Tips for gardening in hot climates

Gardening in the searing summer sun is always a challenge. Not only do plants wilt in the heat; gardeners also suffer! However, hot summers don't mean that you can't have a colourful garden.

Numerous care-free plants with tropical temperaments crave high temperatures and strong sunlight.

• The wisest approach is planning in advance to make sure that neither you nor your garden stumbles into the scorching season unprepared.
• Most climates with hot summers also have long spring and fall seasons, which offer the ideal conditions for working outdoors.
• Instead of waiting until summer's hot breath is just around the corner, get as much digging and planting done as you can fit into the shorter, cooler days of spring and fall.
• When the dog days do arrive, enjoy gardening in the cool hours of the morning or evening.
• You won't be the only one to benefit from shifting your schedule to suit the seasons. Your plants will also appreciate your advance planning. Plants set out in fall or early spring are spared the stress of starting out in a hot summer with skimpy roots that cannot take up moisture as fast as it evaporates through their leaves.
• When perennials and shrubs show new green growth in spring, rapid root growth is also taking place below ground.
• Every spring day that a plant can spend in the garden contributes to the growth of a deep, extensive root system that it will need to pull moisture from the soil in the hot days ahead.

• Alstroemeria
• Artemisia
• Blanket flower
• Bluebeard
• Boxwood
• Buddleia
• Butterfly weed
• Canna
• Carolina jessamine
• Cleome
• Cockscomb
• Coreopsis
• Crocosmia
• Euonymus
• Euphorbia
• Geranium
• Gladiolus
• Golden chain tree
• Goldenrod
• Hops
• Hyacinth bean
• Joe Pye weed
• Juniper
• Lacebark pine
• Lantana
• Lavatera
• Love-lies-bleeding
• Magic lily
• Morning glory
• Nasturtium
• Portulaca
• Purple coneflower
• Red hot poker
• Rudbeckia
• Salvia
• Stonecrop
• Verbena
• Zinnia

Always be prepared when working outside in the Summer -- any hard work in the Summer heat can be dangerous. Be sure to stay hydrated and avoid working in the peak heat hours in the early afternoon. Besides that, you can definitely have a beautiful, flourishing garden in hot climates. Time to start digging!