I have flower bed area in front of my home that's probably 70 to 75 feet in length that I plant with Seasonal flowers. Around January 1 I had planted over 150 Pansies - almost 50% have now died and I need to plant something that is hearty in 80 to 100 degree heat plus direct sunlight until I replant in the Fall with the pansies. The former owner had impatiens in the same areas. Any thoughts? I really only want to do this twice a year. So I already know the Pansies work out for over half the year.

Thanks!

Todd,
Unless there is a new breed of impatiens, they do much better in shade or filtered sun, rather than direct sun. They love their water also!

Kaththy that's what I thought! We bought the home in October and they were there - thought maybe they were there from the Summer too.

try portulaca (sp?)
geraniums
texas bluebells
salvia
zinnias
lantana
gaillardia
spider plant (cleome)
marigolds
petunias
african marigold
torenia
verbena

all are very heat tolerant and like the sun.

Thanks Arlene- I think I might try the Marigolds for a change.

Todd,

Try Vincas . They come in the same "hot" colors as impatiens but love full sun and are drought-tolerant.

No need to dead-head to keep them blooming either.

You see them in nearly every flower bed in the Palm Desert area, so you know they can take the sun.

Any advice? I planted tomatoes and put them on my deck since the deer and rabbits eat them. Well, the squirrels are eating all of my tomatoes. Any advice?

I went with Vincas and Dianthus. They have the same colorings. Thank you all for the help. Squirrels huh? I have them too - they like to scare my bunnies away from their food - and then eat it.

Andi,

I blamed the deer for my missing and gnawed tomatoes my first year. Put up a deer fence and had the same problem the following year.

I have a ton of squirrels. They don't touch my tomatoes but wreck havoc with my bird feeders (I have the ones with the squirrel cages too).

Finally figured out the culprit in my tomato patch. Rats. I found my first gnawed tomato today, so the rat bait went out. It's war!

Any hints for keeping raccoons out of the swimming pool? I have one that bathes nightly in my spa, leaving a muddy mess.

Todd, good choices. You'll need to dead-head the dianthus from time to time, but you'll get lots of color. Your pansies lasted a long time. I switch mine out of my beds about April.

A clean Raccoon!

Flowers sound pretty, Todd. Vinca are drought tolerant and trouble free. I had some in pots but the pack rats ate them.

Suzanne, rats on tomatoes and raccoons in the spa...ewwwwww.

My dad wars with the squirrels all the time. He has feeders that sling them off but the squirrels don't care. He even electrified a feeder, the squirrels are "jumpy" but they still get to the seed.

It's fun to read about your gardening. I used to be a big time gardener in VA but it's too hard in the desert plus I'm too busy cruising!

I forgot about vinca. Good choice.