High Summer

from Outside my Window, August 2009. Remember summer 2007 when the heat and drought just went on and on? We were all convinced that it was a sign of things to come in the era of climate change. Well...uh...where's the drought? Can I have some drought please? PLEASE! We have had so much rain combined with a lack of any intense sun and heat this summer that many plants just flopped about as though they were drunk. Many drought loving plants suffered rot spots and mildewy leaves. They were loving the wet cool spring as they were in their green growth phase, but by summer they needed some heat and sunshine! To say the blooming this year was lackluster as a result, is an understatement! Normally sturdy, upright and tall, this new salmon Echinacea hybrid I was so looking forward to being really great this year in my 2nd year garden, is flopping near the ground instead, with many fewer blooms than it would normally have had. Overall, it isn't so much the excess water that's the problem, but the inherent lack of sunshine and heat that comes with lots of rain days. As with so many things in the garden, there's not much to be done about this problem. At least when climate change brings us dry heat, we have the option of planting lots of drought tolerant things, as many of our standard garden plants are. When it's too much rain though, all we can do is dream of next year. Cheers! Evelyn from July 2008's Outside my Garden. July in the garden. Weed, weed, weed! Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead. I'm sure I could come up with something a bit more profound than this if I wasn't so tired (more bored actually) from all the weeding and deadheading! A new crop of weeds is sneaking up just as you're packing for holidays, and all those blooms of high summer means lots of deadheading if there are to be blooms in August. So . . . not very profound or complicated, but weed, weed, weed. Deadhead, deadhead, deadhead is your tip for July. The clearance sales have started and there are plenty of tempting bargains to be had. Remember that this is probably the worst time to be planting so take the extra time to really soak the plants by immersing them in a bucket of water until all the bubbling stops. Once planted, put up some temporary shade for a few days and water very deeply every three days for 2 weeks at least. Don't expect much from them this year since they need to struggle through the heat to get some feeding roots out. If there are flowers on the plant it's best to cut them off to help it focus on roots. It's hard, I know, but the plant may reward you with a fresher crop of blooms later. If you've been procrastinating on some needed pruning perhaps you have an excuse to put it off even longer since we're entering the "NO PRUNE" zone of September & October. Anytime is a good time for light maintenance pruning to remove the 4D's - dead, damaged, diseased or deformed branches, but any major pruning should ideally wait until November at this point since pruning stimulates growth that won't have time to harden off before winter. By November the plants are already well along in their preparations for dormancy and aren't stupid enough to put out growth. More later - there's more weeding and deadheading waiting for me. Cheers! Evelyn
		Mid-July to mid-August is daylily time. With everything from 12" short to 48" tall and flowers in all sizes and colours, it's hard not to make room for at least a few.
		Beautiful on their own, but partnered for contrast or harmony their vibrant colours shine. Here Baby's Breath creates a dreamy backdrop for red 'Hot Coals'.

		There isn't anything sadder than the flowers of this old fashioned hosta. I remove them to enjoy the fresh green foliage as an eye rest between the more attractive flowering plants.
		These two were made for eachother! Bee Balm 'Cambridge Scarlet' and the tall spikes of Ligularia 'The Rocket'. Pinch back half of the growing tips on Bee Balm in early June to extend bloom.
		Hybridizers have brought coneflower a long way in recent years with white, orange, and yellow colours now available in this sturdy, drought tolerant, long flowering, classic.