Some herbs absolutely thrive in our summer heat and at the same time are great in drinks to cool us off. My two favorites are lemon verbena and lemongrass. Both are considered tender perennials - I have found them to be quite hardy. The lemon verbena dies back to the ground each winter, but comes back vigorously each spring. I believe I have lost the lemongrass just once. I could have easily dug up a clump and overwintered it in the garage - I just took the chance. Both are in the full blazing sun and can easily survive on one watering a week.

Consider making syrup. Mix 1-cup sugar and 1-cup water. Toss in either a couple of lemongrass bulbs cut up into pieces or a cup of lemon verbena leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Cover and cool. Pour the syrup through a strainer and refrigerate.

Use the syrup to flavor water. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons to a tall glass of sparkling water. It is so much better than a coke. It is also great to sweeten ice tea.

Yesterday I tried out a newly purchased ice cream maker. The lemon verbena sorbet passed the husband test - he loved it!

All of a sudden, the heat is on deep in the heart of Texas. Temperatures this past week have been in the mid 90’s and higher. To make it worse, it has also been humid. Oh, how I wish I had finished one of the basic chores I tell everyone in our stores to do. Mulch! I have been putting off this yearly task. Now it has become a necessity.

Bare soil is a no-no, especially in the hot blazing Texas sun. No plant’s roots like that kind of heat. Early in the morning, bag by bag, I will work on this - my plants are telling me it needs to be done.

These beds have had lots of compost, organic fertilizer and mulch added to them over the years. The soil is no longer compacted and there is no run-off as they are watered. They take less watering as well - we can water long, deep and much less often.

Meanwhile, in all this heat it is time to plant fall tomatoes - can you believe it!

One of the fun things about gardening is trying out new plants. It can be a real sickness. I remembered in my younger days when I was sewing most of my clothes, that I could not come home from the fabric store without another piece of fabric for something - who knows what. There are still some of those pieces in my closet.

Usually there is a collection of plants sitting on our back patio, eagerly awaiting the time when I finally decide where each plant should go. Most often, that happens when my husband gets tired of watering all of those pots. I am just finishing up on the latest batch, which includes many that were on sale at the latest Dallas Arboretum plant sale. I, too, want to see how they do in my yard. This is my second year growing Basil Pesto Perpetuo. I love its almost tricolor leaf - dark green, lime green with a white edge. It tastes great as well. Always fond of agastache because it attracts hummingbirds, I cannot wait to see how Acapulco Salmon/Pink does. I am attracted to the colors of the Alternanthera Brazilian Red Hots - that went in a pot. And in a bit of a shady spot I am trying out Sinningia tubiflora, hardy gloxinia. The flowers are supposed to be fragrant and are supposed to attract hummingbirds. Sounds great to me.

I did not know what we were going to have for dinner until this morning’s harvest. Lots of 1015Y onions, red potatoes and a few white made the decision an easy one. My husband loves steak. I love the foods that accompany the steak, so we are a good match. We will grill the onions - a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Potatoes will be boiled and tossed with a pesto made of parsley, chives and rosemary from our garden. I will make a salad with the last of the radicchio - probably with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Meanwhile, I am trying to think of an interesting cocktail to start the evening, using the lemongrass syrup made this morning. The lemongrass has survived the past four or five years in the garden. It is now quite large.

At lunch, we had some the first of the cucumber harvested from the garden - there is nothing better. And all is organically grown!

The only way I can really relax (according to my husband) is to get out of town. So last week we spent four days in Beaufort, South Carolina. My husband is right about these things. I read almost two books (that’s how relaxed I was) and spent the rest of the time exploring the area around the town.

One of the spots we really enjoyed was the site of the old Seabrook Packing Plant. The climate there is much more moderate than ours is (and much more humid!). In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, this area became a prime source of fresh fruits and vegetables. Independent farmers grew lettuce, cabbages, peas, radishes, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes. At the packing plants, locals and migrant workers readied the produce for shipping by rail and boat.

Today, the state has a program called “Fresh on the Menu”. Restaurants which participate promise to have at least twenty-five per cent South Carolina grown foods and products on their menu. The move to organic growing is afoot as well. This past weekend there was a tour of nineteen farms growing organically or very close to doing so. It included producers of pasture-raised meat, dairies, honey producers as well as vegetable and fruit growers.

Even “on holiday”, organic gardening is on my mind.