A hot summer with no rain and smoky days is not conducive to our home vegetable and flower gardens.    We had lots of pollinators at the start of summer, but by mid-summer smoky days may have been the reason for less productive yields of cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes.   Very dry conditions shortened the flowering periods of many perennials too.     The most reliable annuals seemed to do okay if we hand watered them.  Overall, many of our flowering plants are setting seed early and some have withering leaves.    Drought-resistant plants seemed to do well though and some of those are featured here.    In the gallery shared here, the common names are added to the image.

Some scientific names (where common names are used) are listed below:

• Obedient plant – Physostegia sp.  
• Coneflower – Echinacea sp.
• Speedwell – Veronica sp.
• Goldenrod – Solidago sp.
• Coralbells – Heuchera sp.
• Prairie coneflower – Echinacea sp.
• Beebalm – Monarda sp. 
• Ice plant – Mesembryanthemum sp.
• black Cohosh – Actaea sp.  

We would welcome some rain and some clear skies.