Even in September and October you can still have many plants in bloom if you plan ahead. The taller Sedum Autumn Joy is in its glory along with fall asters, some varieties of hosta, clematis, roses and some annuals too. Many perenial plants that are trimmed and deadheaded also re-flower at this time of year. Coreopsis daisy, day lily and lupine all will keep sending up new leaves and bloom a second time if they are trimmed back and deadheaded as well as watered.
Many of the early blooming plants from spring don’t like the hot dry conditions of July and will begin to die back. They will sacrifice leaves, flowers and stems during drought to send all their water and energy to the roots. It’s a survival instinct so the plant will grow again. Simply cut back the dry leaves and wait for rain to come. Often the plants will send up a few new ones later in the summer when the rains return. Typically, many a flowering plant can sense when it's in a drought and so it will bloom earlier than normal. The flowers are often short lived and last a week or two, then it begins to set seed. The hot temperatures trigger this need to finish blooming so it will propagate.
The bright colours of coreopsis daisy and Shasta daisy are typical for July. Yellow day lily, purple Liatris, and some varieties of hosta all begin to bloom in early summer. Astilbe and purple coneflower are all beginning to come into their own as the days heat up.
Variegated foliage can add color and interest to a shade garden because of their stripes, patterns, spots, streaks, veining or frilly edges. Their are many types of plants like shrubs, trees, herbs, annuals and perennials that all have different kinds of variegated foliage. They can add light to a dark shady spot or be planted in amongst darker plain leafy plants. MINT: Some mints have splashes or edges of white, some have dark veins that make them stand out. Apple mint, pineapple mint, salvia or sage, thyme and oregano all come with interesting variegated leaves.
TREES and shrubs like Dogwood and Maple, as well as shrubs like Laurel, Barberry, Euonymus, Box, and Ivy all have some type of variegated form. They tend to be smaller in size but don’t grow as vigorously as the plain leaf varieties often do.
Perennials include the ornamental grasses, ground covers, and herbaceous non woody plants that all return every year to form large clumps and then die back in winter. Ribbon grass, moor grass, cord grass, and zebra grass add height and have stripes or banding on the foliage. Streaked and spotted plants like lungwort, figwort, goutweed, and lily of the valley are all catch the attention and brighten up your yard. Sedum, daylily, giant iris add cottage garden charm and height with colors of yellow, gold and white.
Plants for both bumble and honey bees need to have fragrance and bright colors. The nectar also is what they want to feed on as adults. The pollen is a protein that they gather to feed their young larvae in the nest. While collecting the pollen, they transfer it around your garden to help pollinate as they go from plant to plant. This produces fruits and vegetables as well as seed production. Without the bees we would have no apples, pears, blueberry, strawberry, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers and many other important crops. Farmers raise bees or move colonies into orchards when the trees are blooming to ensure that they have a successful crop. All types of bees are an asset to any garden by cutting back on destructive predators and pollination to produce fruit and seeds. You the gardener can plant many of the flowering plants that bees love. Make sure to never use pesticides that will harm the bees. Many native plants like clovers, mints and catnip, sedum and alliums will bring the bees to your yard. Borage, Basil, Bee balm, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary and Chamomile are herbs they love. Flowering shrubs like mock orange, and honeysuckle will provide nectar. Some of the other plants you can use to bring the bees are Bellflower, heather, lavender, speedwell, Baptisia, lungwort and coreopsis daisy.The long lasting blooms on Lambs ears will attract many types of bees and beneficial insects to your garden.
When the weather gets warm at the end of May with temperatures of 20 to 25C the early summer plants start to bloom. Solomon seal likes wet shade, has 20 inch tall arching stems with white flowers hanging all along the stem. Columbine likes part sun and shade locations and blooms by the first of June. They come in many colors. Bleeding hearts also like shade or part sun, grow 20 to 25 inches tall and blooms late in May or early June. They have pink heart shaped flowers and lacy foliage.
Bellflower grows in sun or part shade in most any type of soil, with blue flowers on 20 inch stems in June to July. Dropwort and lily of the valley also bloom by the first of June. By mid to late June we have lots more flowers like the bright yellow moneywort, scarlet and pink coral bells, carpathian bellflower, beautiful Baptisia, dianthus pinks, Japanese iris and many varieties of roses. Also included are the miniature iris in white, purple and yellow that last until hot temperatures arrive. They are very versatile because they grow in any type of soil, any type of light condition and spread by rhizome division easily.
