Friday, August 3, 2012 Video - Zinnias, Garden Phlox, Sunflowers and lots of Crape Myrtles!

You know, I feel like it's only really rained a couple of times all summer here in my little patch of Middle TN.

This morning, I heard the weatherman say that we're only an inch or so below normal in Nashville. Well, that may be the official rain gauge at the airport or Downtown or wherever they measure these things, but there are an awful lot of storms that have skittered by north and south of us while missing us entirely.

It happened a few nights ago when we had loud rolls of thunder and lots of heat lightning flashes, but just a little drizzle.

And it happened today where we got a steady rain for all of 2 minutes. By the time I got outside to take a look, the rain had stopped, the sun was out and the atmosphere felt like a steam bath.

So I can't say I'm surprised that some of the zinnias are throwing in the towel, giving up the ghost, calling it quits. Same for a lot of the cosmos. They may be drought-tolerant, but they need some decent downpours every once in a while!

What amazes me more is the way that plenty of plants continue to tough out the heat and the drought in this full-sun, clay soil cauldron. And that's the topic of this short video walk around my garden a couple of days ago:

In other news, you still have a few days left to enter the / Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Sweepstakes for a chance to win 5 seed packets of your choice from the Southern Exposure catalog!

To enter is sign up for the email list, verify your email subscription and leave a comment on the sweepstakes post, where you'll also find the full contest rules. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday August 7, 2012.


  1. Great video. Wish we could grow crepe myrtle up here in zone 5.

    1. Thanks Jason! Well, I'm sure there are lots of things that grow well in Zone 5 that would fry to a crisp down in TN heat! :P

  2. Those Crepe Myrtles are amazing! One of these days I'm going to do a post about them with pictures from my trip to Missouri in June. Nice videography work!

    1. Thank you! The Crape Myrtles are wonderful trees. Not only are they beautiful, but the bees buzz them all day collecting pollen. I like to add plants to my garden that benefit bees, butterflies and birds - the Three Bs!

