MIDSUMMER
Like many Americans, I am not quite sure whether I will get a summer vacation at all this year. That means that my “vacation” will probably consist of time in the garden. All things considered, that is not a bad thought. Maybe I will finally have the time to deal a death blow to the rampant Japanese barberry bushes on the south side of the property. These unwanted thugs have persisted in sending out thorny new shoots, even though I have repeatedly dug up entire plants by the roots. The barberries will be toast before the end of the summer, even if I turn into a puddle of sweat in the process.
Midsummer is a great time to attend to various chores–provided that you attend to them before ten in the morning or after four o’clock in the afternoon. At midday the sun is likely to be high, along with the temperature and often, the humidity. It takes lots of fortitude and gallons of sun block just to get out of the house. If I have to do chores during the middle hours of the hottest, stickiest days, I confine myself to fifteen or twenty minute outings and try to work in the shadier parts of the garden. I can get enough done in that time period to make a dent in my workload without collapsing from heatstroke.
If you have some of the larger ornamental grasses in your garden, take a good look at them. Chances are they have grown tall and are flopping over. Unless you have a lot of space, it’s time to introduce some restraint. For years I used three large stakes and many feet of twine to create a corral for my miscanthus grass. Now I have dispensed with the stakes and merely tie the length of twine around the miscanthus clump, tightening the knot until the grass looks more upright and tidy.
At midsummer it’s also time to deal with your annuals. If you grow annuals in pots, they are probably getting a little leggy by now, with long stems and smaller flowers that appear only at the ends of those gangly stems. Trim the stems back by one third to one half and feed the plants. Within a couple of weeks they will begin to look like they did when you paid full price for them at the garden center two months ago. Deadhead the annuals growing in the beds and borders so that they will flower again. Zinnias, in particular, are “cut and come again” flowers. If you deadhead or cut the fresh blossoms for bouquets, the plants will reward you with additional bouquet material.
Remove the corpses of garden annuals that have given up the ghost. Every year my upper back garden is home to scores of self-sown nigella and larkspur, neither of which is a “cut and come again” plant. I pick numerous sprays of nigella seed pods, which look like striped balloons, to dry for winter. When I get tired of doing that, the remainder of the dying nigella goes to the composter. Larkspur, while beautiful in bloom, is not useful for drying, so I pull up the browned out stems and toss them as well. I never worry about whether or not they have had time to seed themselves. They always do.
As the once-blooming daylilies finish their flowering period, I divide them. This year I am dividing my favorite lily, the old-fashioned lemon lily or Hemerocallis flava. The lemon lily has tall, proud stems that are topped by soft yellow blooms. The best thing about those flowers is the scent–something that is relatively uncommon in daylilies. I will plant the divisions in places that I pass every day. If you have the common tawny daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, don’t bother to divide it. It will thrive no matter what you do.
It’s highly likely that those of you who grow blue, mophead-type hydrangeas have noticed that the petals have begun to dry out. This is sad, because during the peak of bloom they are such gorgeous shades of blue. But there is a silver lining in this blue cloud. When the petals have metamorphosed to a dusty blue-green color, you can cut the flowerheads for drying. While you trim the flowerheads you can shape the plant.
If you happen to grow raspberries or blackberries and the harvest is over, cut the canes back to the ground. Most varieties fruit on new wood.
If you have a composter or a compost pile–and everyone should–make sure that you keep turning or stirring it. Decomposition goes fastest in the summer. If your pile smells foul, it is probably too wet. Don’t add water for a week or so and keep turning. Be sure to use your finished compost. I put collars of compost around the roses and add some to each planting hole. I use it for mulch as well, though I always have to supplement with store-bought mulch.
And finally, if you have the time and a few extra dollars, drive to your local nursery or garden center and take a look at the “two for one” plant specials. You can pick up some great plants this way. Independent garden centers, in particular, will appreciate your business in these lean economic times.
Vacationing in your garden means you don’t have to experience flying cattle cars or summer traffic jams. You don’t have to pack or unpack. There will be other years to go to Paris; this year you have the unique opportunity to stop and smell the Hosta plantaginea.