February-May are summer months and this is the time to protect what plants we have and nothing much grows with vigour as they too have to pass the summer. Temps can go up to 36-37 C [which is 97 F] and can be scorching. I have put up shade nets above to filter sunlight. I was able to do quite a lot of things in the last week or so. I read in an article here on ATP last month and the tip in it came in handy as I changed my bed shape - now I have more 'edges' [perimeter] which was the hint in that article. I've posted what all was done in my blog here:

http://dinusyarden.blogspot.in...

The first post is April. Other posts also may interest my friends. I thought of sharing it here.

A Rain lily came up after a pre-monsoon shower about 10 days ago.

Pretty.

We get scorching hot days here also. Last year I saw alot of stuff wilt until after nightfall.

Lovely rain lily!

I worry about how global warming will affect India and the tropics. I can't imagine living in your summers as they are, and I wonder what will happen to crop yields if the number of extra-hot days goes up.

I hope that some subtle climate interaction like clouds or summer rains protects the tropics!

Dinu,
I can tell you have been hard at work. That shade cloth seems to offer the plants a lot of protection! So glad to see you have been able to make so many improvements around you garden and house.

RickCorey said:Lovely rain lily!

I worry about how global warming will affect India and the tropics. I can't imagine living in your summers as they are, and I wonder what will happen to crop yields if the number of extra-hot days goes up.

I hope that some subtle climate interaction like clouds or summer rains protects the tropics!

I worry about these things too!

In my garden, I get the scorching heat and dust storms because I have no wind breaks and no trees surrounding us for enough shade patches. It feels like the heat really settles in here. And, it is the middle of a hill, so it seems the extremes are intensified. I know I rarely get rain here, but neighbors a few blocks away will get rain. I see the rain clouds in the distance. Getting closer. I actually feel a few drops now. Then nothing. All that moisture just evaporates before it can touch the ground. Getting hotter and drier than this will not be at all good. Having it happen all over the earth is darn scary.

I'm still looking at options for providing more shade for my garden. We have ways to provide more shade for us humans here, but I don't want my garden to feel left out. Wish it were as easy to find solutions for extra hot on a larger scale. To protect many different ecosystems.

I think there is still room to hope for "hotter but more rain". I read in one place recently that the tentative predictions from a few years ago of "more violent cyclonic storms" perhaps should have been even more tentative.

My theory is that, when you don't know, you DON'T know. Looking ahead is necessary, especially if you're trying to dodge a global-sized bullet that will take decades or centuries to really cure ... but I don't think climatology is advanced enough to predict very much more accurately than "that extra heat has to go SOMEWHERE".

And possibly, if more clouds happen to occur where we now have deserts, maybe some deserts will become more productive, to balance the regions where crop yields decrease.

But I suspect that farmers everywhere will have to adapt, and I just hope that climate changes are slow enough that we CAN adapt. Some people have pointed out that fairly small changes in regional climates seem likely have have fairly large effects on insects pests and plant diseases, since those are so specialized. At least one person claims that pests are likely to adapt faster than plants and farmers!

Many people talk about the unusualness of climate all over. "We don't have this much rain at this time of the year...." and things like this. When the earth is viewed from a distance as a whole, we realize how sensitive it is to minor alterations. It is maintaining its balance. Seasons were so predictable even 20-25 years ago, not so now. One old farmer was telling in an interview on radio here that they used to till their lands at the right time, sow the seeds at the right time and the rains never failed to arrive on a set day as per the almanac. If the rains failed that day, it was guaranteed the next day. So much precision was noticed - as per that farmer. Even we could know. We did not have thunder and lightning with rain at all seasons. Now, this is not so. We used to play so much in the sun and there was never a glare until about 20 years ago when outdoor sportsmen also started using UV protection for their eyes. Now we notice a prominent glare. Mysore is known to be having a salubrious climate, but now summers are quite warm. Old houses did not have electric fans - no need for them, until a few years ago. We too got fans only about 5-6 years ago. We feel he sultriness. Trees shedding leaves had a pattern. Now there is a slight aberration in its timing. Has anyone noticed this? At least our Almond tree tells it!

This thread started with my rain lilies is also a subject. Because they always came up after the April showers. Now if a shower arrives earlier than that, the bulbs are confused!




The Football lily arrived a week late this year.




Spider lily is also confused.

http://dinusyarden.blogspot.co...
I did more work in the last few weeks. I've posted some of those in my blog. Do take a peek if you find time. More photos there.

Speaking of rain lilies, I return to add that there are also three other varieties of it. Here they are:







The same pink again. One more pink is in different pot - not bloomed.

Nice blooms!

Busy blog too, I enjoyed the daylily in the stone cooking pot.