Plants are wilting that never wilt. Yes, brown "lawn" (or should I call it the "mowed areas"). The local weather reporters (usually right on) insist there is no drought while people are disagreeing with them.

Some of us live in a "rain shadow" where the rain is caught on the Catskill Mountains west of us, and we get nothing. That's what we're up against. A few miles from me there was rain.

I think next year I won't plant so many annual container plants, altho I love the flowers. The perennials do much better in the ground than annuals in the pots. Watering is wearing me out, especially in this heat.

I got sad about my loss of flowers (dahlia, strawberries, lilies, echinacea, lavender, and so forth) and started over with more heat and drought tolerant flowers. I guess I should be grateful my garden is small enough to handle so I put shade cloth over my whole garden since the heat is beating down all day every day! Also saving as much gray water as possible has helped my garden a lot! I'm hoping to keep my new flowers safe from that horrible day star ha~

Susan we too get missed by the rain every time, either by splitting up or totally dissipating. Maybe occasionally get spit on... certainly nothing to speak of and very frustrating!

Az, I have also shaded some plants. It honestly saved them!

Here in Vancouver BC we've had hot weather followed by a couple of rainy days and then many days of hot weather and that's where we are right now. My brown lawn is going to stay that way for summer. I am watering my pots but only once a week. I water the shrubs that are in ground once a week as well. I hope that's enough because we're only allowed to water once or twice a week. up here you never know what the weather is actually going to be like but we always act as if we're going to have a drought no matter what. No point in over taxing the water system. Sorry for all the losses of your plants. After all these hotter and hotter years I am definitely going to have rain barrels on the side of my house. I'll buy as many as I can fit. Not sure if I can store enough water to last a whole summer though. :-(.

It may be hard to believe but the PNW is a recurring summer drought area - we get virtually no measurable rainfall from the beginning of July through to the end of September (give or take :-)) By nature, most of our natives are drought tolerant as a result, as well as are many of the plants that do well here. We tend to adjust by allowing lawns to go dormant and saving the bulk of our watering for veggies and annuals and containers.

But we also do not have the high heat most of the eastern half of the country has been experiencing and that combined with dry conditions makes everything a lot worse!

I have one green area of lawn but the rest just crumbles to dust when you walk on it. The drought plus extremely high temperatures have done terrible things to some plants.

I was looking at my Thalictrum flavum earlier today and thinking boy are you taking a different tack. Instead of the whole plant wilting it has sacrificed some stems, they are completely withered and dry. The rest of the stems are fine.

I should have started watering weeks ago but the garden is large and I am rural and on a well.

We finally got rain!!! It started at 5:50 and is still coming down over an hour later. I would have wished for a long light rain but I will happily take the pelting we are getting. I really hope it heads to all who need it as desperately as I did.

We had an unusually wet period during May & June then in July the rain stopped and the heat started. Hot, dry summers are normal for us so my garden consists of drought resistant plants. Thanks to that wet spell, I lost quite a few bearded iris to rot. It frustrates me to have a summer that is both too wet and also too dry.

Yay peren.all!! I’m happy for you :)

Weve got some rain heading our way... whether it makes it here or not, only time will tell.

I’m on a well also, so I understand....

I honestly can't remember when my garden looked so crispy, so early in the year. I'm just thankful we had a wet spring here in PA, so the ground water supply is okay for now. I've been running an oscillating sprinkler on the vital areas every day for a couple weeks, and our well, still has plenty. I'm so discouraged, seeing the plants NOT getting watered, just wither away, though... a couple gin and tonics get me through.

Two years ago was a worse drought in my area I think; last year floods. This is the new normal.

"Having too many plants to possibly water, I’m sadly watching some wither and crisp."

How can you stomach that?

I literally spent over five hours yesterday with a hose in my hand, and it's not the first time I've done it this month, either.

I don't do the lawn but I didn't invest all the $$ in my ornamental plants just to sit and watch them die.

I pay for my water, too but whatever it turns out to be it's worth it.

I had these dry times in mind when I chose plants. Unfortunately many dry loving plants hate the wet springs here, but now theyre doing ok. I also mulched and spent half a day installing a cheap drip system for new plants and plants that require "soils that do not dry out". Its alot easier to install it once than water by hand every other day.