The majestic tall Lupines are beginning to bloom in the first week of June. They are available in pinks, purple and yellow. They like mainly full sun and grow 24-36 inches tall. Plant in any type of soil and divide the roots every three to four years. They are very easy to grow from seeds.
BERGENIA is a very hardy plant in our zone throughout southern Ontario and doesn’t die back like many of the perennials do. It has thick leathery evergreen leaves and creeps along the ground sending large black rhizomes that root as they spread. The baby plants are very easy to dig up and transplant in spring. They like rich sandy soil, in part sunny locations in the garden. Once they are well rooted and established you can leave them to grow on their own. The blooms grow in large clusters, with tiny pink flowers. It forms it’s flowers early in April and goes on through May. The plants are fairly low growing, and only reach to about 6 to 8 inches in size but are well worth planting for their spring color.
Bloodroot is another unusual plant that sends up tiny blooms in early spring, then as the blooms die back to form seed pods the leaves unfurl.
SOLOMON SEAL is another very hardy easy to grow plant that is great for the back of borders or rock gardens. They do well along foundations or in mostly shady spots. They can reach as high as 24 inches and can have plain leaves or variegated. Tiny white bell flowers hang along the tall stems, starting in May and into June. They thrive and spread by underground root stolons and are very hardy perennials that you can dig and divide when they start to spread.
Primroses add so much color to a spring garden because they are available in solid and bi-colors.
DROPWORT is also called meadowsweet and is a native plant that was used for making medicine or eaten raw in salad. The leaves have a wintergreen smell and flavor. This plant has cut leaves that are fern like and 30 inch tall stems with large clusters of flowers in pink and white, starting in May. The underground tubers are hardy and easy to dig for division in spring. They grow in part sun, shade or full sun locations in any type of soil.
LUNGWORT also starts to blooms along with the spring bulbs and lasts until the hot weather in June arrives. Trim off the dead blooms and it will send out new larger spotted leaves for a very long time. It comes with pink, purple or pure white blooms.
LILY of the VALLEY is a spring flower and is poisonous to people and pets. The flowers are white bells and have been used in perfume or hand lotion for centuries. They grow in mostly shady poor to medium soil, reaching 5 or 6 inches tall and spread with underground roots and stolon. The flowers are very fragrant and bloom from May to June. This plant has been used for scenting powders, soaps and perfume for over one hundred years.
WHEN to DIVIDE? Decide what to do with some of the overgrown plants by first inspecting each year in late summer or fall. I make note of a few perennial plants in my plant journal of those that are not flowering as well as they should because their roots are over crowded and have been in the same location for four or five years. First thing in spring I tackle those that need to be divided. Plants tell you when they are not happy. Perhaps the roots are a tight tangled mess and they need attention. There may be trouble with insects feeding on the roots. May be the plant has some old black roots from previous years that need to be removed.
It’s time to dig them up and discard the oldest parts of the root ball, keeping the youngest new growth and only replant a small piece to the locations where that plant does well. The rest of the root stock can be given to friends and family or shared with neighbors. Another option is to pot some up for selling. Trim roots and check rhizomes for soft spots or blackened shriveled areas that indicate rot. Cut off dead root stock and discard in garbage; never place this in your compost.
Many perennials like Day lily, Spiderwort, Sedum and Lily of the valley that require thinning out every year or so unless you have a very large garden to spread them about. I have experienced a particular variety of Sedum that doubled or tripled in size over one season and needed to be divided each year. That plant was one that required plenty of room. It's best to try to divide them in April or early May as they emerge from the ground before the plants get too big.
Shasta daisy are another plant that can double in size in a few years time so to keep them in check you need to dig up some plants and move, trade, sell or give them away. Perennials in the daisy family are the easiest to grow because they are not too fussy about the soil type or how much water they get. Very hardy and drought tolerant plants are the best ones to plant for easy care gardens. Plants like perennial yellow primrose are also easy to divide and tend to spread in a formed round shaped clump in the garden. Hosta can be done any time in spring or after they are finished blooming. For plants with tall stalks or large leaves, I generally divide them in spring just as they are sending up their new growth.
