Day:  82-degrees  |  Night:  67-degrees
The Hibiscus is such an amazing, beautiful flower!  The hardy variety blooms all summer long.  They are tropical so you have to over-winter indoors, but they are stunning!  Love the color of this bloom contrasting with the green pot.  Just a simple joy for a Saturday morning in the Garden.  Cup of coffee in my hand, newspaper at my side, and WNYC New Standards on the smart speaker.  If you have an opportunity tune in to John Pizzarelli and his Radio Deluxe program every Saturday morning.  It's a simple Saturday distraction that is sure to put a smile on your face.

Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies throughout the day today.  Another chance of showers later this evening.  Winds out of the Southeast at 5 to 10 MPH.  It's just lovely outside this morning.  I hope you have the chance to get out and about today and enjoy this lovely day.  Be good to yourself.  Be good and kind to those you may meet on your journey.  Have a great Saturday Gardening Friends!

Day:  83-degrees  |  Night:  61-degrees
A beautiful Echinacea to start our morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  I love the splash of orange on this gorgeous Friday morning at the end of July.  After the storms of this past week this gives us just a little joy and hope.

Life is filled with the mysteries of storms and sorrow, joy and sunshine, and the ordinariness of living day to day.  The mysteries of sorrow are on my mind this morning.  We don't always understand why things happen the way they do. When we are in the midst of sorrow it feels overwhelming.  The questions, the hurt, sometimes anger, and the pure exhaustion.  Why?  That seems to be the question. The answer, inevitably is, I don't know.  I don't know why bad things happen to good people.  I don't understand the mysteries of this life.  I don't have answers to any of it.  But I continue to cling to hope.  The hope that tomorrow the sun will rise.  Tomorrow things may weigh just a little bit less on my heart than today.  Tomorrow things will be a little lighter.  Hope.  Add to hope a bit of faith and things start to change, slowly, but the sun does shine.  Like today, the sun is shining.  The Coneflower is blooming.  The world keeps turning.  How?  I don't know but it does.  It is a mystery. I wish you hope today.  I wish you a little bit of faith and whole lot of love.  

Sunny skies.  Low humidity.  Winds out of the North at 5 to 10 MPH.  This is glorious morning.  I hope you can enjoy some of the beauty around you today.  Have a great day Gardening friends!

Day:  86-degrees  |  Night:  69-degrees
It is warm and humid out in the Garden this bright, sunny morning at the end of July.  The flowers seem extremely happy after the rainfall earlier in the week.  We are finally finished with the cleanup and are slowly returning to our normal routine around here.  I hope everyone else is returning to their usual ways as well.

Heading out to meet a friend for lunch today.  Always a nice break and good to keep in touch.  I can be a bit of an introvert, so it is good to get out.  

The sun is shining bright right now, but the clouds are supposed to move as the morning progresses.  There is a substantial chance for thunderstorms later today.  Hopefully not severe and not too much water!  Winds are light and variable.  It's a good day for a good day! Be kind to yourself.  You deserve all the kindness in the world.  Have a great Thursday Gardening Friends!

Day:  86-degrees  |  Night:  72-degrees
After a record-breaking rain yesterday and more rain today there's a chance for more rain tomorrow.  We sure did need the moisture just not quite in the quantity received.  On the flip side, the plants are LOVING this cooler weather and the heavenly moisture.  The Hydrangeas were looking quite sad but this morning they are pretty glorious!

My hope and prayers are that everyone is recovering and hopefully drying out.  We finally have the basement mostly dry from the storms.  Luckily the garden is no worse for the wear and definitely less thirsty.  Going forward my prayers will be much more specific!  Gentle rains upon the gardens thank you very much.  Maybe spread it out a bit more evenly as well!  

A few scattered thunderstorms are around this morning then mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. Winds are out of the West at 5 to 10 MPH.  Right now, it is quite lovely here in the Garden.  Take care of yourself.  Be kind and gentle with folks today.  We could sure use all the kindness and gentleness we can muster right now.  Have a great Wednesday Gardening Friends!

Day:  87-degrees  |  Night:  67-degrees
You know the old saying, "be careful what you wish for?"  It's true.  The proof is raining down just outside my window.  It's almost 10:30 a.m. and I'm just getting around to writing this because I have spent the past few hours getting water out of the basement and assessing any other damage around the Garden.  We needed the rain and I we are fortunate that our basement is just that, a basement.  No real damage just a lot of work to get the water cleaned up and the basement dried out a bit.  It's not working particularly well since the rain keeps coming.  My neighbor's rain gauge topped out at over 10 inches since everything started.  That's a lot of water in a relatively short period of time.  We needed the rain but maybe it could have been spread out a bit?

I've heard from a few friends that they are experiencing similar issues with wet basements and flooded yards.  I hope everyone is okay and there's not too much damage.  Flash Flooding is no joke so be careful if you are driving.

