Heat and drought have turned my yard and gardens into an eerie place

The calendar says late July but it looks more like early October. The dead brown lawn is littered with leaves fallen from the trees. All the perrenial flowers have died, my herb garden is barely alive and the vegetables look like they've already given everything they've got to give. Normaly this is the time of year I love to sit out back and soak in the beauty of Summer.
This year sitting out back is depressing.

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PoetryNEmotion · F

This has been the most dry summer for a long, long time. My gardens are poor. The Japanese beetles are horrendous and aphids devoured all my lilies. I am not home much because I work elsewhere temporarily so I cannot devote time to my gardens. The grass I do not care about. I am not into pristine lawns and never have been. My FB photos of my gardens keep popping up and show that everything is behind in bloom by at least 3 weeks. Even the drought tolerant plants are effected. It is a sign of the times and we must adapt.

robingoodfellow · M

@PoetryNEmotion I've experienced more than usual destructive insects this year as well.

CrazyMusicLover · 31-35

That's why people water their gardens like crazy here. The problem is that underground sources of water are not limitless as well.
Seeing brown birches in late July in the woods breaks my heart too. I didn't even know they were the most demanding for water among all trees.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

Webworms are in my small pecan tree and other fruit & nut trees elsewhere. We haven’t had a good rain shower in a month and it’s been really hot. Hope my figs are going to survive, they have a lot of fruit this year the first time in years.

BridgeOvertroubledWaters · 61-69, M

Why don't you recycle grey water for watering?

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robingoodfellow · M

@cherokeepatti i have not noticed that but I'll look for it next time. Thank you for that info 🙂

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@robingoodfellow seems like garden plants and flowers thrive from natural rainfall compared to always watering from city water or even well water.

robingoodfellow · M

@cherokeepatti yes i notice a world of difference.

smileylovesgaming · 31-35, F

My local news said this has been the second hottest summer in the last 10 years

lovelywarpedlemon

I understand what you mean it sure seems grim eh??

Ynotisay · M

Are you in an area where there's water rationing? They all need a little extra these days.

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Ynotisay · M

@robingoodfellow If it's happening near you then it's a good call. It's getting to the point where you almost have to go with native plants. And even then there's no guarantee.

robingoodfellow · M

@Ynotisay actually I've devoted the majority of my property to native plants and flowers but just like in the fields around me they're dying off early. The weather is just too extreme this year.
The fields should be full of wildflowers right now. But its just a sea of brown out there.

Ynotisay · M

@robingoodfellow I hear you. Not sure where you live but I'd have to imagine that even typically wet areas are seeing gardens die. I'm in CA but our water comes from snow fed aquifers so we're ok. Still don't waste water or plant water intensive flowers. Just because you have something doesn't mean it should be wasted. EVERYONE needs to cut back.

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LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

So this would be a great time to revisit the question of why lawns even exist.

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