I was. But I was just watering newbies that were planted over the last week or so. Just one hosta in the bunch (Fire and Ice) but another dozen or so plants (lavenders, hardy geraniums, barberries). I had exactly the same temperature as you - brutal. After heading out a mere 10 feet from the back door, beads of sweat were already rolling down my forehead and stinging my eyes. Hardest part was loading up the wheelbarrow with pine mulch from the back of my 1.6 acres and schlepping it back up to the front of the house to blanket around the new plants. Feels good now that it's all done though. And yes, I had an adult beverage after that. And a cool shower.

Satan called. He wants his weather back.

I was. 90 in NE Ohio. Got up early and had my backyard mowed and 2 gardens watered by 11. Then I putzed around weeding, deadheading, removing scapes etc. nothing major. Actually it was my first complete day off without having to work or care for my mom. It felt gooooood! WW

91 in little ol* Delaware today. Hand watered some hostas. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted through Sunday. Yeas, I hate lugging all that hose down to the hosta garden.

DD

Only 86 here in the mountains. Phil

We got up to 78F today. It is supposed to get 5-10 degrees warmer for the weekend. Neener-neener.

-Babka

96 in NJ...any getting hotter next two days!

96 here in MD, too...I gave the garden a deep soaking this morning, then spent the day soaking myself at the pool with the little ones.

88 here today. Not that bad. Last year at this time I think it was about 102.

Don B.

160 degrees on top of the furnace where I was, a cool spot. I wished I was in the garden. First day no rain. I was happy to get off from work and enjoy 91 deg. Too hot to play with plants so we had ice tea and a/c. The heat has not be on here in Florida ... not yet. Paula

Only 82 here in Vancouver, WA. I was hauling around dirt in a wheel barrow all day. Putting in a new shade bed. :)

I enjoyed connecting with you yesterday...could read but could not post..ok now...

I can't get over that some of you worked in that heat!!!! Slugging wheelbarrows, hoses, etc. I gave up after a few minutes, sat on the swing and waited for birds to come have a drink of water, but they were too hot to fly, I think!

Take care and don't overdo it.
Jo.

95 in Michigan yesterday. I watered the plants in temp pots and one hosta hosta bed that gets more sun than the rest. I also repotted what was left of Tricyrtis 'Moonlight' that the rabbits demolished. Not sure if the bits will survive or were exposed in the heat for too long.

68 degrees here in Western Oregon at 10 in the A.M. But the weather yahoos say we wil get up into the nineties soon! We have been there a couple of times. But we are not done with summer yet!!!.

Yesterday it hit 90* and although the humidity was high a breeze made working in the hosta patch tolerable. I dug a couple of large xplant holes for next spring, added some mulch, xplanted two small noid seedlings for fillers and made notes of what needs to be moved next spring.

Today I'm dealing with black ants that are around the foundation and getting into the house. I've got to get out my jeweler's loupe to identify, if I can, just what species I'm dealing with. So today my most noteworthy activity is to see if there's a circle of hair around the ants butt (ID characteristic for Carpenter Ants). Whooda thunk it!

Ick. Got up at 7 yesterday morning to water and weed the beds in the sun, and plant a few things in the shade. Got up to 92, with a heat index of 100. I have no air conditioning, so I don't get a lot done at one time, drink a lot of water, and take a lot o breaks!

Yesterday? It was a high of 86 and I was out with some garden work, repotting an ant-filled hosta, and rearranging the area of the garden with an abundance of sunshine so I could move the fragrant hosta into more sunshine. I worried about the mama bluebird who is on the nest in that area, so I misted the area for about an hour. It lowers the temps by a good 10 to 20 degrees and breaks the heat. I KNOW it was hotter than 86 back there. Today is in the 90s.

Plus, I spray painted the pirogue (flat bottomed derelict boat) a florescent hot pink, and moved some plants into it where they can get a combo of sun and shade at various times of the day. That hot pink really POPS. It is my second pink boat....the first was Dear John, a boat I had at MoccasinLanding, and the pink kept it from being stolen from my back yard--which was on the bayou. Can you imagine a thief toodling down the bayou in the ONLY pink boat on the water? Everybody knew who it belonged to! :)

Here's the pink pirogue high and dry among blueberries

Do we all remember how much we complained about the STUPID LONG COLD WINTER WITH ALL THAT SNOW?
Hardly.

