A Midsummer’s Garden Revival
It’s midsummer and our gardens should be in full glorious color! In reality they may be looking sort of bedraggled and we’re thinking about not watering them anymore. Don’t throw in the towel yet, there’s plenty of “color time” left to this growing season. It’s time for a Midsummer’s Garden Revival! With a little rejuvenation your garden should be a delight until first front which is still fourteen weeks away.
One common problem in midsummer is that annuals have become leggy and will stop blooming as well. This is a good time to cut them back and feed them with a liquid fertilizer on a weekly basis. In a matter of two weeks those petunias will be “waving” again. Many annuals and perennials need to have the spent blooms removed, a process called dead heading. This encourages the plant to produce more bloom buds instead of wasting energy on producing seeds. Geraniums, salvia, pincushion flower, coneflower, and Shasta daisy are just a few that benefit from dead heading.
There may be some areas in the garden where a plant didn’t perform as well as planned or even died. The gaping hole needs filling and there are plenty of plants available this time of year to refresh the garden scene.
- Tall phlox are in bloom now with fragrant flowers in pink, white, purple, or red.
- Shasta daisies and black-eyed susans are starting to put on a show with abundant orange along with the common purple species.
- Zagreb and Moonbeam coreopsis are still blooming with plentiful yellow daisy-like flowers.
- Balloon flower in white or blue
- Gaura in pink or white
There are many types of verbena are still showing off as well. While many daylilies are finishing their bloom cycle the repeat blooming varieties such as Ruby Stella are gearing up for another show. Daylilies benefit from dead heading and the entire flower stalk should be cut off at ground level. A little liquid fertilizer will help the repeat blooming perennials as well as the needy annuals.
Finally, the best gardens have some colorful foliage plants to carry them through the growing season. Consider adding some Cannas, Bananas, Persian shield, Sweet potato vine, Purple heart, Coleus, Hosta, or Heuchera to your garden. These wonderful plants supply color from April to October. Pair them with complimentary flowering plants and you’ll have a sizzling garden all summer.