This Week in the Garden


Last week was plenty hot with high temperatures into the 90s. As summers go here in the Deep South, this one, so far, has otherwise been relatively mild. I’ve had to water a bit in between nice, soaking rains.

Maybe ten percent of the zinnias have bloomed. So far, flowers have mostly been various shades of pink. That should change in the weeks ahead. I planted mixed colors of five different varieties in the same area.

I’m harvesting Midnight Snack cherry tomatoes. As you can see, they’re rather eye-catching. The flavor is decent — almost as good as a “real” tomato. In other tomato news, my Cherokee Purple tomato is, in fact, a Beefsteak. I’ll pay more attention next year.

The orchids love being outside. Two plants with three-foot long flower spikes — the ones I’ve talked about all year — have new buds. Not all my orchids have survived. Wrinkled leaves are a sure sign death is near. One of my big bloomers had wrinkled leaves when I put it out, but now they’re healthy. Yet another miracle for my Lazarus orchids.

Sun-patiens top my list of must-have annuals. They bloom like crazy and even here, hot afternoon sun doesn’t faze them. I only saw them once at garden centers this year, so they may be hard to find. Looks like seed is available so I’m planning ot try growing my own for next year.

We’re barely into the 2020 season and I’m already thinking about 2021. That’s what I love about gardening. No matter what happens over the next few months, there’s always next year.