Wishing For Fall

This is the time of year, is when I'm the most homesick. This will last until November when our temps cool down and it's snowing back home.  Last week during the Monsoon storms,  the temp cooled down to the low 90's are now back up to 102F today.  I'm feeling under the weather and would like a dreary raining day with some homemade chicken noodle soup on the stove and a cozy quilt.  Instead that blazing hot sun adds insult to injury.

My petunias that I planted last February are getting pretty leggy.  The ones that survived the summer scorch that is.  I don't know whether to cut them back, will they regrow and bush out?  Or do I just rip them out and plant new ones?  I like the way they trail the fence but the legginess bugs me.  I wouldn't have this problem back home, because the frost would have killed them by the time they look like this.

Two weeks ago, I bought some plants on sale at Home Depot.  My two foot tomato has a tiny tomato starting.  Some of the tomatoes will be for fried green tomatoes.  I can't find green tomatoes at the stores here, so I'll have to grow my own. How many times can you say tomatoes til it starts sounding funny?

I started some jalepeno plants from seed for Duane last month.  The sprouted pretty quick, but have been just staying the same for the past few weeks.  I wonder if the hot temps make things grow slower.

I think I might be boiling the hibiscus, literally.  I noticed this morning there was  water in the bottom tray of the pot and the leaves are starting to turn yellow.  I read not to use ceramic or clay pots down here as they heat up in the afternoon and will cook the plant roots.  This is a plastic pot, but I think I might have over-watered it (is that really possible in the desert? apparently) and am boiling the roots.  Less watering for the hibiscus, check.

Bright pink geranium, I picked up this week for some color.

The pink flower plant is called Vinca.  I hadn't heard of the plant before.  Vinca to me is the vine I used to plant in hanging baskets back home.  When I first saw these at Home Depot, I thought they were Impatients and was confused as why they were selling a shade/cool weather plant in the heat of July.  These Vincas like 8-10 hours of sun and warm temps.  I bought them in August when my planter had 12 hours of sunshine, but since Labor Day my planter gets no sun anymore.  I face the north and the sun has shifted to the south.

My rose with a gardenia in the back ground.  It's only slightly trying to bloom.  It's had three buds for two weeks now.  I'm a bit concerned about two of the buds when they bloom.  The stems are very long on these two and I worried some punk is going to come by and steal the flowers.

Monday, I bought this little green house to start some seeds.  There are heirloom tomato, cilantro, dill, parsley, butterfly bush and English lavender.  I took toothpicks and taped little labels to tell what is what.  The instructions said to put in a warm shady place.  That's my patio, I just hope it's not too warm and I'm not boiling my seeds.

Because there is no sun on my side, I haul all the plants in pots to my neighbor's patio across the way for a couple hours in the morning.  Then I stalk them through the window, worried that someone might decide to make off with them.  They just wave their little leaves back at me.  The French lady used to have things come up missing all the time, is the reason I worry.  We don't know if it's another tenant, or just someone passing through.

Progress is slowly happening on the baby sweater.  So sad, when my kids were little, I could knit one of these in a day.  I know I have a second skein around here somewhere for the sleeves and a hat, but I can't find it.  I guess I'll have to do some of the organizing I've been trying to avoid, to find it.

By eight oclock, I'm ready for bed.  This will be a problem next week, when I work until 11pm.  To try to stay awake, I've been spinning. Not too much left of the llama, then I can ply it.  K will have to let me know if she wants to make a trip down or I should I mail it off.  I go to bed at 11pm then wake up at 1am, up til 3:30am then it doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I'm always up by 8 am.


The sun is starting to set and temps are cooling off to the high 80's, it's time for me to go water the plants.  Except for Mr. Hibiscus, he's going to dry out for a couple days.

Thanks for stopping by.