Today in the garden...

At 104 F, it has been almost unbearably hot here in my zone 9 garden. The herbs and tomatoes are thriving in the heat and sun as are the zinnias and sunflowers but the rest of the garden is definitely protesting. So far I've only lost the lobelia which were planted in March. They had faded and I trimmed them back in hopes that they would come back but the heat was just too much. Anyhow, here's a little tour of what's happening in my garden.

The raised herb bed. Parsley, thyme, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, basil, and tomatoes. The red flower is a volunteer verbena that a bird planted last year.
The front flower bed. Still a work in progress but I'm happy with it so far. Once everything has matured and is in bloom it will look more balanced than it does now.

My Annabelle hydrangea is doing great despite the heat. No blooms yet but she has more than doubled in size since I got her in early June.

Scabiosa 'Snowmaiden'; I'm loving this one. Has been a prolific bloomer.

Silver Tansy

Sunflower 'Jade'; from Annie's Annuals. This one is a beauty. Love this striped verbena! So playful.

One of my carnations grown from seed. The two pink dashes look drawn on but they're 100% mother nature's doing.

Mystery rose

Another bloom from same mystery rose.

I like the contrast between the white Pascali rose and the deep purple of Wandering Jew. The Wandering Jew actually came from my grandma's house in Minnesota many years ago and has been passed from house to house and family to family. It's hard not to love plants with a story.

My grandpa made the chair/planter/birdhouse which currently has morning glory crawling over the aged wood. I can't remember the name of the plant in the planter. On the foreground is Nasturtium 'Alaska' which has been happily blooming non-stop for over a year, frost be darned.

Can you tell I like Morning Glories?? Here the vine has wrapped itself around a delphinium. I love the purples together. (BTW- this photo was actually taken about a month ago... the delphiniums are mostly dormant by now)

And a close up.

Despite the heat there is still much to do in the garden. This week I've been busy collecting, drying, and storing seeds. I will also need to order spring bulbs within the next month or two. This fall will be my first time planting bulbs in mass! We have a huge flower bed that runs the length of the front of our house that we never know what to do with. I think a bed of bulbs would be stunning. I'm thinking tulips, irises, daffodils, and lots of my favorite flower, Ranunculus.