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Friday, July 29, 2016 7 Brooklin Town Crier Blooming in Brooklin By Ken Brown Hot, but lilies thrive Interesting and frustrating. When I wander the garden and see the effects of the recent hot, dry spell, I see how some plants seem to thrive. Others just sit there begging for water or cooler temperatures. In parts of my garden, plants grow because most of the vegetables are covered with a drip irrigation system. I checked the water meter one night when I turned on the system and then the next morning. I'd forgotten it was on till I suddenly awoke at 2 am and turned it off. It had been on since about 7 pm. The meter read I'd used 2.3 cubic meters, which doesn't sound like much until you convert it: 483 gallons! That's about one gallon per plant and certainly needed, but I doubt each onion needed a gallon of water. I don't want to see my next water bill. Most of the brassicas, broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi have bolted into tall stems of pretty yellow flowers that really aren't great on the dinner plate. I did grow some new portulaca this year which lives up to its reputation as a hot sun lover. I watered them once a few weeks ago and they took off with each plant covering about a 20 cm space. Now they're large, low-growing plants with delightful double flowers about 5 cm across. If I plant enough of them next year, it will guarantee a cool, wet summer. I grow some vegetables in earth boxes, enclosed systems with a constant water supply and fertilizer. Most importantly, no weeds. They always do better than similar plants and are great for small space vegetable production. Meanwhile the eggplant are telling me quite a story. The ones in the garden are barely growing even though the peppers and tomatoes alongside are doing well. Eggplant in containers are like small trees with lots of bloom and some fruit just starting to develop. My clumps of daylilies are doing something similar. The ones in the two asparagus beds are blooming and have a significant number of buds. Most others have smaller blooms and a lower bud count. I added an extension of the drip irrigation system to the asparagus beds and so they've been well watered a couple of times. Most plants can deal with the heat if they have sufficient water to run their internal cooling systems. The stars of the show? A couple of lilies. Despite the heat and the onslaught of the red lily beetle, many lilies throughout the garden have put out some blooms. I have a few newer interspecific hybrids that are performing much better. Pink Brilliant is a cross between the Oriental Lilies and the Longiflorum or Easter Lilies. It's about 1.3 m tall with several huge pink and white flowers. Whether by breeding or happenstance, that dreaded beetle has not taken one bite of its leaves. Whatever I paid for that bulb, it was worth every penny. And still, despite the weather and passing years, my daily garden wander reveals something new to keep me dallying in the dirt. Coming Soon! Our soon-to-be-revised web site, brooklintowncrier.com, will feature: E-versions of the print paper Info about our terrific staff Announcements When? Soon, soon…be patient.