Don’t laugh. I have little umbrellas in my flower garden. I do! Poor plants are baking. I go out in the morning and set the parasols for the morning sun direction, and then again in the early afternoon. At the rate the temperatures are going, I don’t know if the poor plants can survive Summer.

I can’t plant many shading plants because I live in a townhouse. My only tree is in a pot, and my Loropetalums are pruned to tree shapes. I do what I can with nature. But I broke down and ordered some shade cloth yesterday. Next I have to figure out a way to put it out that will still allow me to see my garden and also water it, until we are not allowed to do that, due to drought.

I have discovered that most plants called out to be ‘full sun’ tolerant, aren’t. Except sedum. And my climbing roses are pretty happy in actual full sun. But the others are taking a beating. The parasols do help, and you can get them on Amazon. They have different size components, to adjust height, and they have a three prong ‘foot’ to hold them in the ground or pot. Oh, and they’re cute.

What are you doing to protect your plants? I know some people build a structure over plants but I can’t do that: townhouse, HOA. But share your secrets! And stay as cool as you can.