The Dancing Cat

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Summer 2012 Plant Killer

Optimistically we bought a bunch of new plants, mostly herbs, at the beginning of Summer- June 2012 and by Summer's end, or rather today Sept 2 (Summer doesn't officially end until Sept 21?) - this is how they fared...

(images on the left show how plants looked at the beginning of Summer, images on the right I took today)

The heat was super intense. Probably the hottest July on record (if not the hottest Summer here in Baltimore and across the country). Our poor plants baked on the back porch- us too. The 5 day power outage some kind of evil test to see show long we could stand it..Alas like us, wilted, stringy and faded we survived!

(Mr. Mint had an epic struggle with root feeding ants but made it!)

Cilantro didn't fare so well. A favorite in Gazpacho. Nothing left but a few sad sticks. He fared the worst.

Verbena looks like it could use a trim. Thought I would use it to make tea but alas haven't used it for anything but admiring it's heartiness to persist. It's a climber!

Basil barely hung on. Used in our pasta sauce, took to flowering, receded, but signs of recovery showing!

Thyme pretty hearty (it even over winters and will regrow!) A favorite in Potato Salad- a la Provencal!

Nasturtium did pretty good- (borders on being a weed?!) Love the bright orange hued flowers! It continued to flower all Summer despite the heat. Looks like the leaves just got smaller and adapted to the stress.

Not pictured: Rosemary and lavender which both did good. A black eyed susan which grew and grew! Leaves faded but still surviving. Impatiens in and out of dormancy but still blooming and our geranium which is of hearty Swiss stock :P We'll see how they fare over winter (us too!) and will be back with an update in Spring!

How did your plants fare?