Archives for July 2011

We’re currently going through a heatwave and drought here in Toronto. Up until this morning it hadn’t rained for over three weeks and temperatures have been getting up to 36 Celsius (96.8 F) plus humidity making it feel like 43 Celsius (109.4) or higher.

It did rain just a little bit early this morning, but it was barely anything. We really need it to rain for at least half an hour a day for a week to make up for the lack of rain. Most of my neighbors lawns have gone dormant and the city is urging people to water their trees. Yes, it’s that dry!

I’m glad my garden is fairly well established with long term perennial plants. That doesn’t mean that they don’t need water, but they have well developed roots and since I don’t make a habit of watering them daily my plants are holding up well enough.

My front and backyard gardens have more than 50 rose plants. Some of the roses are ten and twelve feet tall and one is at least eight feet wide. So you can imagine how much water my garden needs. I also have lots of Hostas, flowering shrubs, lavender, Rudebeckia, Heuchera, Astilbe and many other plants. I actually planted in layers so that something is always blooming or growing in each spot. For example where tulips or hyacinths might come up in April or May perennial Salvia might grow through the summer and fall.

While this drought is going on we’re only watering our garden every three or four days, but when we water we water deeply. That is supposed to be the best way to water plants anyway as it helps to develop a good root system. If I notice that any of my plants are looking a little wilty after a particularly hot day and the rest of the garden looks ok I’ll just hand water it – along with my hanging baskets and potted plants – those all need to be watered daily or at least every second day in this heat.

How is your garden standing up to the summer heat? How often do you water when it’s hot and dry out?