Summer is ending, but the temperatures here, which have been mostly in the 70s for the last three months, will be jumping into the 80s and 90s this week. Luckily, nighttime temps will still be in the 40s and 50s, so the climate inside the house should be perfect. The homes here are insulated against heat rather than cold, so most places don't have or need air conditioning.

Now that I don't have the strength or energy to do much of anything in the garden, I regret my lifelong habit of procrastination. I had planned to create a Moroccan room in one of the gazebos, paint a mural on the garage wall, build a mosaic pathway, etc. I kept putting the projects off, and none of them got done. If you want to do something, do it now. Don't put it off until retirement.

Fall is coming. As I've done a couple of times before, I've chosen Autumn as the thumbnail photo for September. Autumn is one of Coddington's Pernetiana roses. I bought this rose almost 40 years ago and I'm still enchanted by its blooms.

That's the perfect rose to kick off the coming fall season; it's the same color that many of the tree leaves would normally turn here in the northeast. But the Hudson Valley where I live - and most of the rest of New York State - has been in a hot drought for the past two months, so I fear the autumn leaves won't be very colorful this year. The ground around one of my yew trees is so dry that long running cracks have opened up beneath it - something I've never seen before. But my roses are still blooming because I water the garden relentlessly, as we have no restrictions and I refuse to do without colorful plantings if I can help it. (Admittedly, though, I dread the water bill next month.)



After getting only 1/4 inch of rain over two months with temperatures in the 90s and high 80s, we were finally - FINALLY! - blessed with an inch of rain two nights ago due to some passing storms. And yet, two days later, the soil seems as dry and parched to the touch as it was two days ago. It will take many more inches of rain to make up for what we've lost. But this is New York and the precipitation will return, if not in the form of rain during the autumn, then as snow during the winter.

Still, if this summer's heat and lack of rain are any indication of what's to come, I'll have to give more thought to xeriscape plantings in the future. A dear friend of mine for the past 40 years who teaches horticulture at New Mexico State University asked me this past weekend if I was re-thinking any of my plantings in the long term. I told her I was; that I thought future plant selections would mean paying as much attention to a cultivar's heat and drought tolerance as I have traditionally paid to its cold zone hardiness. But for now, I'll adapt with what I have, and pray for more rain!

Zuzu, I love that rose, the wide range of colors are always so attractive! Unfortunately, I left it behind when I moved, I'm sure the new owners let it die like so much else in that garden.

We are used to no rain through the summer so have to always supplement, our rains generally return late Oct-Nov.

I'm in a small stretch of area that is in a severe drought. Some of my roses are coming through this with fly colors due to location (Abe Lincoln and White Lightning) while others are doing so so but will be ok. None got much extra water from me this summer due to trying to keep the water bill down and veggies alive. When my hydrangeas wilted that's when everything got some water and that happened twice this summer.

Yes! In our increasingly hot and dry climate, we all need to be doing some water rationing.

We have had several days over 90f, my poor roses as so confused, so are other plants. With the up and down weather, we had spring plants bloom again! Some of the rose are amazing and Emily Bronte (new) seems to take cool and heat all just fine even in a pot. My second year Lady Emma Hamilton is looking like she is going to be a giant, 3 foot and 6 canes, loves the UK style weather. Wish I had a picture of the behemeth LEH near here 6 foot+ tall and at least 8 foot wide, with little care other than compost mulch and water.

Some views of the garden this afternoon...

Beautiful garden, beautiful photos , Mike.
Hasn't rained here in months. We never got the rain the other night. Still waiting...