Showers and thunderstorms are hanging around through the early afternoon.  Winds are light and variable. Flooding is a reality.  Be good and be kind to yourself.  Try to breathe in and breathe out and move on.  I know, easy to say... hard to do!  Try to have a good day Gardening Friends!  The Shop Vac is calling my name.

Day:  85-degrees  |  Night:  69-degrees
Rainy Days and Mondays.  A bit of rain today will definitely not make me frown.  I might even do a bit of a happy dance.  The break in triple-digit heat is a welcome reprieve as well.  It's still a bit humid but you can already feel a tinge of change in the air outside as we stepped into the Garden this Monday morning.  

There's a change in the weather for sure.  We all could use a bit of a break from the heat outside and the heat of political rancor that is gripping our country.  It seems it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you are sitting on.  The anger and unwillingness to work together is fierce and stubborn.  There's a quickness to always look for someone to blame instead of trying to work toward a solution.  I would love to see Harry S. Truman and his "The Buck Stops Here" sign again.  We are truly a better people when we work together toward a common good instead of fighting each other and looking for someone to blame.  I believe we are better than that! I guess that's where hope lies.  It begins with a big of faith that you have to nurture. Faith builds hope and love rules the day.  

The rainy part of the day should be this morning with clouds and maybe a bit of sunshine peeking through.  Winds are out of the NE at 10 to 15 MPH.  Bring on the rain! Let there be showers of blessings! Let faith flourish.  Keep hope alive! Let love rule the day. For this we pray.  Have a great Monday Gardening Friends!

Day:  99-degrees  |  Night:  72-degrees
Yesterday's official high temperature was 105-degrees at Lambert Field.  Crazy hot weather!  Yet, the Calla Lily looks lovely.  As long as we keep things hydrated much of the Garden still looks pretty good.  Our Money Plants, well, that's an entirely different story.  They are suffering from the heat.  I keep them well watered, but the heat and the sunshine are almost too much for them.  Maybe with the break in the weather this coming week they will rebound.  

The Doodle Dog and I did our walk early this morning so as not to burn her little paws.  Then it was decided that today was going to be "Donut Sunday" around this little bungalow in South Saint Louis.  If you haven't tried "The Donut House" on Morganford and gotten their Apple Fritters, then you are missing out!  

It's going to be another Southside Scorcher today.  There's a possibility of some afternoon showers but if we don't get those it will break 100-degrees again today.  Sunny this morning with clouds moving in this afternoon.  Winds are out of the West at 10 to 15 MPH.  My hip is telling me the rain is on the way and it is seldom wrong.  So, hopefully, a break is coming with some much-needed heavenly dew.  Please take care of yourself.  Check on your neighbors and any elderly folks.  Be good and be kind.  The rest will happen.  Happy Donut Sunday Gardening Friends!

Day:  102-degrees  |  Night:  78-degrees
Whew!  It's hot and sticky out in the Carondelet Garden this morning.  The Doodle Dog and I headed out pretty early for our tour of the neighborhood.  We are doing it early to try and beat some of the heat and to keep this old man and his dog a bit safer.  

The Pentas are really nice right now.  They really don't seem to mind the heat and the sunshine.  These lovely border plantings are a lovely addition to the flower garden.  A new plant for the Carondelet Garden this year.  Pentas are one of the best pollinator-attracting plants around. They bloom all summer long, even during the hottest weather conditions. The large clusters of starry blooms on pentas are the perfect resting place for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. The plant grows well both in the ground and in containers, and even makes a good houseplant if enough light is present.

The Groundhog Day forecast continues with Hot and Sunny.  Winds out of the SSW at 10 to 15 MPH.  Please be careful if you have to be outside today.  I'm thinking of my friends working Farmers' Markets today.  Stay hydrated and try not to overdo it.  Please be kind to yourself and others today.  The heat and life are tough right now.  Here's hoping for the break we all need soon.  Have a great Saturday Gardening Friends!

Day:  101-degrees  |  Night:  75-degrees
The flowers on the Hostas look lovely but the Hostas are really suffering from the heat and drought.  We keep watering but it's an uphill battle.  The Heat Advisory has returned to South Saint Louis for the next few days.  Triple digits for the weekend.  Whew!  It's hot!

This is a reminder that we need to take care of each other, our planet, and ourselves.  It's really up to us to do the best we can and be the best we can be.  Remember that failure is part of the journey.  We learn from it and, hopefully, improve the next time.  Just keep trying.  If we stop, it's over.  

Hot and humid.  Heat Advisory.  Triple Digits.  High Humidity.  Plentiful Sunshine.  Winds out of the SSE at 10 to 15 MPH.  Broken record forecast.  Be careful if you have to be out and about today.  Be good and be kind to yourself and others.  We are all a bit fragile right now.  Have a great Friday Gardening Friends!