Hot, dry, windy summer weather can be extremely stressful for plants in the garden. Temperatures in Gloucester have hovered near 100º for the last several days, topping out at 102 yesterday. Life seems to be fading from much of the garden. I am usually found hiding inside during intolerably hot weather, however in the late afternoon, I’ll take a stroll to check out heat tolerant plants that shine through the high temps. Several shrubs and perennials are doing well. Here are two that stand out:
The ‘Becky‘ Shasta Daisies, Leucanthemum superbum, that I planted en masse in early spring for our June ‘wedding garden’ are still going strong. I have been rewarded a hundred times over with waves of showy pure white blooms… great for admiring and great for cutting. They’re the 2003 Perennial Plant of the Year and are proving to be heat and drought tolerant. All they ask for is sunshine and a little deadheading.
Becky Shasta Daisy
Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9
Light: Full sun
Soil: Growth is optimum in moist, but well-drained soil
Bloom: June to September.
Another favorite that I’ve blogged about a couple of years ago is the Blackberry Lily or the Leopard Lily, a plant that is three plants in one.
1. In the spring, we are rewarded with blue green leaves than fan out in an attractive pattern much like an iris. Indeed it is a member of the iris family. Familiarly known as Belamcanda chinensis, after a DNA analysis, the new classification is Iris domestica.
Iris-like leaves of the blackberry lily
2. In mid-July we are blessed with a multitude of small orange and red lily-like flowers, each blooming for a day then twisting like tiny wrung out rags before dropping from the plant. I’ve not read anything about the nectar of this flower but have observed a variety of insects actually competing over the sweet fluids.
Blackberry Lily and Sweat Bee
Blackberry Lily and red ants
3. In the late summer and fall and winter, the 3-lobed pods that are green and swelling now, split open to reveal the glossy fruit that resemble blackberries. These will fall from the plant and self seed or stems can be used for flower arrangements. I adore all three phases of this colorful summer perennial.
Image via Wikipedia
It will reproduce by seed and by rhizomes which may be divided and shared. Plant rhizomes under 1″ of soil and allow to dry between waterings.
Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 5-10
Light: Full sun, partial sun, partial shade (I moved my plants from full sun to partial sun and they seem less stressed)
Soil: Well-drained; grows taller in fertile soil.
Bloom: July and August
Zones: 5-10.
Ann Hohenberger, The Garden Club of Gloucester
Sometimes I look around my garden and think I must be running an animal preserve. I see hens and chicks, elephant ears, turtleheads, oxeye daisies, chickweed, lamb’s ear, and the most fearsome animal but loveliest flower of all, the leopard lily, an aggressive animal in the jungle but gentle flower in the garden. It’s not a lily at all but a member of the iris family. I have read that it is invasive, that it has established itself in pastures and ditches, that self seeding causes it to sprout everywhere, but in my garden it is a leopard that purrs and behaves itself. Though not a color I sought for the garden, each deep orange bloom with red spots is heavenly in the heat of the summer and the 6-petaled flowers in clusters of orchid-like blooms are irresistible. No one can pass by without admiring them.
iris-like foliage to a height of three feet. Each bloom lasts barely one day but is soon followed by new blooms that shine during the heat of the summer months. After a day, each bloom dries into a tight spiral that is as delectable as the full blooms themselves. We are rewarded again several weeks later 
during fall when the seed pods split open to reveal a cluster of lustrous black seeds looking like giant blackberries, hence the other name for this plant, the blackberry lily. I have found these can be cut and dried and used successfully in flower arranging.
In our increasingly busy lives, our gardens should provide an oasis for us, a place of tranquility and joy. The city gardens of Calder Loth, Senior Architectural Historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and honorary member of the 
Garden Club of Virginia, do just that. Located in Richmond’s Fan District, Calder’s resplendent home gardens reflect his taste in gardening and reveal his ample knowledge of plants.
t is said that every garden is a reflection of the owner and has a unique story to tell. From his gardens, we know that Calder Loth is a talented horticulturist with a love for beautiful gardens and a desire to share his passion.
I love my small home away from home just a short walk from the house. I can throw up the window sashes to catch breezes off the river and putter inside to my hearts content. The shed is now nestled into the border with trellises on two walls for climbing plants… clematis, honeysuckle, and even tomatoes sometimes grow up the wall. A Williamsburg bird bottle on the side attracts a fussy wren every year and crushed oyster paths around both sides of the shed lead to the compost. On the shingled roof, a copper weather vane sings an eerie melody as it turns with the wind atop the cupola.
adventure picnic to an enchanted new wilderness, and I think of sipping my morning coffee here watching a microcosm what goes on in nature. There are two bunnies that call this garden home. They do not scurry when I approach. They are stretched out on the cool earth. Like the animals of the Galapagos they have no fear of humans. So together we share this space, just me and the bunnies.