We haven't been getting any rain here either, if it does rain hard, it's likely to wash away not soak in. A FORSYTHIA was wilting in a clients garden jeez louise.

Cearbhaill I’m on a well.

To stand out there and water every plant deeply, I would no doubt run my well dry.

I’d much rather save my water/well vs some plants that can easily be replaced. Plants cost a tiny fraction of what it would cost to have a new well drilled....

As I stated with the climate change, its time to replace plants if they’re not drought tolerant. Why try and fight Mother Nature? It’s a losing battle.....

Yea, it's dry out there, that's for sure. We had a bit of a sprinkling yesterday, nothing of note.

Out here, pretty much everybody lets their lawn brown this time of year - no one cares; I certainly don't. I'm developing even stronger feelings about if the plants can't take the conditions, don't bother with them (after helping them get well-established over the course of a year or two, of course) -- the perennials need to be able to tough it out out there, trees and shrubs included. I do have a few that are my "babies" - things that are sentimental or hard to find -- but not many.

I hate watering regardless of the drought -- container plants need a lot of tending. I have cut back compared to what I had at my other house, but I'm still thinking I should cut back a little more -- we'll see. Some annuals I have planted in a bed are constantly wilting, I'm probably going to pull them.

I have a new bed that I have to keep well-watered, and I have to keep the veggie garden watered. I hand-water in the perennial bed about once a week (targeted watering, no waste), but use the sprinkler for the veggies. I did hand-water the veggies in the spring and got them really well established and they are well-mulched, so now even with the hot dry weather I can go a week or a bit more without watering (I am blessed with wonderful soil and no tree root competition out there - that absolutely makes a difference). It's supposed to cool down this week, so I might be able to stretch it to two weeks without watering the veggies if it stays in the low to mid-80s. I tend to hand-water the shrubs, too -- I think that's better than an overhead sprinkling (but sure takes time...worth it in the first couple years after planting, though).

Now I'm worried about dry well...what's that all about? I thought if you're tapped into a good aquifer system there won't be much trouble in terms of well drying up -???. Oh cr*p, now I need to investigate this -- that's the last thing I need (I can live without veggies or ornamental plants, but not water...)

“I hate watering regardless of the drought”

I used to enjoy it, I found it relaxing.

Now it’s become a constant chore that consumes my days...no longer relaxing lol!

I pulled my annuals today. First time I put any in the beds in years...only to watch them turn ugly. No amount of water would help, it’s just to blazing hot!!

Today is another heatstroke day! I ended up taking breaks, using a bandanna, and a wet neck towel to survive the watering today.

Mxk.... Don’t freak out...My well is very old. Yours most likely is just fine...but it never hurts to conserve :)

I’m tired of the sun, heat, drought, watering, gasping at my water bill.

Our upcoming forecast in D/FW, heat index/real feel will be higher. We got our first 100+ day back in May — too early, even for us. It’s been a long, tough summer and won’t let up until ... ? Sept or October? Who knows.

My plants are doing great, though, even the ones in all day sun. I haven’t lost anything due to the weather, and the Bermuda looks good. So far, anyway. Our city watering restrictions are two days a week, but I water my containers more. The only thing I’m having to baby is a new Crape Myrtle. All of my beds are new this year — we moved here in Dec — but I planted tough stuff! Abelias, nandinas, lantanas, gauras, various salvias, phlox, KO roses, skullcaps, Vitex, Sundrops, Mexican Heather, pentas, cannas, Adagio grass, feather grasses, variegated liriope, catmint, crossandras, mandevillas, bougainvilleas, dwarf Yaupon Holly, etc.

ETA: Just remembered, I lost two Sunpatiens, but the other four are doing fine.

It’s an awful season and I am hot and tired. I have been watering flowerbeds every other day. Watering my bazillion plants in pots daily. I am sensitive to heat so I have barely been doing anything else out there besides watering. I did get one bed edged and weeded 2 days ago when we had cloud cover. I have not even been out there today. I did finally find a kiddy pool and stuck my potted physocarpus in it and now they are happy again. Ugh.

