As I was walking around the garden with my wife, Cindy Heath, she turned to me and said, “Everyone who looks good in the garden at this time deserves a medal.” I agreed that we did not deserve a medal. Want to find one? Here are some tips that I have come up with.
First, pull out any long weeds. If you allow some strong weeds now, they can grow flowers in your garden. If you don’t want them to be embarrassed by your laziness, pull them out before the company arrives.
I have a lot of ornamental weeds (Impatiens capensis) For rich, moist soils, semi-sunny to shade flower beds. It is a native plant, but it can be inherited if you allow it. I recently removed some 6 feet high. He was in bed for many years, and I think it was more to get more sun. Elsewhere, where the race is smaller, it may be only 3 or 4 feet high.
According to the US Forest Service website, garlic is one of the few native plants in our forest that represents mustard. So if you have ornamental weeds, and garlic mustard, you may want to let the pearl weed come to life – and enjoy the bright orange and red flowers I found.
In my next list, I recommend that the flowers that are past and present look bad. I have a big Shasta daisy bed in front of our house, but they were upstairs two weeks ago. Cindy cleaned the flowers with a pair of scissors in just 10 minutes. It makes a big difference to get rid of all used flowers. There are still many beautiful flowers in that bed, so we don’t have to cut them all.
A bleeding heart is my favorite flower. It is a large plant that blooms in early summer. But now the flowers have disappeared for a long time and the leaves have turned yellow. what to do? Cut the leaves to the ground. Don’t wait for a fall or snow to fall, cut it back now. Do the same in every garden.
So what can you do in the empty spaces where you cut flowers that you refuse to cut again? Depending on the gap, some chrysanthemums may or may not fall into asters. They grow or bloom in pots in grocery stores, farms, and garden centers. They bloom for weeks unless you allow them to dry. Falling stars are in the same category as normal moms – cheap and popular to fill vacancies.
Fallen mothers and short purple asters are often sold in compressed cardboard jars. Unfortunately, they dry out quickly. If you leave the plant inside, you will need to water the pots and pans regularly – generally more than once a week. Instead, plant them in the ground when possible, or in plastic, fiberglass, or ceramic pots.
I can’t plant the mothers who cut that big bleeding heart, because if I dig there I will hurt the roots. However, I can put them in a nice ceramic pot and slowly set them somewhere in the bleeding heart – maybe a little forward or from the trunk. Yes, this is a work in progress, but it is worth the effort if you (and your friends and neighbors) visit.
Many plants in the garden are suffering from various fungal diseases. Mold and mildew are common and make the leaves ugly. The solution is to cut the leaves. Often there are new, undamaged leaves and new leaves on plants – like pumpkins and pumpkins – that are still growing. Once a leaf has mold, it may not look good, so remove it.
Long flowers are now pouring in, especially if it rains heavily. I have a black eye, Susan, Rudbeckia “Henry Eyler”, a beautiful, unusual flower, but growing to a height of more than 6 feet. I surrounded the big mound with solid wood and tied it from tree to wood to support it. To prevent it from floating, I recently tied another rope up to 6 feet.
For some things, I can avoid using a string by pushing the halves to the ground at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, two in an “X” pattern. I push the float up, then support it with two pins. I use bamboo sticks for small things. For larger, 5 objects such as New England Aster can be 5 feet tall, I use 5 feet-1 inch hardwood. If you don’t want to notice them, paint them green.
What about grass? It looks so bad on a working day. I don’t think any of us should waste water on our lawns. If you have a sunny yard with sandy soil, your grass will look yellow and dry. Crab grass – an annual herb packed with pedestrian traffic – is declining or dying in most places. My solution is to hope for rain and try not to look at the dead. Enjoy watching your medal-worthy garden!
Henry Homer’s blog is viewed twice a week at gardener- guy.com. Write to Mailbox 364, Cornish Flat, N 03746. Please include a self-addressed, sealed envelope. Or email henry.homeyer@comcast.net.