Tips for July

It is hard to believe that it is already July. It seems that, just yesterday, I was pulling out the spring pansies to fill the planters with summer blooming annuals. The summer is moving by so fast—but there is still plenty of gardening to be done. I use the 4th of July as a reminder date to do the following gardening tasks:

• “Pinch” back your mums and asters. Trimming them back to half their height will encourage the plants to bloom in the fall and become much more sturdy. This means you should not have to stake them.

• Trim any of the early spring blooming shrubs you may have missed. Azaleas, Lilacs, and Rhododendron all set their blooms this summer for the following spring. If you wait to much longer to trim you will not have the show of color, come spring, that you expected to see.

• Harvest any of your vegetables that are ripe, pull out any plants that are “spent”, and sow a new crop of veggies. Spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and many root vegetables (such as beets, carrots, & turnips) will prefer the cool autumn temperatures to mature.

• Replace any annuals that may have died and fill in any spaces that still need color or foliage. There is still a great selection of plants available waiting to be planted!

July is a great month to be in the garden! The days are hot but come evening nothing beats sitting on the patio with my family, enjoying all the fruits of my labor. The colors and fragrances are wonderful. Enjoy your garden!!