Phlox
Cosmos & Sweet Alyssum.
Tithonia & Cannas.
Tithonia.
Cosmos & Phlox.
Well, if we did have a drop, it would have sizzled on all hot objects and dried up immediately.
I have had a busy morning. There was mega watering to do. First, I started with the Milkweed patch. I used an iron spike to make holes all around my plants and poured the water from the small watering can. I can get exact precision with the small can. All the Salvia needed a drink, and then the Spotted Bee Balm. I put mulch around the SBB, and I watered all the Tithonia plants. That was about 2 buckets of rainwater.
I got up 2 tubs of leaves/compost and am waiting to get potting soil for topping those to grow things in. The soil here is pitiful and there is no tilth or nutrition so I will continue to grow things in some kind of container.
Went to Barb's and picked up the 30 Stoke's Aster plants. Barb let me borrow her frost cloth. She had one very long cloth and 2 short ones. One was perfect for the Raised Bed. I watered the RB and put a stick in each corner and laid the cloth over it and tied a soft knot in each end. The sun is filtering through the cloth, so I think it is going to be perfect for starting more seedlings. I have lots of seeds left, but when I cast them around the gardens they are not sprouting. Maybe the birds and other wildlife are eating them. I don't know, but it's frustrating. The seedlings I started in the toilet paper rolls are looking good. I will do more tomorrow.
Do you see those green beans?
Zinnia & Marigold seedlings.
My Tithonia.
Frost cloth on RB.
My Silene Garden. 
:smily:
My fortune cookie says, 'Not having a goal is more to be feared than not reaching one.' That makes perfect sense to me. My short-term goal is to be able to keep all these beautiful plants alive until the rainy season and my long-term goal is to be able to walk all the way around this complex, (that is 3 neighborhoods) on the weekends when I do not have little Roxxie with me. I would not put that little sweet dog through that strenuous walk. She does a great job walking with me every weekday and she is a real trooper.
Tomato patch.
Pink Portulaca.
Yellow Portulaca.
Basil rescued from the Hot Raised Bed.
Those pots of Portulaca were just made yesterday, and they already bloomed. I will take some more pics, especially of the Silene. It is as good as it's gonna get because it's so dry.
Barb is going to give me a cloth that I may be able to use as a shade cloth for the Raised Bed, and if it doesn't work then so be it. I had to go ahead and get the Basil out this morning because no matter how much you water it won't be enough. It will be fine in the pots. How many pairs of shoes does one gardening gal need? 
I got a call from Barb today and she dug up her Stokes Aster and says she can give me 30 plants. She also said it takes that plant 2 years to produce bloom. I can wait. I am very patient on things, garden things, like seeds, and waiting for blooms. I know they will be worth it because I saw hers in bloom last year.
The Ginger Lily is starting to grow and pretty soon those long leaves will unfurl. I love the blooms. Oh, the Magnolia trees are in full bloom right now and it makes for a delightful walk with the wind wafting that southern scent through your nostrils to take you back to a slower pace of life. Ah!
Most of you tomato growers probably already know about this, but I thought I would post it for those in the northern clime who will be planting seedlings soon. Remove the 2 germinating leaves at the bottom once they have yellowed and started to wither away and then bury the stem all the way up to the first true leaves. Where those leaves were roots will grow. It's like a jumpstart to quicker root growth. Another quick fact is the tiny hairs at the bottom of the stem. They are called trichomes and release oils that give tomato plants that distinctive smell that acts as a defense against pests. Don't you just love, love, love that smell?
My banana water is still going strong. I've used it on everything that needed a jumpstart, veg and flowers alike. I have a whole bag of banana peels in the freezer and will add some to the slurry today. It actually has a very pleasant scent, but I have it in a bucket with a lid outside.
Today I started a new container. It is a plastic bin that Ray gave me and is full of holes already for drainage. I filled it with leaves and will add potting soil and plants once I get some broken bags of potting soil at Lowe's. I'm in no hurry, and I will take before and after pictures.
Peace & Plenty.
My Azaleas were over my head, and I really needed to trim them as I am allergic to the leaves and where the AC water drips into that pan outside, I was always getting it on my arms, and I itch like crazy afterwards. I cut them back hard, because they were only trimmed down 3 springs ago and they grew back that much. They really bloomed this year and I attribute that to the tangerines that I placed around them last year and this year, plus we had a lot of rain this past winter.
I had to clean out all the leaves and debris from the big Sycamore tree and now I'm ready to put down brown paper and then Lava Rock and gravel on top of that. I had pine straw mulch around those 6 tomato plants at the other end of the planting bed, but it was not doing the job. It just seems too dry. I also had to take out all the water bottles and wash them and put some new ones in. Some of them were clogged up because I used dirty rainwater. My Bad!
Barb let me come and get a big load of gravel/lava rock. I think it will do the job. She gave me Curly Parsley seed and a big bag of Cape Honeysuckle seeds. I am going to give all of those seeds away because I have 2 plants and a whole bunch of seedlings. She just wanted to get them out of her yard. I totally understand that.
Either tonight or early will be when I do that work out by the garage. It is so hot here you would not believe it. I cut my arm just as I was finishing up at Barbs. My skin is so thin. 
: I do need to be more careful. Barb cleansed and bandaged my arm and DH came to pick me up. Life is good!
Pics when I'm finished with that tomato patch and Azaleas.
I must look into getting some shade cloth to put over the Raised Bed. The sun is just drying the soil out every day and we are in a drought period.
Broad Beans.
The Tithonia opened.
Cosmos.
Grasses taken from inside Lanai.
