I’m here early to the Lofts to do a little watering and weeding. It’s the season where I water every 36 hours, so the flowerbeds and patio plants get either an early morning refresher or a late evening one. I’ve read positive suggestions on both, but years of amateur gardening has proven to me that what plants really need in extreme heat is a good, deep drench—period.
I’m still pulling weeds although the more the flowers grow and spread, the fewer weeds. The zinnia seedlings are tall enough now to separate and spread throughout the beds; they are great cutting flowers to put in vases on the porch. The large pots of pink begonias on the porch are blooming profusely and I have cuttings in vintage vases on the bar tables that I can add to the larger pots once they root. All in all, we have lots of color and natural abundance!
Once I finish here, I’ll leave my car, walk up the street to Malvern Avenue and continue there until I arrive at Hill Wheatley park. This is the middle of downtown Hot Springs. Standing in the Wheatley parking lot and looking forward to Central, I can turn left to shops and restaurants or right to Bathhouse Row, the grand Arlington Hotel, and more shops and restaurants. But it’s too early for any of that—instead, I head through the parking lot to the natural water spring across the street (there will be people there filling their jugs), turn right and ascend the steps to the brick-paved Promenade. Walking the flat path there, I’ll come out on Fountain Street at the entrance to Tower (or North) Mountain and the back of the Arlington. If I want a more vigorous walk, I’ll ascend the steps halfway down the Promenade, cross the road, and get on one of the paths going up the mountain to the various trails that wind up and around. The path that goes straight up leads to Hot Springs Tower, but I can get a good uphill/downhill trek on any of them.
