garden update

You haven't heard from me about my garden lately, have you? Well, there's a reason for that. It was kind of a disastrous summer, bad even for my standards down here in the hot south. It was hot and it didn't rain and I didn't water nearly enough and things died or failed to thrive.

Ex-plants:
-Tomatoes. I had maybe 5 total this summer, mostly little ones. I still have 3 plants in the ground but who am I kidding?
-Pole beans: Set one was nibbled off at the ankles by rabbits. Sets two and three succumbed to heat and drought. I ate about 6 homegrown beans this summer. This is 2 bad bean years in a row for me - and beans are supposed to be easy.
-Shade annuals in the front yard. They are the farthest from the hose. Impatiens died early, and there are some coleus that wilt daily. Interestingly, the ones in the concrete planter on the porch are thriving. Note to self: look for drought-loving shade perennials for this area (do such marvels exist?)
-I think I killed my echinacea. I don't know how - I watered it pretty well, but it was always dry. It looks mighty dead right now, but maybe it's just, um, dormant.

Hanging on:
-Carrots. A few survived from my initial planting in the garden bed, but what's really doing well is a potful I planted. Not nearly ready to harvest yet, but not dead.
-2 eggplants and a jalapeno that were late-season seedlings bought cheap at the market. There's one pepper. One of the eggplants flowered last week.
-Basil. Not the world's happiest basil, but we made pesto the other night and it was good.
-Climbing rose and clematis. Poking along, rose bloomed some, clematis did not, we'll see what next year brings.

Lovin' it:
-Canteloups. The bad bed (spring pea bed) is all canteloup, and I have 5 tennis-ball sized ones in progress and at least as many more smaller than that. They love to be watered but are taking the heat just fine.
-Butterfly bush. No watering, no nothing - the right plant for this climate.
-Oddly, the iris in the bed by the driveway. Everything else there died, even other bulbs, but that iris is HUGE and happy. Plant more iris there - don't fight it.
-Herb garden. Except for the oregano which got big and brown but I am sure is unkillable and will come back gangbusters next spring, everything is happy here.

To do (most of which will not get done due to household economies):
-Buy more compost and spread liberally.
-Develop system of drip hoses so laziness does not = garden death.
-Plant some new bulbs this fall.
-Find perennial solution for the front. Also, can anything be done about the grass?
-Fall pruning/hacking (already underway).
-Bring in ficus and calla lilies; put dahlia in the basement; dig up and chill amaryllis.
-Work with what works, keep reading about southern gardening, think Mediterranean.