There is a saying that goes something like . . .
“The road to a friend’s house is never long.“
That’s true, although, it helped that we flew this time. But spending time with Melinda, my fellow gardener and friend, is always a treat and well worth the miles.
One fine day in October, I took a lovely morning stroll with Melinda through LSU Ag Center gardens. Proven Winners (my favorite purveyors of all things growing) has trial gardens here. Weather in Louisiana this summer sure put the flowers to the ultimate test of heat and “exceptional drought” conditions. Summer in October was waning, but the heat still packed a punch that day with temps flirting with 90°F by early afternoon.
‘Blue My Mind’ is a dwarf morning glory in an intense shade of blue, which looked exceptionally lovely as a front of the border ground cover.
Oh how I hope this Celosia becomes available in Zone 5! Such pretty purples!
The extreme drought conditions in the south were definitely the ultimate challenge. There were a few places throughout the numerous flowerbeds where I noticed that their drip irrigation system was not functioning properly. Plants in those gardens suffered accordingly, as was proven by plant tags with crispy plants, or no plants at all. But this bed of “Louisiana Super Plants” fared well and looked gorgeous.
I’ll be back!
Barefoot Lily Lady 