Focus on Flowers

William Shakespeare included so many botanical references in his plays that there are about 175 mentions of flowers, fruits, grains, grasses, seeds, weeds, trees, spices, herbs, and vegetables in his works. 
There are also lots of comments about how to care for various items so he must have been knowledgeable in this area. Here are just a few examples you may recognize. 
Acorns, Garlic, and Figs
As You Like It:
Celia says, “I found him under a tree, like a dropped acorn.” 
A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Puck says, “All their elves for fear, creep into acorn-cups and hide them there.”
Bottom advises, “Most dear actors, eat no onions or garlicke, for we are to utter sweet breath.” 
Titania suggests, “Feed him with apricots and dew berries, with purple grapes, green figs and mulberries.” 
Roses
Henry VI:
Somerset says, “Here in my scabbard meditating, that shall dye your white roses in a bloody red.” 
Violets
Hamlet:
Ophelia says, “I would give you some violets but they withered when my father died.”
A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream:
Oberon notes, “Where oxslips and the nodding violet grows…”
The Tragedie of Cymbeline: 
Queen Cymbeline mentions, “The violets, cowslips and the primroses...”
 
[Reference: Botanical Shakespeare by Gerit Quealy, illustrated by Sumie Hasegawa-Collins, (Harper Collins, 2017)]

I don’t have a watering system, so I get tired of watering when there are long periods of hot, dry summer weather. Here in the Midwest when it is over 90F, potted plants need watering twice a day and beds on slopes do too. It is a chore that makes me wish I had more drought tolerant plantings. 
A drought tolerant landscape does not mean zero watering, but it requires plants that can tolerate low amounts of water, even in extreme heat. Xeriscape plantings (“Xero” is the Greek root meaning dry) still need some watering during extended dry periods, but less than other plantings. 
While plants are getting established, they need deep watering to ensure good root growth. This is essential if you have sloping beds, as I do, and hillside plantings where water runs off. 
Sedums, lavenders, euphorbias, yuccas, yarrows, alliums, lilyturfs, salvias, oenotheras, santolinas, lobelias, gauras, coneflowers, and coreopsis are not big drinkers. Remember, too, that small plants need less water than tall plants, so grow lower varieties or keep plants pruned back when it is hot. Afternoon shade is also helpful.

There are over 200 species of hibiscus, and they are beloved because of their big showy flowers and green, clean-looking foliage. They fall into three different major categories: tropical, perennial and hardy. 
The tropical hibiscus is native to Hawaii and comes in beautiful colors, and we often see them in photos tucked behind the ear of a beautiful model. 
The perennial varieties go dormant in winter and come back the following spring, but they often do not survive cold snaps.
Hardy hibiscus come just in three colors—white, pink and maroon—and can be grown from seeds. Their blooms are large and showy and grow on small shrubs about 3-4 feet tall. A popular one in Midwest gardens is 'Blue Bird' and it is as lovely as its name. 
Rose of Sharon shrubs that grow up to 15 feet tall are old-fashioned members of the Hibiscus family, too, and they reliably bloom in late summer/early fall, year after year, in purple, white, and violet shades. 
While the older varieties self-seed everywhere, modern ones do not. So, try 'Cherry Cheesecake' with pink flowers with maroon centers, which grows 4-5 feet in full sun and also part shade. But before you buy any hibiscus, check to be sure it is hardy in your zone.

Stylophorum diphyllum is our native celandine poppy that grows well in dappled shade in woodland conditions. 
It has cheerful yellow flowers and hairy seed pods. There are also two other woodland poppies that are native to China. All three species prefer moist soil and self-sow. They bloom in spring and intermittently into summer. 
Wordsworth even wrote a poem about this unassuming charmer:
"Long as there’s a sun that sets,
Primroses will have their glory;
Long as there are violets,
They will have a place in story:
There’s a flower that shall be mine
‘Tis the little celandine.
 
Comfort have thou of thy merit,
Kindly, unassuming spirit!
Careless of thy neighborhood,
Thou dost show thy pleasant face
On the moor, and in the wood,
And in the lane; there’s not a place
However mean it be,
But ‘tis good enough for thee."
 Wordsworth obviously was as impressed with this versatile plant as we still are today. 
 It is wonderful in shade gardens with companions such as forget-me-not, pulmonaria, ferns, bleeding heart, Virginia bluebells and other wild flowers.

If you welcome birds into your garden you probably know that during the summer, water sources are very important to them. Place your birdbaths in the shade and clean them regularly to keep the water fresh. Have a few birdbaths in different parts of your yard, maybe one where you can see it through a window. 
Some types of birds prefer ground level water sources also, so even a plant pot saucer can serve during hot days. You don't need feeders during the summer, but water is crucial in times of drought. 
Also, some debris in a yard gives birds places to search for insects and grubs. Grow shrubs that produce seeds and fruit that will appeal to your feathered friends and plant a variety of natives that the birds enjoy during different times. For example, native viburnums such as those that attract birds as well as pollinators. They are host plants for the larvae of spring azure butterflies and hummingbird clearwing moths. 
The Serviceberry arborea has flowers to attract insects and small fruits late spring early summer that are eagerly consumed by cedar waxwings, bluebirds, and catbirds. They also have fall color, attract butterflies, and are deer resistant.