Until this afternoon I was a member of the The Drought club but for the past 3 hours and ongoing we have had torrential rain. It is either feast or famine with respect precipitation these last few years. Why do I no longer see the steady but 'softer' rains that I recall from my childhood?

Ah, yes. 24 hours of gentle, steady rain. Good for the spirit and the earth.

Our local weather gurus like to use the term "threat" of showers. I'd rather they use "possibility" of showers. Rain is no threat here. They must not be gardeners.

It rained Saturday and will again tomorrow. What a break from watering pots! Today the temperature went from 97F to 75F in one hour!

Wow Susan what a nice break! Almost makes you feel like a new person :0)

We just got a wild blast of rain but I doubt it even penetrated the desert soil. It came down so hard and fast!

Soft all day rains do seem to be a thing of the past I agree....

It rained today!! (well, more accurately, it stormed - but hey I'll take it)

Gentle, all day rains are so relaxing, especially on days off when I can just laze around the house.

Everything is extreme these days. A reflection of how the world is.

I'm not sure if this will help with anyone's watering woes, but we use a pulsating sprinkler on a tripod and it covers a very large area. We have one that has spikes at the base of the legs. It has really made watering so much less onerous. i know that during these hot times it's not the "best" way to water since watering at the base of plants directly is much preferred. But with large garden areas and high heat it's a bit easier on the human to water with the sprinkler. And at least it's a little something on these poor plants. My main perennial cottage garden I do hand water. Everything else gets the sprinkler.

Still nothing here. Storm Chris fizzled out long before it got to the eastern UK and the allotment is grim (just about keeping the potatoes going) Anyway, I escaped into next year and sowed my latest seed order. Verbascum (4) are definitely going to be the stalwarts of my new xeric patch. I also sowed a lot of sedum, dierama, wallflowers, foxgloves (because I am fed up).

I really need to address the lack of irrigation - should be my main criteria for plant selection in the wood so this year has been ...educational.However, I have to choose between home drip irrigation and a greenhouse fogging set up for cuttings (I need hundreds)...or my usual bulb budget. Have drawn up lists of pros and cons...but still dithering. Making choices is always the very hardest part of gardening.

Got some nice rain here in MA. Of course accompanied by flood warnings and loud thunderstorms, but hey I'll take a day I don't have to water anything.

Jessica -- got 3.25 inches here in Central MA just west of Worcester this afternoon!! (I love my rain gauge, lol) Really loud thunder with abnormally long reverberations. And a couple of less humid and cooler days coming. I'll take it!

Rain predicted for a good portion of this weekend - bring it on!!

I could use a good rainy day for another totally unrelated reason: houseguests. They're arriving early next week and I need to clean. Rainy day = stay inside and get the housework done LOL! (well, maybe along with a good, long nap too..)

Bring it on is right!!

Sorry you did not get a good satisfying rain GardenHo. If you get more it will at least be able to penetrate the ground better. Are you seeing any in the forecast?

Thank you peren.all.

We do have many days, I think 5 in a row, of rain forecasted starting on Friday.

Im keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that it makes it here!

The weather has finally cooled down!

It’s heavenly......

Did your temps drop also?

I'll keep my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that you get that rain!

Yes today was a lovely breezy 24 C - 75 F, so refreshing!. Tomorrow we are back to the heat for another 3 days then cooling off again.

LOL thank you!!

Mother Nature is so wishy washy...

useful: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx

Driest summer So far here since 2011 or 2012, but not showing up on the drought map yet. Coming after a very wet May though, so at least there's that. I'm encouraged by long range rainfall forecast...we'll see if it pans out though.

GardenHo: Haven't the last couple days been wonderful! Low humidity, beautiful sunshine, soft breeze -- perfect summer days and spectacular evenings! I'm in SE MI - what part of the state are you in? I heard the humidity is going to roll back in tomorrow with chance of storms starting in afternoon, then rain on the weekend. Yay!

Mxk Yes it really was great! Im in the same area..Commerce and you?

The rain teased us once more...headed this way, swirled around and around, and got missed completely....once again!

:’(

Hopefully the next round will make it here....