We finally slipped into a real summer here, after a long, cool, gradual spring and a good rainy entry into summer. Recently "real summer" means no rain at all, sweltering heat and just barely breathable levels of humidity. After six weeks of this weather, plants start looking a little ragged, and even the most enthusiastic gardener runs for iced tea and air conditioning. But just as this sweaty season reaches it's most unbearable also come requests for plant availability in the nursery. "Send me your list....what looks good?"..... So, after several weeks of "almost" getting to it, I have reserved this week- as long as it takes- for inventory taking before all else.
I hate inventory. I hate standing out in that hot sun, I hate writing each name, size, location, etc. I hate piling up sheet after sheet, knowing that I won't be finished even when I'm finished until I put it all in the computer. This year I'm trying on a new attitude to help me with inventory. It's going to be a "learning experience" for Zach, so that he can not only learn the inventory- including spelling the names- but also a brief "what does it do?, how do you use it?" session. That lets me talk about the plants....which I love to do. After a day, I think the new strategy is working. I think Zach learned a few things yesterday, and I even had enough energy left to swim and then go home and start entering the data. But the best part of the day yesterday was the face to face reminder of some of the plants we grow for just this season.
There's Hydrangea involucrata for example. It is a lacecap, but hardly looks like a hydrangea at all with it's fuzzy leaves. But those fuzzy leaves look great, and it's all budded up and starting to bloom now, just when most other Hydrangeas look tired and washed out. And how about Clematis heracleifolia 'Blue Mood'? This vine is a "leaner", not a "twiner". It's foliage is clean and it's flowers are a deep and clear blue that is sometimes hard to find in the garden. But for sure the mood is cheerful and interesting, and if anyone ever sees it in the garden, they are usually interested. Rosa mutabilis looks fabulous right now, and seems to laugh at heat, humidity and drought. Isn' that a pleasant statement about a rose?
And from the old fashioned gardens of the south, we have Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus 
in it's double white variety. Unlike the single flowered ones, this double form is sterile, so all you get is clear white flowers- no seedlings!Or another old fashioned plant rarely seen in nurseries these days is the flowering Pomegranate- Punica granatum. The foliage is glossy green, the shrub is still producing it's double orange flowers, and it's also loaded with orangey red fruits.
Speaking of orangey flowers, look at this fantastic perennial! Dicliptera suberecta. It has fuzzy leaves also, in a nice greenish gray tone. Loves the heat; flowers all summer. Another constant flower producer is Abutilon megapotanicum . Both are favorites of hummingbirds.The thought of plants that shine in August reminded me to get the pictures of my most recent trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Of course you will find all sorts of beautiful displays there, but the succulents
in the dry garden
are especially astounding. I recommend a trip to your nearest public garden even on a really hot day. I know, it's not something we want to do. But there are all sorts of lessons to be learned that you can take home to your own garden, and it just might give your hot and tired summer brain a reason to sing along with Patti Labelle.......
"Somehow the wires uncrossed, the tables were turned
Never knew I had such a lesson to learn
I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes
Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do
I tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude"
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