Flowers, Gardening, Nature

Farewell, High Heat and Humidity!

52 Comments

Over the Fourth of July weekend, the heat and high humidity cracked down on us, and we had four fairly miserable days. But then on Saturday night came a booming thunderstorm that knocked out the power in some towns—not ours, thank goodness—and also knocked out the heat.

Now the weather is delightful. Yesterday was warm and sunny but not too hot, and the night was so cool that we had to close the windows when we went to bed. Blankets were in order, and I was actually chilly when I woke up.

Today promises to run the same course. In my memories, this is how Maine summers once were all the way through September, with maybe a few hot, humid days  at the end of July.

How long this delightful weather will last I do not know. But I’ll take it, and tonight will definitely be a patio night.

My gardens are July gardens, where there is actually a bit of color—primarily yellow—tucked in among the green. Here is a view of the front yard.

Several readers asked if I have astilbe in my gardens. Yes, I do, in the few patches of moist shade that I have in my beds. Astilbe is such a delicate, ethereal flower, one of my favorites.

Hostas are not known for their beautiful blooms, but this one might be the exception to that rule.

Here’s another shot of the ferns, hostas, and a daisy. Just because.

Finally, out back to the patio, where the evening primroses—or sundrops, if you will—are in glorious bloom by the fountain.

Ah, Summer! Such a beautiful season even when it’s too hot.

52 thoughts on “Farewell, High Heat and Humidity!”

  1. Nice work, Laurie! Astilbe, hosta, fern, evening primrose, day lily… looks like a well cared for northern woodlot garden!

  3. The astilbe looks lovely in your beautiful garden Laurie and so glad to hear the heat and humidity have cleared after the thunderstorms – long may the patio-days last! 🤗💖 xxx

  6. We did have some doozies for a few days – hot, hot, hot. But, the weather here has cooled like yours. Your garden is looking lovely. We have primrose at one of our MG gardens, and it is lush and gorgeous like yours. It is so beautiful, it causes you to just stop and appreciate the beauty of nature. 🙂

  7. Those hosta flowers are very nice. I am glad that you have got some reasonable weather. I couldn’t cope with your climate at all.

    1. Thanks, Tootlepedal. Our climate can be a challenge. Especially nowadays. We’ve always had plenty of snow and cold, but this extreme heat is something new, more common in southern New England. Sigh.

  9. This garden has such nice textures. That hosta bloom is like a lily! Never seen anything like that! I remember being in Maine and needing a wool blanket at night. But that was back in the eighties. Though last time I was up there, maybe four years ago, we didn’t need air conditioning and one morning the heat came on in the cottage. It was quite a surprise!

    1. The hosta is Frances Williams, a brute of hosta that makes the front yard look like Jurassic Park. Would love to get a large plastic dinosaur to add to the ambiance. Where were you in Maine?

      1. I was at Boothbay harbor most recently at a place called the Spruce Point Inn I saw on a visit in my twenties–It took me 30-some years to afford the place and get back. Other than that, where the original cottage was quite something, with a funny spark making thing on the stove, cottages outside of Stonington, Camden. Last time I was there we went to Coastal Maine Gardens! Wowsers, what a great place! I need to go inland at some point, but the pull of the water is pretty strong with me! Didn’t you meet Eliza at Coastal Maine Gardens? I think one of you blogged it….

      2. On the coast it’s always cooler, a great place to be in the summer. Yes, the Coastal Maine Gardens are splendid. Eliza and I did go together a few years back, and I blogged about it. If ever you come back to Maine, I would love to meet up with you, if your schedule allows. Fun to meet blogging friends in person!

      3. Absolutely! We have each other’s emails now, from the books, so the same holds true if you come anywhere near the swamp! Likely it wouldn’t be summer, though.

  10. Your description of days waiting for rain in humid conditions reminded me of Australia! However, lovely to see your green lush garden and now pleasant summer weather. Enjoy every moment of it!

  12. I could’ve written this post–our weather, and gardens, are so similar to yours! I wish I could bottle the weather we’ve had these last couple of days–it’s just perfect. And my sundrops are looking great, too!

  14. Your garden looks so cool and inviting. I am battling the heat here, trying to get on top of the weeding when I’d much rather be sitting in the shade with a book and something cool. I will get back out there… I WILL! (And I’ll be thinking of your green and shady spots at the same time 🙂 )

    1. Thanks, Sandra! Hope you get a break from the heat and find a cool place to read. We are having a spell of delicious summer days, but the high heat is supposed to come back the end of the week.

  16. Love the photos and your yard looks beautiful!🙂 I wish our break in the high humidity had included cooler weather like yours, but it has been wonderful to be outdoors again.🙂

  17. I put up a similar photo of our summer gardens on Instagram the other day (you can find that in the right column of my blog site). Our new fiber goats have decided that they like the garden too and are pushing over the fence to get to it. Fortunately, the like to do this when we are home (rather than at work) and are mostly eating the goldenrod leaves near the field. I picked up a new solar electric fence box and am charging it to get the lines hot again… goats.

    By the way, we are away this weekend. I have caught up on other reading material and now have a BOOK that I have been waiting for a block of time to read! You know what I mean…

    Oscar

  18. Down here on the Texas coast, hot’n’humid is the order of the day, but I do have vague memories of the kind of summer day you’ve described. Those days are the reason so many Texans head to your part of the world in July and August!

    The sundrops are lovely. The names can be confusing. We have several that carry both ‘sundrop’ and ‘primrose’ in their common names, but they’re all in the evening primrose family. I found my favorite over the holiday weekend: the beach evening primrose, that’s bright yellow and about four inches across.

    1. Hot and humid is the standard for many states in the U.S. Until recently, Maine pretty much escaped that kind of weather. Common names can be confusing. Even so—much as I hate to admit it—I prefer them to the Latin names, which sound so stiff to me. I understand the need for them, but give me an evening primrose or a sundrop any day. 😉 That beach evening primrose sounds fabulous.

Comments are closed.