Was 99 earlier today in Queens, NY. A t-shirt I had on for 10 minutes was soaked by the time I walked to the gym tonight. Even with a/c on in my home, the heat just seeps through, leaving me without energy.

I watered my gardens around 7 p.m. tonight. The hostas are doing OK, but some of the heuchies look a bit crisp, even with me hosing them down thoroughly nearly every day. Gold Zebra heucherella looks particularly crispy. It was a disappointment, looking very sun faded the whole time, even though it only gets morning sun from an eastern exposure. The other heuchies in the same Neighbor's Plot are fine.

My rosebush's flowers were either dead or on their way. Not sure it it's the heat or the time of year. Oh well, it was a glorious run for Easy Does It. I cut off all the dead and dying flowers in case it feels like another flush.

The purple ornamental plum tree in the center of the hosta garden is looking 3/4 dead by now. Its leaves are only a medium purple, compared to the ruddy reddish glowing purple of healthier such trees on the block. My neighbor (the motorcycle-owning guy, not the Chinese guy) saw me watering the garden today and told me he had not forgotten his promise to help me prune away the many dead plum branches in an attempt to save the poor tree.

ItâÂÂs like living in the french fry bin at McDonalds.

I'll take the hottest summer day over snow ANYtime.

Don B.

I have done some work in the gardens every day but starting earlier and earlier. It has been over 90F for five straight days, 94-95 the last two and todays forecast is for 96 with a 106 heat index. But this morning was fine as I'd watered my hostas. Sweet Innocence will be moved into more shade in the spring. The most disturbing about the heat is dewpoints that almost equal the temperature, and no wind. I have had less than 1/4 inch of rain so far in July.

But I am not griping. I remember last year with 100F temperatures and no rain for3 months. So far things look a lot better. The lawn is beginning to turn brown because hostas trump grass when it comes to water. :o)
Theresa

Hot, hot, hot. I am living in the pond, finding an excuse to take a swim and cool off at least 3-4 times a day. It was 91.4 F, yesterday, if my calculations are correct. Our house is full of guests - I sleep in the tent and the guests have taken refuge in the basement.
We've had lots of visitors trickling up the driveway to see the gardens, which is surprising. Usually, as soon as the temperature rises, people stay home.
It will cool down this evening. I wish ir would rain, though.

Checking-in from the 'burbs of Philadelphia... it was a steamy 90 degrees at 7:45 this morning (yuck).

I've been hand-watering too and have found that collapsible hoses ("Pocket Hose", Flex "Hoses", etc.) make the job of lugging the hose around the yard INFINITELY easier. The online reviews tell me they are not very durable, but at this point who cares as long as they do the job now. :-)

It was 92 with a heat index of 105 when I left work again yesterday. The skies opened up just as I got home, and heavy rains temporarily dropped temperatures down to 82 for an hour. We're back to 92/103 today. Looks like our cool down won't happen until Sunday now.

Tooooooo hot! Where was that thunderstorm they predicted last night?

DD

Weather Network says 109 F (43 C) with the humidity. We have had several days in a row of this heat. There is a severe storm watch right now (large hail, damaging wind, heavy rain) - and there are Tornado watches just north of us today. I'm in the Toronto, Ontario area.

Here's the sky around 6 pm tonight. Evil looking, isn't it? Clouds opened up soon after and drenched us, dried up, sun came out, then more clouds and thunder and another soaking. Made the temperature drop about 10 degrees!

I'll take the hottest summer day over snow ANYtime.
Don B.

I am completely the opposite. Can't stand high heat nor heat and humidity. Have cousins who rave about living down south ... they can keep it. Been there, done that.

