It’s hard to believe that any flowers can actually bloom this time of year. With all of our extreme heat, it’s a wonder that anything is still alive. So I take “little garden tours” in the evening to check on all my beloved plants. Here’s what I find……………     I’m definitely going to plant plenty of these next year. Periwinkles do great in the heat. I wish I would have planted twice as many.      My short perennial grass is now shooting up little foxtails. I have quite a few of these around the farm. My only problem is………..those nasty cats. The little kittens love to jump and play in it. I wouldn’t care, but they always end up killing the center of the plant. I can’t allow that to happen. These look great in the fall with pumpkins.     My hostas have beautiful white blooms. They smell so wonderful. I left the barn last night after milking, and took a nice long drag of these blooms. Smelled heavenly! Please excuse the brown leaves, my hostas are tired…..and hot.      Most of my dragon wing begonias are doing great. Give or take a few stubborn plants. I always plant lots of these by the patio. They want shade. Makes a nice contrast to my white door. By the way…….I move my pots around all summer long. Keeps me motivated.      My private patio. I love to putter around out here. Some of the plants are looking kinda wind blown. Baked in the sun. Gasping for their last breath. I tell myself to hang on until fall……then all will turn nice and beautiful again. Come sit for a spell. I’ll fix a nice refreshing drink…..iced coffee, cherry limeade, ice tea, anything you want.       I still have a few lone hydrangeas blooming. I have plans to plant more this fall. Different kinds, different colors. Different flower bed.      Right here, around this tree. I want something different in the red pots. See, that’s what happens when I do all my watering by hand. I stand their and daydream. How can I make this look better? What plant would grow in this spot? Which color should I use? All good questions. Then I pull out my phone and start researching. Earl never, ever says no to my planting ideas. He wants to live!      My crepe myrtle are blooming nice. I need to plant more of these. I just need to find the perfect spot.      Clyde has absolutely no respect for my grass. He just plops down wherever he feels like it. It’s pretty forgiving, so I look the other way.      The black-eyed Susans do pretty good……if I keep them watered. These multiply like crazy. I transplant every year.      And the sweet potato vines. They wilt fast, but as soon as I water them they perk up right away. This is the first year I planted both colors side by side. I really like it. Took me a long time to figure that out.      My purple heart seems to be surviving. I should pay more attention to this. It’s kind of in a remote spot. I’ll write this in my gardening diary.     And of course my beautiful sunflowers. The bees love these dudes. I like this color. It’s nice and bright. Candace still hasn’t cut the other sunflower heads off. I better go remind her of that chore………….Carol