i hear you kato, i kind of feel the same. it's so difficult to be out there in this weather and then when i try, i get all biten up by those nasty mosquitos. as long as the weather stays ths way, i admire things from the inside - whether the house or my car when i pull in front of my property. other than that, i run out to pick veggies and come right back in.

i'm also overwhelmed with weeds this year, moreso than any other season i can remember. i don't use any chemicals but i did just buy in bulk some white vinegar. someone said that works, so i'm willing to give it a try.

i am not trying to rush the season, but i have so much that needs to be divided, and other things that need to be elsewhere, that i am wishing away the summer and wanting fall to come so i can get those chores done.

Time to start the seeds for the winter veggies!

I'm praying for rain. We've only had 1 rainstorm in over a month. Several counties are under water conservation alerts. That means no watering. I feel for the farmers and people depending on well water. I'm okay here for water, thankfully. And my water bill shows it. But all the watering isn't helping much. Plants are still dieing.

Winter veggie seeds??

Sure! Cabbage and brussels sprouts and lettuce and spinach!

serious? in this heat?

One of my neighbors uses vinegar to kill the weeds in the sidewalk cracks. She's out there with a small watering can pouring it out on the weeds. Looks like it works!

Maybe I need some winter crops. I could go for some nice lettuce. Also I guess it's time for biennials and perrenials. I should plant a few pansy seeds and foxgloves that I have sitting around.

I don't think I'm ready for summer to wind down yet, still too much sun and fun that needs to get done! (but I would like to transplant some stuff so I still want rain)

I think a few containers with Cannas, tropical foliage, and some trailing plants along with a few hanging baskets helps give some freshness and color to the garden. It's so beastly hot I can barely get out and water!

I've recently discovered Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' is such a tough plant that cuttings stuck right in the ground have rooted! Imagine, in this weather!

We need rain in a bad way. Center city had rain yesterday while we heard thunder and nothing more.

Ahhhh! We have rain this morning here just north of Pittsburgh. A light rain that lasted nearly 3 hours. A help, but not enough. Tomorrow I will do some supplemental watering at least to the '13 planted this year trees and shrubs'. That will help ease the bordem at least for a little while.

The beds (6 island beds plus the total house foundation plantings) are mostly accessible to me from my handicapped scooter and I do my best to maintain them. But this heat I cannot work in so I have been inside mostly. There are things that need to be moved. The Stokesia 'klaus jeletto' has been overun by the
Agastache 'apache sunset' and Agastache 'cana' has been engulfed by the row of 5 Shasta Daisy's 'snowcap'. I think there is a Coreopsis 'creme brulee' down in there somewhere too. Dh needs to gather his weapons of mass destruction and dig up a Miscanthus 'gracillimus' that was planted to close to the air condidtoner. While he is in there, he might as well pull out a bunch of seedlings from the Echinacea 'magnus' and Liatris.

During this time of not much going on in the gardens, I have toured the local box stores numerous times resulting in a modest collection of growing things that are now holding down the far corner of the cement pad in front of the garage. Among them is 3 new Solidago 'little lemon'. They are swarming with bees, one of which let me know of it's displeasure while I was watering yesterday. It got one of my 2 typing fingers!

Since May I have been trying to track down a beautiful glass and brass garden ornament that I covet. Been in every likely place in S.W. PA looking for it and have searched the internet. I saw this hummingbird first in a yard up the road a mile or so, and I want one bad! There is also a butterfly to match. Last evening I finally stopped and asked the man in that yard where he got it. I was floored when he told me, "LOWES". Now I am in Lowes at least 3 times a week! (Note The mention of 'box store' touring in above paragraph) There is a Lowes a mile from me! But did I look at Lowes. Noooo! Sometimes the most obvious, isn't. So last evening on the way home from a visit to my new "grandpuppy" I stopped at Lowes and guess what they are out of! They did have the butterfly though. I asked and was told that they expect 4 more hummingbirds in soon. They are less than $20 bucks. I might spring for 2. Finding the right place to hang them will help ease the bordem for a little while.

Gazania, you aroused my curiosity. Anything with hummingbird or butterfly captures an interest of mine. I've Googled the Lowes site and found this. Is it anything like what you saw?
The closest store to me is Plymouth Meeting.....

PS What do you think about the underlined words on the postings..... which connect to advertisements?

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes

Carol here is the hummingbird, and if you put the # 49560 in the search space on the Lowes website you can find the butterfly. They are both much more attractive than the pictures show them to be. I haven't noticed the ads attached to the underlined words. I am not sure what you are refering to. I will go back and try to figure it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: hummingbird

The advertisements are here in postings. Look at Earthly Delights reply above and the word WEEDS. It is underlined and if you point your mouse to it, you will see.

