Florida's Summer Heat!

Whew!  We're in a blast furnace, full force at this point - end of June.  Any outdoor activities like gardening, walking, or even shopping, need to be done in the early morning.  By 7 a.m. it's in the 80's.  The air conditioner is a life-saver; what did people do before it was invented?  And thank you, whoever it was who thought of such a wonderful thing.  Right now, at 9:00 a.m. the humidity is only 75%, but as the temps rise, so will the humidity. 

Last year during June, it rained everyday and I MEAN everyday.  After all, this is Florida's rainy season.  But there has been very little rain so far, so it's been necessary to water my really small garden daily. 

(Above) I did get ONE butternut squash off the vine that I babied for 3 months.  I'm happy that I accomplished that much because 4 or 5 of them dried up after reaching 2 or 3 inches or so of growth.  Disappointing.  The taste of a homegrown vegetable like this is so worth the months of extra care!  So far, no acorn squash have matured.  They die by the time they reach 1 1/2 inches.  The vine is still producing blossoms, so I have hope.  The zucchini plant also is still alive and producing blossoms and at this point there is one tiny zuc on it.

Below is an update in photos of what I've planted in June.

Butterfly Bush.  I'm eager to entice some of Florida's amazingly beautiful butterflies to my yard.  I've made a start with this bush and as time goes on, I'll plant more shrubs that attract them.

Meyer Lemon.  I may plant this in the ground later on, depending on my ability to keep it growing for an extended time.  I've been thinking of planting a lemon tree since I bought this home 3 1/2 years ago.  I'm not sure of my growing skills where fruits are concerned because I don't have any experience in this area of gardening, so for now it's in a container.  If it flourishes and looks like it's going to outgrow the pot, I'll move it into the ground. 

Blueberry Bush.  My dream (my gardening dream, that is) is to have a whole line of a variety of fruit bushes across the back of my yard.  I'd love to have an assortment of berry bushes or dwarf trees  (blackberry, raspberry and blueberry, as well as lemons, limes and oranges) but I'm unsure whether the berries will survive my 9b climate.  All the varieties I see in catalogs will not grow here.  Since this was sold at Home Depot, I'm counting on them to have chosen a variety that will grow well here if I take good care of it.  Keep your fingers crossed!  Surprisingly (to me), I get a small handful of dark blue berries EVERY day!  They just keep on comin'. 

Eggplant.  I planted these seeds the beginning of June and they're growing pretty fast.  I have read online that eggplants should grow during the summer here, so I'm trying it.  I have grown them as a Spring crop before and they do very well.

Dill.  These seeds are growing like weeds so it seems they aren't averse to the summer weather.

Plumbago.  My very favorite shrub.  The cool blue flowers are so welcome on these flaming hot days.  I'll plant more, maybe in front of my home.  Some of the homes in this community have these bushes in their landscaping, so apparently they grow well here.