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Digital Dirt June 28, 2002 Singed, Scorched and Tattered: Burnt Toast and Dashed Hopes in the Garden I knew when I planted that Rhododendron insigni -- she of the leaf undersides painted with irridescent fish-scale pink -- that a western exposure was a risk. OK, an invitation to disaster. So I made a mental note to buy shade cloth and erect a barrier to get her tender, young foliage through the first cruel blasts of summer sun. So much for mental notes. Before I had time to say what can't be printed here, the damage was done. The fact is, my front garden is an inferno, what with all that concrete, pebble and brick. But it's too hot to move the rhodie so I'm stuck watching her further fry until I can adopt her out to someone who has some inconspicuous shade (it'll be years before she's specimen-worthy again). Other plants scorched by the sun during back-to-back 95° days pictured below, plus one unexpected survivor. Burn and learn.
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