Well, this continues to be the summer of misery here. By the time our current heat wave finishes we will have over 63 days of over 100 F, since June 1st. It is only cooling off to the mid 70's during the night. On Tuesday, our low will be 80 F. I am making PG and E very rich this summer, even keeping my house between 80 F to 85 F.
I have taken out half of my roses and replaced them with California native plants that are native to the region where I live. Just can't afford the water. I have only lost one rose due to the heat this summer. It won't be replaced with another rose.
I am hoping, if I haven't moved before next summer, to place all of my flower, fruit and veggie beds under a shade cloth canopy so they just don't continue to fry. My citrus trees are so sunburned as are their fruits. I am going to treat my roses like they do in Tucson. They put them under 63% shade cloth (with misters) and they do beautifully. So, I will save up my pennies to install such a system here as well. The roses can get by on a greatly reduced amount of water if they are under such a canopy and system.
I am still continuing volunteering with the Master Gardeners and will be starting a Permaculture Designer course in another month. In prep, I have read a couple of "text books", answered 150 questions on the books prior to starting the first class. I am also interested in ethnobotany and am studying the native plants grown where I live, that the Native Americans used to harvest for food, baskets, medicines, etc. I had never before, heard of Yampas (belongs to the carrot family) but intend to grow some in my yard in the fall when it gets cooler. Can't wait to taste them.
Come February, I hope to be teaching the Seed to Supper program and the HUG (Healthy Urban Garden) program (along with other Master Gardeners) for the residents in this area. I also hope to be designing some urban areas with permaculture principles in mind as well. A little nervous about the surveying portion of the class but it will be something good to learn. Our local zoo has reached out to the local chapter of the CA Native Plant Society to redesign their office building landscape with native plants. So, I hope to be working on that and using some of the permaculture principles in that process.
Lots of book work and learning going on but it is way too hot to be outside gardening at the moment. So, that is the latest and greatest over here. Official weather station says it is 105 F at 5 pm, Should start cooling down after 6 pm. We will probably finally get to 75 F about 6 am tomorrow morning (for two seconds) until it starts to heat up again. Wind direction has changed and so the smoke from the nearby fires is at least not settling over us at the moment. I take my blessings where I can get them.

Thanks Margie. They say we may get some significant rain on Monday, but those predictions have failed so many times this summer that I'm not holding my breath.

I had a few hours of thunder this morning but very little to no rain. It was directly west of me only a few miles. I could use it big time here.

It is odd how there are pockets of dry areas while rain falls all around.

It seems to always happen that way when a drought sets in. We're in a severe drought here so it's been a struggle this year.

We were in extreme drought, and then the rains came. Maybe it will be your turn soon.

Here are a few of the roses blooming this morning...

Iceberg by Kordes, showing its early yellow center that will fade to white when fully reflexed...



A somewhat quartered Distant Drums by the late Griffith Buck, just beginning to open, before the tan and mauve hues appear...



Blush Flower Circus by Kordes, a little past its prime but still looking good...



Incantation, a very short shrub by Paul Barden...



Rainbow Sunblaze, a miniature by Jacques Mouchotte...



Cherry Parfait by Meilland, one of my best performing roses of all time. These blooms are past their peak, so they're showing more red than cream as they age...



Apricot Candy, also by Meilland...



Elle, by Eugene Boerner...



Fruity Petals, a climber hybridized by Bill Radler of Knockout fame, now in its second year in our garden...

We've had wet years til now so this was coming. But sure as heck annoys the crap out of me when the rain won't move this direction when so close.

Mike, you always have gorgeous roses!!!

Once again, Mike, lovely roses, superior photography!

Thank you...

Today I was reflecting on this 'Ballerina' rose I rescued, when it was growing/dying inside a Jackson & Perkins cardboard box at an end-of-summer sale for $2. It was just a twig of a thing, and that was 15 years ago. After prospering in our garden for six years, it was dug up and spent the winter in a black plastic pot when we moved from one house to another in December of 2013, before being replanted the following spring. Today it's still blooming beautifully!

Gorgeous, Mike. Is Rainbow Sunblaze disease resistant? I'd like to replace Rainbow's End with it if I can find one. RE only holds leaves during dry summer and loses all the leaves the rest of time.