Paul, I agree, I can't stand heat either. I am able to work in the yard when it is cold, simply wear a jacket and a hat. But when it is 95 with high humidity, what can you do outside then, nothing! We had 5 days around 95 in the afternoon, today at only 85 I was able to mow the lawn, but gave myself a cold bath right afterwards with the garden hose. Bernd

I'm with you! Could never live in the tropics year round. Love the seasons, snow and all. I love snow because it shelters all my babies like a security blanket while they are resting up for the grand entrance in the spring.

Had, as you've read above, very high winds, thunder, lightening, the whole shebang yesterday. 3 downpours...sooo nice to get rain!!! It was a blessed relief to go out this morning, early and feel cooler weather....then by mid morning, right back up there, but definitely a couple degrees cooler. Right now there are intermittent high winds...had to lower umbrella. At least I was able to repair some wind damage, I.e. cut off 4ft delphinium stalks that were bent right over, 1 very tall echinacea snapped off right at the root, otherwise all is well.

Need to bag the cuttings tho' and the backyard needs mowing...we'll see.
If I promise myself a nice glass of wine as reward, I MAY venture outdoors again and do what I should. :)
Jo

99 yesterday, which is crazy for Maine. And it was windy. A hot day is bad enough, but hot wind really sucks. I am completely drained of energy and it was all I could do out last evening and try to rehydrate the hydrangeas. Not a fan of snow, but I could not live somewhere where this kind of heat was typical of the entire summer.

Cold, snowy winters have a purpose to me. Makes me appreciate the spring and summer even more. Me personally, I work outside almost all the time, so by the late afternoon, the sun is getting a little lower in the sky, and I refresh by going out to pull weeds, mow, play with the hosta, etc. before dinner. Guess I'm just a 'growing season' kind of guy. The only reason I like snow/cold is now I have hosta, and I know they are regrouping and getting ready to be beautiful again for us in the spring.

If I had to live in Alaska, I'd probably have put a bullet in my head YEARS ago. : ) Colorado I like.

Warm Thoughts,
Don B.

I understand that in Alaska record size vegetables can be grown. Their growing season is shorter but they have many weeks without nights. So growing in Alaska hostas should become huge.

Coll.......This heat does put a damper on our gardening spirit for sure...requires so much energy just to THINK cool!
I bought an Endless Summer pink hydrangea...man o man, does it ever require lots of water (Nuuk, Nuuk, 'hydra', of course, me dummy)...every day I have to bow down to that beauty and give her what she needs. Once I figure out where I should plant her, she'll be fine, cooler roots and all. I bought it KNOWING I had no idea where I can plant her!!! Wish I could restrain my impulses, some of the time. What kinds of hydrangeas do you have, Coll?

Oh, sorry Bernd, I meant I'd probably have shot myself in Alaska because of the 8 men to 1 woman ratio average in that state. I did visit there once, about 18 years ago. The cold weather is pretty harsh, too. ; )

Don B.

Jo, I have three macrophylla hydrangeas, with the big, thirsty leaves- Blushing Bride, Twist and Shout lacecap, and Merrits Supreme. The last one my mom gave me and has incredibly deep purple blooms that I love...but it is planted on a slope and is the first to wilt on these kind of days. I go out and just dump buckets of water at the base. Then I also have two paniculatas- Little Lime and Quickfire.

Coll...I'm intrigued by the names...will look them up online, thanks!

Well, I mowed the lawn, edged the beds, deadheaded, collected stuff, moved swing back, moved furniture...took more pics.....cple of my lilies are looking fabulous...my Easter Lily is blooming with four flowers, lovely fragrance, Whirlwind is still showing great colour, not gone green yet..life's great, huh?

Gosh it's great to get some energy back with cooler weather!!!!!! I earned my wine!
P.S. sky this morning

SquireJohn...did you find what you were looking for re ants?
I had ant problems earlier...they had a huge colony at the base of my dogwood tree. I picked up spray can of Raid Outdoor Ant Nest Destroyer...worked like a charm. Must be a bad year for ants in general...there was quite a lot of us hovering around the Raid section, discussing our problems...consensus was that the above named product is only one that's effective.

Hope you resolve your problem, too.

Jo

Alison, poor you, no A/c..feel for you..neighbour across street must be suffering too...front door wide open yesterday and today. Bummer!
Take care.