Liatris, Black Eye Susan, Chives, Hosta, Lavender, and all types of Sedum need little care or watering. Bears breeches, Culverts root, Yucca, Solomon Seal and Baptisia all grow two to four feet tall and add good height to a flowering garden border. Giant iris also can flower for all of May and even into June adding lots of interest with their spiky leaves as well as height and color. Giant iris are available with variegated foliage too. Divide in late summer if the plant blooms in spring. These are easy care plants that can be divided and shared with others. You may even want to trade with other gardeners who have similar plants in other varieties and colors. Locate a garden club, go onto garden blogs or local sites where people list plants for sale. Most gardeners are happy to trade with others who seek new plants.
Note: Do some research to avoid any plants that may be invasive.
This pink Astilbe is another easy plant to divide by root division every 5 or 6 years.
If you plan to grow tulips and don’t want them to be dug up by rabbits or squirrels, place a few cloves of garlic in the planting hole along with the bulbs. Large planters and pots can be covered with chicken wire or stones to keep pests from digging. Once the leaves emerge make a spray of fermented garlic to keep pests from your yard. Be sure to renew after it rains or a few times a month. Rabbits don’t eat plants like gourds, tomatoes and peppers. Also use black and cayenne pepper on spring flowering bulbs like crocus and tulips to keep them from eating the blooms. Steep 2 tbsp. pepper in 1 cup water, add oil or vinegar and a few drops of dish soap with the strained mix, then spray on plants. To deter rabbits and squirrels try sprinkling kitty litter around the edge of the garden. They will not cross over this. You can put garlic in jars to ferment, punch holes in the top and place them around the garden. Add 2 or 3 cloves to each jar with 1 cup water. Ferment in sun for a few days first.
To keep mice and voles at bay and out of sheds, gather some tansy from road sides to dry and lay in bundles where pests build nests. They hate the smell. Ants: Try sprinkling baby powder in window wells, along foundation cracks and on window ledges to keep ants out. They also hate the smell of peppermint so place pots of herbal plants in pots near doors or in window boxes. To kill large colonies mix equal parts of borax and icing sugar and place close to any hills. They will take it into the nest to eat and it kills them.
You can get outside to clean up the garden as soon as the day time temperatures are about 15 C or 60 F. Remove any protective covers or collars from plants, clear away piles of leaves first thing after the snow is all melted. This allows moisture and light to the crowns of plants like hardy perennials and rose bushes to warm the earth and help them start new growth. Clear and cut off any old brown stems and leaves; discard them into the trash, do not compost. Take special care with moving large heavy planters that have been stored over winter. Roll round containers with soil and get help with cement pots and bird baths when needed to move them.
It’s a good idea to replace the top half of the soil in pots with fresh triple mix each spring. Also spring is the best time to add manure or compost to garden soil. After cleaning up, lay compost onto the surface of the soil. Apply it about two inches deep and let the worms do their thing. Well rotted manure or other organic fertilizer can be used this way too. If you are digging new gardens, add some manure or triple mix in your trenches, then mix well with soil using a garden fork. You can buy this mix or make your own. I often use black soil with peat moss, then add compost or bags of manure. Do this at least 3 or 4 weeks before you want to start planting. Decks, lawn furniture and garden ornaments all need to be washed for use in the spring. Use a bucket of soapy water to scrub, then rinse off with garden hose and let them dry out in the sun. This works for plastic, glass, ceramic pots too. Power washing is for walls, fences and decks. If you have a pond that needs cleaning you might want to start by draining the water to clean all debris before refilling it. Service and clean pumps and plastic tubes before starting them again.
It’s spring, you are getting excited about the warm weather and might want to start seeds and get gardening. But it is still too chilly outside to do anything but clean up some garbage or rake leaves. First consider how long it takes to get the seedlings ready for planting. Some take longer to germinate, some grow slowly, some need a nice warm place and some only require two weeks. Generally most seeds like annual flowers like sunflower, snapdragon, nasturtium, hollyhocks, four o’clock and Nicotiana (flowering tobacco) will need to be sown indoors by mid April. Herbs like dill, parsley, basil can be done in pots anytime or in the ground outside by the end of May. If you want to start tomatoes or peppers you need to start them in pots indoors by March. All other veggies like cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, melon can be started in the house by mid to late April.
Read seed packets for any special instructions to help germinate. Some large hard seeds need to be soaked first in a saucer of water to soften overnight. