Has finicky weather — summer heat, then cool, monsoon-like rain — got your garden looking droopy and washed out? Plants trying to recover to their former status may have a while longer before they can fully become stable. Weather reports call for spots of rain on more days than not. So be it. We are Western New Yorkers and we can deal with most anything.
Daylilies are a lot like us. They are one of the toughest perennials that can be grown in our area. These plants are very robust and very early to bloom this year. They look double from last year. They have experienced a real growth spurt. I suspect they will grow starts, perhaps more than one, this summer. That is a good thing.
When I look out my window, I want to be happy with how my garden looks no matter what season it is. My garden looked like the plants had all grown together and what top dressing could be seen was a washed-out gray. I thought: this is a good time to perk up the bed.
Since the color of the top dressing was making the plants look like one big, green clump with no definition, I selected a red mulch by Vigaro that my neighbor offered to drop off to the garden area. I started to apply it between the daylilies first. Immediately there was definition between the plants. It wasn’t just a huge clump of plants any more, it was many plants that could be seen as individuals. Since then, the rain has prevented the completion of the bed. As the garden dries it will be done.
So, the daylily problem was fixed, but now the petite, double knockout rose was still looking like a part of a daylily. The rose bush is very small. Even though she was heavily budded and profusely blooming red flowers, due to her size her beauty could not be seen. What the rose bush needed was a frame to show off her beauty.
I selected an old fashioned type of garden ornament and added more of them together to make a statement and provide a central viewpoint that the garden had lacked before. I purchased two medium sized bright, bubble gum pink plastic flamingos with metal stake legs. The adult birds were placed looking at each other, standing behind the petite rose. I had also purchased baby flamingos to complete the frame. I had 24 tiny, bright pink babies that I randomly placed around the parents’ legs and up on each side of the petite rose. It was magic. I had a neighbor bring children over to take a look at the flamingos and I am sure I heard, “Ahhh!” more than once. It worked as a fabulous frame with a big nod to the past and fertility. The petite rose is no longer lost in the daylilies.
There is no more seductive place than the garden. It is all about fertility and reproduction. We are drawn to it instinctively. My garden “perk up” project is still not done due to weather and life in general, but it is progressing, just like we all are. Soon it will look like another garden.
Here are a few tips to help out:
As the garden dries, pull weeds. Weeds will grow very quickly in this weather.
If the soil is wet, do not step on it; wait, as you may compress the soil.
Deadhead blooms from late spring, early summer bloomers, clematis, roses, daylilies, and the like.
If the spring bulb leaves have gone yellowish, they can be mowed now. The problem probably will be that the yard still has way too much water.
Fresh flags and new garden ornaments that are appropriate can perk up the yard. Color is always a big factor in making the old look new.
There are ticks, fleas and other biters out now. Please change your pets’ flea collars.
Please use sunscreen and wear a hat and gloves. These protect you.
If you didn’t sharpen the edges and blades of your garden tools fall, do it now. The garden season will go better.
If your indoor plants need repotting and a chance to soak up some sun on the porch, this is a great time for that chore.
Garden on!