Onslaught of the Drought

It's been so long since it rained that I cannot recall exactly when it was. It's bad; so much so that I have to water my gardens, at least the ones in the front and on the sides of the house. Things are dying despite my best efforts. I'm also disappointed in my garden plan because even though I followed the directions for each plant and planted by height, things have gone awry. As a result I have very tall plants in front of short ones. Let' just say that what I envisioned for my gardens and the reality are vastly different. The pictures below tell the story.

The moon flowers are hanging on but the soil was dry as a bone, possibly impeding growth. I'm hopeful they will revise with enough watering.

This is one thing that looks pretty good--the crepe myrtle that I cut back. It's shape is much better and the white flowers are lovely.

Sad. Sad. Sad. This is what remains of the poppies I planted near the road. I have no idea what that plant in the back right is, but it looks like some kind of vegetable vine. I'm not pulling it until I know for sure what it is.

I water the heucheras most days, but they still look pitiful. One seems to be dying, though I'm working as hard as I can to try to save it..

The front right bed. So much for million bells. They have not lived up to their billing. I hate all of the patchy places. I keep telling myself that a perennial garden is not created in one year.

This is the left front garden, and it too looks ragged. Again, the million bells probably should be called half-dozen bells.

The zinnias are blooming but take an enormous amount of water. As soon as I finish watering them, they dry out and wilt. I pour copious amounts of water in the planter, but it's so hot it evaporates too quickly.

This greeted me the other day in my side garden. What is it? I wish I knew. It must have been planted by some other owner. One of the joys of buying a house that has had multiple owners is trying to make all of the existing landscaping coordinate. Everyone has a different idea about what should be where.

I won't give up. I'll keep at it and keep trying. Maybe it will rain soon. Maybe in a few years I'll look back on this and laugh at how I seemed to be losing my faith.