July 2006

   School is out and summer has officially begun!  This is the beginning of the vacation season with beach outings and picnics.  It is also a time to sit back and admire all of your hard work this spring in your garden.  While your spring bloomers are pretty much finished, your mid summer flowers should be coming alive.  Now that many of your plants will have grown to their full height, you may notice that some plants have grown taller than you expected.  Or that you have some distinct holes in your garden beds.  This is a good time to make some notes about what should be moved around.(But wait until the fall unless you are willing and able to give any transplanted plants TLC for the rest of the summer)  It is also a time to make a list of what plants or colors of plants you could add to you beds.  Your might also take photos of your beds so that during the winter when browsing catalogues you can remember what they look like in bloom.
             
    Your should be seeing lots of hummingbirds and butterflies.  If you want to attract more butterflies make sure that you have plenty of Butterfly Weed, Zinnia Lantana, Butterfly Bush, Marigold, Verbena, and Asters. Do you know the difference between butterflies and moths?  Butterflies have a little ball at the end of the antennae while moths have feathery antennae.  When butterflies rest they fold up their wings, while moths rest with their wings are spread.

    After July 1 your should stop pinching back your fall blooming plants like Aster and Chrysanthemums, if you want them to bloom.

    If you didn’t finish mulching you can still do it in these hot months of summer.
As you continue to visit the local garden centers you will find that they continue to have new plants.  You will notice that the plants you see now will not be the same as those that you saw in the early spring.  The later the plants flower the later you will find them in you garden centers..  By purchasing plants as the season progresses you will insure that you will have flowers in your garden throughout the growing season.  Again remember that anything you plant in July and August will need special care for at least 2 to 3 weeks, especially if they are sun loving plants. 

    When planting in the summer months you want to use a method called “cuddling in”.  Dig your hole and fill it with water.  Let the water drain out and plant your plant and water again.  Then tamp the soil down around the plant and water again.  New plantings need to be watered every day for two or three weeks..(unless of course we have a rainy day.)

    In June the Garden Club had a field trip to Wickham Park, which is located in Manchester.  We had a special guided tour with the Park’s Director, Jeff Maron.  The Park includes 20 acres of ornamental gardens: English Garden, Oriental Garden, Italian Shrine, Lotus Garden, Rhododendron Garden, Cabin Garden with a view of Hartford and a Wetlands Garden.  There are also an aviary and a nature center for young and old!  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would recommend it to all.  For more information visit the Wickham Park website at www.wickhampark.org .

Happy Gardening