Carol, I just saw what you are referring to. Although these attached ads can be useful, seems like they may be a no no according to rules and regulations here on Garden Web. But it says "sponsered link" Does that make it legal? Seems IVillage is sneaking in ads. It IS subtle, at least so far. Don't have a clue how they could be put in to the context of a post like that.

They must have key words, so any time something is mentioned, an ad goes with it. I saw another one with shasta daisy linked to it.

To avoid ads in your posts, try using symbols or numbers in place of vowels, like w33ds and g@rdens, in stead of weeds and gardens.

I personally don't want ads popping up in the posts I write. I don't suppport these advertisers and don't wnt them hitching themselves to my posts.

looks like you can opt out

Here is a link that might be useful: how to opt out of ads

I Village owns the Garden Web now and relies mainly on advertisers for their income. The links must be something new they are trying in order to gain revenue to maintain this site. Did any of you happen to see the post from our new Webmaster,Joshua, over on the suggestions and comments forum?Spike is gone now. After reading Joshua's post,go to the main page of the comments forum and there you'll find lots of threads about the changes at the GW.

Here is a link that might be useful: New Webmaster

i'm incredibly bored also.

there is just nothing for me to do in this weather except pull weeds and keep waving my baseball cap at the horse flies. i took the day off today and spent most of it INSIDE!

grasping for a reason to be outside, i weeded the front, turned over the compost in the compost bin and picked up and restacked the ENTIRE rack of wood that the partner backed into with his truck this AM.

i have been deadheading the butterfly bushes, and already started collecting seed from the zinnia, dianthus and tithonia. but i need more to do!

were it not so hot and buggy, i'd find myself another major landscaping project to undertake. i'm going nuts spending so much time in the house.

I agree with you Kato. We need some slow steady rain for about ahhh...... 3 weeks straight? LOL! Most people think that a quick torrential downpour will make the lawns green again. But what we need is a slow steady rain fall over the course of a week to get the color back into the yards.

I was wondering about the green underline in my last post! I kept re-writing and deleting until it went away. It finally worked! (yes, I admit I will do stupid things several times before admitting there is probably a better way)

We had rain Friday (a downpour) and I thought when I came back there would be amazing changes, but no, still dry-ish in the garden and things are tired looking. Carol, I may dig up a tiny canna and pot it up with some other tropical cuttings and such that need homes. It will be a hodge-podge I'm sure, but should brighten up a spot.

I was pleased to have some of the russian red cannas blooming when I came back. There's not much to the flower, but I saw two hummingbirds fighting over it! The plants are cool even without the hummers, they have purplish foliage and tower above me at seven feet. Next spring I'll be re-doing the front yard. I may do a tropical theme with these cannas all over plus some big grasses and some elephant ears. I may need some pink flamingos too.

My mind is wandering. Maybe I'll go fertilize and water, I too have spent way too much time indoors this weekend.

I've been bored and discontented with my garden lately, too. I've had hardly any free time to tend it, due to a new job, and when I've had time it's been too hot to go outside. Most Saturdays have found me peering restlessly out the windows at the broiling perennial beds, watching the weeds take over. We can barely manage to keep the lawn mown.

This past week, though, things finally turned around. I was supposed to be vacationing on Long Beach Island, but came down with a nasty cold and had to return home for a couple of days to tend a sick dog. I dragged myself off of the sofa one morning before it got too hot out, and watered and weeded for a couple of hours. I literally had to hack my way down the path using an ax and clippers, machete-style, but eventually things looked good again and my gardening itch reawakened.

The new plan is to get up early on weekdays and do a half-hour of gardening before heading off to work. This morning all I accomplished was repotting an ivy topiary, but it felt good and the plant certainly looked happy.

Gardening Malaise CAN be defeated!

Hi Carol,
Good for you! I think I'm also ready to snap out of it, I have two fall clearance clematis that are finally going to flower (ruutel and mr. president) so I'm excited about that, and I'm collecting a few more tropicals from friends and nurseries (just in time for them to get big and take up lots of room in the house over winter!)... plus we got a little rain!

I hope the cold wasn't too bad. I just had a summer cold that was a real pest. I told everyone it was West Nile.

We only have a tiny yard so it is easy for me to water every morning.
My problem is those green caterpillars that chewed up my petunias!
They were so beautiful, red, white & blue (dark purple)
3 hanging baskets, I loved them.
They are chewed to shreds now....and I noticed one on my nicotiana
little monsters