my office in the afternoons. The problem is that a great deal of the back yard also gets the broiling afternoon sun and that’s what’s causing a lot of the plant stress.

My hibiscus has a ton of buds, but the afternoon sun, which used to give me glorious blooms, is now frying them before they can even open. Even the mandevilla, a tropical plant, is having a hard time in this heat.

I am working hard to keep things alive even if I can’t keep them thriving. Hopefully, this heat will break sooner than predicted and we can get back to our normal 90+F days. That said, I am very much looking forward to our annual trip to Dillon Beach in northern California. The temperatures there are in the high 50s-low 60s. If I get to put on a sweatshirt, trust me, you’ll hear about it!

Please keep my plants in your thoughts!