Olympic Games in the southern garden..........

It really is a horticultural nightmare trying to keep the garden looking good here in Summer..............that's why I've not done a garden post for several weeks.

This Summer has been another killer with daytime temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, and not much cooling at night. However, the 2012 Garden Olympics are well underway now.........let the games begin!

We are watering the shrubs and plants sporadically with hoses, and we've had a few really good heavy rainfalls from massive thunderstorms making their Summer visits.... usually late afternoon, evening, or best of all during the night ready for the next day's events.

Today I was out early morning with the hose as there hasn't been rain for several days. I was surprised to notice how the palest blue morning glories were now past the finial on the birdhouse, and clambering up not far behind was the clematis - now in its second bloom of the year - are they having their own Olympic race?

The Knockout Roses, following a heavy pruning back last month, are now re-blooming and pole vaulting into the sky.

The bright chartreuse plant on the wall, trying its best to twine through the iron bench, is a potato vine, slow to get going this year but now racing to the finish line knowing all too well its days are over with the first frost. 

 I always have high expectations for the Angel Trumpets.......this yellow one, cut almost to the ground and mulched heavily to survive Winter, seems to grow back taller each Summer. Knowing it had to enter the garden Olympics, now in the second week, it seems to be blooming earlier this year and is putting on a good show. As it is the lone contender I think it gets the Gold Medal just for effort, don't you agree?

 A first for me when looking out the window early today, was seeing a hummingbird busily flitting from trumpet to trumpet........sorry no time to grab a camera, you have to take my word for it.

The last event just lush enough to share from the struggling August garden..........the kitchen window box.  At the starting line in June prior to my gallivanting off to Africa, the little plants looked puny but my kind neighbors kept them going with daily watering.  On my return a few weeks ago the box had filled in somewhat, only lost the purple heliotrope, and then with a nice pre-Olympic meal of fertilizer, the plants gave their all, racing to catch up in the relay.

How are things in your garden? Are you winning the race against the drought conditions in much of the country (USA), or are you stuck in the mud in a wetter land?

What about the real Olympics? Are you watching/following the events..........will you view the closing ceremony?