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JULY - AUGUST
(SUMMER)
Gardening Tasks:
* Water, water, and more water, this seems to be the most important
task of mid summer here in our area, especially crucial for those
thirsty annual flowers and veggies. Try to avoid watering foliage
whenever possible and use pond or catchment sources over well water if
you have that option. This is also a good time to add soluable
fertilizer or other forms of fertilizer to your plant care tasks,
apply appropriately to specific types of plants.
* "Deadheading" is also key this time of year, this simply means
to
remove spent blooms from plants. It's a great task for all of those
summer guests just looking for something to do. Be sure you supply them
with some good clippers though, we have lots of good options here at
Islandscape, like Felco and ARS types to name a few.
* It's also an important time to monitor for pests like aphids and
powdery mildew, treat at first sign of problem for best results.
* For those of you with veggie gardens it should be harvest time for
many crops, like garlic and keeping onions. These can be pulled and
hung (or braided) for Winter use, store in well ventilated area that's
protected from freezes, but not heated. When you really master
production with consumption, through varietal choices, in our climate,
you can easily have onions, garlic and shallots last you through to
your next harvest the following season. Remember to rotate your alliums
when your choosing planting spots the following season. You could be on
your 3rd or 4th lettuce planting by now, visit the nursery for
appropriate varieties for mid season and pick up seeds for late August
varieties to take you through the Fall. Succession planting is the key
to great salads almost all year long in our climate. Peas are finishing
but beans are coming on, potato foliage is dying back and under ground
yields those yummy new potatoes. I cut our potato foliage off by now
and cover the bed with straw to prevent the potatoes from sunburning,
we leave them there except to harvest when needed, though they must be
pulled by the time the Fall rains come or they'll sprout and possibly
freeze. Continue to harvest side shoots off broccoli after main head
has been harvested. Pull anything that's of poor quality and start
fresh, seeding things like dill, green onions and mustard varieties
works great for filling in spaces and continued harvests. Artichokes
may be done by now, if so, cut entire plant to ground level, feed and
water thoroughly, some seasons allow a second crop. With summer
squashes, harvest often to prevent overgrown squash, which in turn
prolongs production, this actually holds true for most edible plants.
* Midsummer is a great time to prepare areas for Fall planting
projects, soil grading should be done during the dry time to prevent
compaction and to achieve desired results ( in other words, dust is
better than mud!) The second step (if first step doesn't apply) is to
remove any undesired plants, like weeds, amend as needed, and cover
area with mulch, as the Fall rains come, your area will be perfect for
planting, remember not to contaminate the mulch with the soil. This
method works especially well when establishing new landscapes.
A good time to plant the selections listed below:
* As midsummer comes on, our selection of color annuals becomes more
limited, but here at Islandscape our perennial section really comes into bloom.
We grow many varieties of lavender which start looking
great by now and some others to name just a few are the Rudbeckias,
Crocosmias, Phygellius's, Echinaceas, Hemorocallis's, and Heleniums,
many of these perennials will bloom right into the Fall. It's also a
great time to check out our vine selection, the Clematis's, solanums,
and Lonicera's are in bloom, and we have many other choices too. The
best selection of hardy succulents is available and looking good this
time of year too. Actually I would say this is really when the nursery
is looking it's best, the craziness of May is over and all the beauty
of midsummer is really showing her stuff!
* In our shrub section (most available in 1 gallon containers) the
rockroses (Cistus) are in full bloom, this is a good selection for
those drought tolerant and deer resistant gardens, we generally grow
about 7 different varieties. The roses look fantastic this time of year
(check out our rose list on the "plant lists" section of our website)
and a perfect time to buy the rose you really wanted instead of buying
it from a picture and being disappointed. Other shrubs of merit for the
landscape that we have are, Potentillas, Ceanothus's, Abelia's (even
the new variety "Kaleidoscope"), Escallonia's, and Hydrangeas to
name a
few.
* This really is the best time to see our nursery, our customers are
always saying how inspirational it is and the weather is usually lovely
in July and August, so it' perfect for strolling around and seeing that
little addition that your garden just can't live without. We have a
great selection of birdbaths and water features of all sorts and sizes
for that cool feeling on those hot Summer days. Sometimes these"
hardscape" features can be a great inspiration for a new planting!
Seed availability and info.:
* July and August are usually challenging months for germinating seeds
in these parts, especially when most of us are enjoying visitors and
vacations. Plus in some cases it's too late for most things and too
early for others. With diligent watering though, you may have success
with short season annuals like, dill, basil, zinnias, summer savory,
and some heat loving flowering vines. We pride ourselves on carefully
selecting seeds for planting the right varieties at the right time, so
it's important to check our seed racks every couple of months or so. By
mid August it's time to plant many crops for your Fall garden, come by
and pick up Territorial's Fall seed catalog and seeds to take you
through the remainder of the growing season.
What's happening in nature:
* Our Giant Swallowtail butterflies (yellow and black) are out, a real
sign of Summer! Be sure to plant lots of members of the carrot family
(Umbelliferae syn. Apiaceae) like dill, cilantro, parsley, and fennel,
these butterflies are host specific and will lay their eggs on these
plant members late in the season. The caterpillars are gorgeous,
black, yellow and green stripes and if you touch them, two orange"
horns" pop out! Note all the seed heads on these plant members look
like inverted umbrellas, hence the family name, (though more current
publications will use the family name Apiaceae, more botanists should
become plant growers, then they wouldn't have so much time to always be
reclassifying plant names!)
* Notice your garden and feeders aren't sworming with hummingbirds
anymore!? By this time, they are done nesting and many have taken their
new offspring north before they make the trip south again. Be sure to
clean and remove any feeders as they become great attractants for the
coming yellow jacket season, besides there are usually so many things
in bloom this time of year there is plenty for our tiniest of visitors
to eat.
* Love these long nights for gardening late, our garden is at the edge
of the woods, this time of year I often hear the Great Horned owls
calling to one another high in the fir branches, it's a real treat when
they come down and have a dust "bath" in the duff on the edge of
the
trees.
* Possibly my favorite creature of warm Summer days are the
dragonflies, I'm always amazed how many different variations there are,
so many colors, sizes and wing formations. And they are great for
taking out mosquitoes! Do take the time on those long evenings to sit
and watch the flights of the dragonflies and maybe you'll get lucky and
one will lite on you for a close look! If you have a pond or fresh
water near you, watch them laying their eggs on aquatic vegitation,
their nymphs will come crawling out next season, wingless, until they
are ready to take to the air!
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Quick link to topics:
Gardening
Planting
Seeds
Nature
Untitled Document
Quick link to topics:
Gardening
Planting
Seeds
Nature
Untitled Document
Quick link to topics:
Gardening
Planting
Seeds
Nature
Untitled Document
Quick link to topics:
Gardening
Planting
Seeds
Nature
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