I haven't gone out as much...and BE CAREFUL!
We just found out a friend has contracted a disease passed on from ticks. So y'all, be careful..

GGG

I'm with you. The weeds will be there when it is not so @$^*#%% hot outside. The problem is that you put all that stuff on to deter the "beasties" and then you sweat it off and they bite you anyway. And in spite of what my grandmother said,I don't "glow". I SWEAT!!!!

Way too hot to garden. Especially since my air conditioner died and I can't come inside to cool off. I'm out this morning in the drizzle doing some of the neglected chores. Here's my theory - if it's too hot for the gardener to fiddle with plants, it's too hot for the plants to fiddle with gardeners. I can't hink of anything you can do to plants this time of year that's good for them. Vegetable gardens would be the exception I guess.

Wackos garden in July and August, and I'm just a plain old gardening nut. I'm still figuring out how to have a lovely fragrant green garden in high summer with as little attention to it as possible, and extravagant flower beds that knock off in June and resume in September. Anybody have anything that looks wonderful through your windows these days without any attention?

This heat!!! It's horrible, and I haven't been outside more than 20 minutes at a time for two months. So things are shaggy...winter is coming.

My garden is also looking pretty ratty & weedy due to the opressive heat/humidity/bugs. But one plant that I'd recommend is Indian Summer rudbeckia. It's an annual, although I've heard it might overwinter here. Anyway, this is my first year trying it & I only planted 2 of them, but the flowers are several inches across & a bright gold so they really show up even from a distance. Mine get afternoon sun & no attention from me & are thriving. I'm definitely planning on planting several large patches of it next year for easy summer color!!!

Does anyone have other suggestions?

DianeGA, I have several plants that are thriving and blooming now in my nature bed, that seem to love this misery. Most were obtained at stores bargain bins for less than 25 cents each & planted a little over a month ago. One is a a white swan Coneflower (Echinacea purpea "White Swan)It has sprouted many new blooms and butterflys love it. Blue Daze (Aturdimiento Azul & Evolvulus Glomeratus) is in bloom and doing well with lots of dark blue little flowers. My Dhalia (Dhalietta Series Dhalia) is very healthy and in nice bloom. Another great performer growing fast in full bloom now is Batface Cuphea, (picked up this plant for 10 cents not knowing was it was.) Hummingbirds like the red tubular flowers with their batface like centers. Also blooming and very hardy is "Sabio Ruso", Russian Sage, Yellow Lantana, Homestead Purple Verbena, and the most abundant flowering Bacopa with delicate pale blue and white flowers. Hope this helps.

I actually like the way my garden looks from my windows. The backyard is under tall old pines and is all flower beds surrounded by liriope. I have things planted in all of these beds like lamiums,Chinese ginger,tropical gingers, cast iron plants,Fatsia, Tree Ivy, Jap. painted ferns, Holly ferns, abutelons, lorapetalum, hellebores, Azaleas, Oak leaf Hydrangea, Camelia and many more. I have pots of impatiens, coleus and caladiums to add color. In fact the hummingbird checked out the caladiums several times recently. The Liriope is blooming now so is reminding me why I have it. I cursed it all winter as I dug it out of beds where it wants to spread. I recently bought Ruby Spice Clethra and the red hardy swamp hibiscus and put out there so I'm keeping them watered.
I try to go out most mornings for about an hour. Yes, I sweat profusely and have to wear repellant and long pants but I pull weeds, pick up sticks and cones from the pines, and prune things back such as Eng. Ivy that I love but have to keep in bounds.I also water when things are dry but have been very fortunate this year that we have had enough rain that I haven't had to water very much.
I'm making concrete stepping stones with imbedded rocks one at a time and making paths through beds.
I have bird feeders and 2 bird baths for the birds.