Hi Linda and welcome from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. My personal experience is limited to Western Oregon and Washington state, but my Mother-in-law's gardened in the desert of Eastern Washington (and almost everywhere else for that matter), it's high-time I talked her into joining!!! I'm sorry about your plants, but I'd be willing to bet a few of our Arizonians, Texans, etc. will be able to help with anything us cool/mild climate folks can't.
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! Eileen, Thank you for the links. It's a great place to start. Toni, I have made local friends but they do not garden or have a gardener (and when I tried to talk to one, all he wanted to do was take over gardening for me). I have had a little luck at the plant souks but my Arabic is somewhat limited and they do not speak English so we are limited to my charade like behavior (which does bring smiles). Some of my other hobbies other than gardening are reading, cooking and quilting. And I love to travel. Sherry, Your idea for protecting plants was a good one. I didn't have time to react before this last storm hit. I am going to watch the weather forecasts more often. (Ok, what I really mean is..I will try to remember to watch them...) Biita, great idea- I will have to look up what other flowers are in those families. Kaseylib, I always have a few books going at the same time. I just finished Jodi Picoult's Keeping Faith. I am reading The Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr and Educating Alice, Adventures of a Curious Woman by Alice Steinbach. I saw the book forum, I will definitely post there! Wrennie, Work didn't bring me to Kuwait, love did. My husband works on base here. I always promised to follow him anywhere... Thanks again to all of you. We get cut off from the outside world here sometimes, the Internet can be sporadic and the phone lines are even worse. It is so nice to know I have friends waiting here!
Hello Linda. I'm from Michigan. You pick a wonderful place to find friends. Glad you could join & welcome to the stew.
Hi Linda! I'm sure that I'd have the same problems which you are encountering! I'm much more familiar with your SC gardening conditions, being as I am just a short distance south of Wilmington, NC.
Welcome! I haven't much experience with the hot/dry combo either, but there must be at least a few useful veggies or herbs that would like that sort of thing - rosemary comes to mind as fairly hardy for herbs, or maybe oregano... there are some thyme and lavenders that do pretty well in heat too... Work as much compost/organic goodies as have available into your herb plot to beef it up and possibly provide a bit of light shade if you can, then water and water. How about sunflowers, if you could have them by a building or similar to shelter them from high winds? You might look around the neighborhood and see if you can identify anything useful growing in other folks yards, especially if there are any local varieties that suit the zone you are in. Perhaps then you could even get a cutting from them if they are friendly. Good luck!
Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome. Eileen, I hadn't thought of sunflowers, I do have the perfect spot for them. I bought a test kit and I do need to amend the soil further. I planned on asking for cuttings from neighbors. I have stopped when someone is trimming before and asked for cuttings and usually get some good advice that way.
Welcome Linda. I'm from Southern Maine so sorry...can't help you either but don't go. We'd still love to chat and hear about your challenges there as you find your answers.
