That was a hot one (a weather and garden report)

This post is simply an excuse to share photos of the garden and talk about how hot it's been. Since you're all gardeners I trust you'll understand. Of course our heat is nothing compared to what friends elsewhere have been experiencing (Gerhard in Davis for example). Yet the assumption that the Pacific Northwest is a land of benign, "goldilocks" temperatures—where it's never too hot or too cold—needs challenging now and again.

Above, Artemisia versicolor 'Sea Foam' mixing with Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific' in my front garden. 

So how hot was it? The breakdown for Portland; July 4th was a nice 92F, Friday the 5th temperatures increased to 99, Saturday 99, Sunday 100, Monday 102 and Tuesday 104. The heatwave broke on Wednesday and the temperatures moderated, topping out at 93. Over the course of the event Portland broke five consecutive record highs and tallied three record warm nights (lows). For those of us who like it warm and also have air conditioning it wasn't bad. For those who do not have a/c (the majority of homes here I'm afraid) and/or have to be outdoors for extended periods of time, it was brutal. 

There are many blooms on my recently acquired Aristolochia sempervirens. ..

After 5? 4? 6? years, Clematis 'Polish Spirit' finally has its first blooms. Since I regularly kill clematis, the fact this thing is even still alive is a miracle.

Same plant, but a backlit five-petal bloom.

I plopped down on the lawn and was pulling some Lysimachia nummularia gone wild (it's a weedy ground cover, but I still like it), when I took the next five shots. Rhododendron williamsianum...

Blooming Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens', the lysimachia, and Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'.

Berberis triacanthophora 'Cally Rose'

And part of my "taboret", aka vignette in the corner of the upper back garden...

I'Conia Portofino Dark Orange Begonia

Watering containers near the front door I noticed three different yellow blooming plants doing their thing, Bletilla ochracea ‘Chinese Butterfly’.

NoID opuntia...

And a volunteer verbascum seedling...

I even managed to fit them all in the same photograph.

I thought for sure all the buds on the opuntia would open with the heat, but they did not. The one that did open closed up an orange tone. I love it!

Watering in the back garden leads to some plants weighted down and lying across pathways, like this Syneilesis aconitifolia.

Passiflora lutea is on the march up the tallest trachycarpus trunk.

Coniogramme emeiensis 'Golden Zebra' likes the heat.

Sadly the Yucca filamentosa flowers have been pushed along quicker than normal with the high temperatures, and a couple stems have toppled over with all the weight. Thankfully I have some heavy-duty vases and we're enjoying them indoors.

You might remember the pair of all-yellow Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' I've shown in the past? One of them died last January, with the cold, however the other has been doing great.  

I am worried it may take a turn though, since the mama plant is in flower. These yucca are monocarpic and eventually die after blooming. I'm concerned the all-yellow plant won't be able to live on without help from mom.

Love those flowers.

The tall front-garden Tetrapanx papyrifer have recovered from winter's ugly.

Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffiths' bark peel, always gorgeous. 

Back at the front of the house to admire the Agave ovatifolia. I was concerned the one closest to the steps was on it's way out after winter 2022/23, but it is still going strong. A couple leaves are yellowing, but overall the plant is looking good.

Last week I mentioned there was going to be an orchid bloom, and here it is!

Crazy looking thing.

The Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate' that we cut back in February has sprouted back with a full head of hair, and then some. I'd planned to thin out the sprouts and then realized they were providing some pretty dense shade, better to wait until after the heat passed.

Shade for the hanging staghorn ferns that is.

Across the lawn is the one plant I covered with a protective layer of shade screen, the Aechmea fasciata ‘Primera’ looked a little bleached out after our first 99F day so I kept it covered thru the heat. The chair is shading a smaller bromeliad closer to the ground.

Just behind the bromeliad bowl (above), a mash-up of Calluna vulgaris Sempervivum flowers and an Agave ovatifolia.

Ah, Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' is blooming! This and the yucca mark mid July in my garden. It loves the heat...

Okay, just a few ugly bits to close out this post. This Pyrrosia hastata did not like the heat. Not one bit. I thought it was the afternoon sun that was getting it but nope, even with a bit of shade cloth it still looked sad.

Thankfully it revived and lookes good in the morning.

This patch of Saxifraga urbium 'Aureopunctata' got a little toasted. All I can think is that the  larger canopy of  Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate' used to provide just enough dappled shade to keep it happy.

Ditto for the Saxifraga x geum 'Dentata'.

One more sad saxifrage, this one is the worst, poor thing. 

There were a few other crispy leaves here and there, and a brown frond on the tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica), but all in all my garden did fine through the heat. Our forecast for the week ahead is high 80's and low 90's with cool nights.  I wonder what the rest of summer will bring?

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