six on Saturday, 29 July 2023

I know that it is just as hot or hotter in other areas of the country and around the world as it is in Alabama. But successive days with the heat index, sometimes even the air temperature, hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit is just plan oppressive. It certainly limits one’s time in the garden. One of the things I learned when I moved from the more straight-speaking Middle-Atlantic states to the Deep South was that ladies did not sweat–they glisten. Well, at 9 a.m. this Friday morning, I passed glistening and moved directly on to dripping. Very soon after, my gardening time was over for the day. Because this weekend promises to continue the same weather pattern, maybe greater wisdom lies in doing my gardening vicariously by visiting Jim Stephens’  Garden Ruminations, the hub of our Six on Saturday garden sharing around the globe. Readers can find guidelines there to join in with us.

1. There are a few things to celebrate about the garden this week, though. First, one of my favorite wild flowers is in bloom. The Southeastern native Carolina lily (Lilium michauxii) is doing well in various patches. Sometime, the Carolina lily, which has one or occasionally two flowers on a single stem, is mistaken for the Turk’s Cap lily that presents multiple flowers in a chandelier-like structure.

2. Woodland sunflowers (Helianthus divaricatus) are just beginning to bloom as well. Native herbaceous perennials, they are tall and vigorous growers. I know I should create a “plan” for them, but to date I’ve let them grow rather undisciplined in the sunny upper area of the wooded part of the garden. They are really a bit of a chaotic mess; nonetheless, they are a blooming mess.

3. A few Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), a third native for today, manage to hold out in this heat, but it is surely the end of their time.

4. My next entry is a non-native, but given its popularity in the American Southeast, that might seem a little surprising. Originating is China, Althea, Rose of Sharon, Common Hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus ) are all names for this deciduous shrub that propagates itself with annoying ease. Throughout the spring and summer, I pull up and discard one to two inch Rose of Sharon seedlings. Still, I maintain numerous bushes. A few might even be considered small trees. The flowers are attractive to the eye and inviting to the bees and hummingbirds; moreover, their colors come in a rich and diverse palette of purple, pinks, and white.

The most delicate color I’ve seen appeared on a volunteer bush a few years ago. I’ve tried several times to capture that color in other Six on Saturday posts in the past—and failed. This time, though, I think I succeeded.

5. Back to natives for the fifth entry; however, it’s a reptile, not a plant. This little, bright green fellow on Japanese anemone leaves stood out in spite of himself. The green anole, or Anolis carolinensis, can change color from this lime-green to a range of shades of brown to match his background. These small lizards are quite common in the garden, but usually sport a duller green or one of those brown tones.

6. The final photo for today is of another non-plant. In this case, an insect, a cicada—the voice of the summer night. And it is final. Found among the bits and pieces of leaves and twigs on the driveway this morning, he seemed a fitting icon for the weather—a “hot bug,” as my grandmother called them, fallen victim to the heat.

Stay as cool, hydrated, and happy as you can everyone.