The heat and humidity arrived, and both are gardening motivation killers.
One way around them is to get your gardening chores done in the cool of early morning. You will be greeted by chirping birds, dew, fresh flower scents, and an occasional hummingbird zipping by.
Having completed your early morning chores that doubled as a workout, you confidently leave the garden looking and feeling better. Not to mention you have the rest of the day to enjoy. Now, isn’t gardening wonderful?!
Let’s get to it:
Weeds: are as persistent as extended car warranty sales pitches. Pull with roots to reduce their return. Or, cut to ground repeatedly, weakening most weeds. Smother the remaining weeds with mulch.
Pruning: Spring flowering shrubs ready for pruning are lilac, forsythia, azaleas, deutzia, weigelia, and quince. There is still time to cut back hard both buddleia and Rose of Sharon. Also, cut with abandon the wild and crazy wisteria just before the big seed pods. Repeat as needed all season long.
Lawns: Cut your grass high. Use a mulching mower to return nutrients to turf. Never remove more than 1/3 the height of the blade. The best time to cut is late in the day when the grass is drier and not heat stressed. Water lawns before dawn to ensure that the water is absorbed and not evaporated. Water lawns less often but longer to promote deep root growth.
Roses: Some people labor under the bugaboo that roses are difficult. Nope. They are more easygoing than we often think. Embrace these timeless additions to any garden. They come in numerous shapes and sizes, and their elegant flowers come in a wide variety of colors and fragrances. No matter what your garden size or favorite color, there is a rose for you. Visit this site to get lost in the wonderful world of roses: https://heirloomroses.com.
Rose Care:
• Roses have thorns. Protect your hands with thick gardening gloves when working with them.
• Pick a sunny, well-drained site.
• Dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the container.
• Remove the rose from its container, rough up the root ball.
• Place the rose in hole, backfill half way, water, and allow to percolate down to the roots.
• Finish planting the root ball just above the soil line and water well.
• Add mulch around your new rose, but not at the trunk.
• Give the plant ample spacing. Even disease-resistant roses can be susceptible to problems like mildew if moisture lingers around the foliage.
• Only water at ground level. Avoid getting the leaves wet, as it creates conditions that invite pest and disease pressure.
The Vegetable Patch:
• Weed, cultivate, and thin out seedling.
• Add marigolds at the perimeter to attract pollinators and dissuade some animals.
• Tomatoes — first, enrich the planting soil with compost. Remove the lower leaves to plant deeper. Roots will emerge from the planted stems to increase stability, and water and nutrients take-up. Create soil moats around tomatoes and water well. Install sturdy hoops right away.
• Lettuce, peas, and radishes are ready for harvest.
• Reseed beds with succession vegetables of bush beans, beets, lettuces, and radishes.
• Pinch herbs to keep them bushy.
For something different, plant okra. This sun-loving Southern staple thrives in hot weather, rewarding you with crisp, tender pods all summer. Sow okra seeds directly about 12 to 18 inches apart or buy seedlings. Okra is a handsome plant packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Pick small pods often, and your plants will keep producing into the fall, y’all.
Birds: Change hummingbird feeder sugary water often. Keep bird baths clean and full. Consider using up bird food, then take down, clean and store feeders till fall. Bird feeders serve their purpose in the off season; summertime birds can forage for themselves.
If you want birds to stay around, choose plants that attract them and pollinators to your Petit Trianon, n’est pas. Add perennials and annuals like cosmos, zinnia, goldenrod, beebalm, aster, Agastache, and salvia to attract pollinators that attract birds. Caryopteris, viburnums, crab apple, serviceberries, elderberry, winterberry, hawthorn, and American dogwood are trees and shrubs that will attract birds.
Now, off you go with the rest of your day while others are still nose deep in their phones.
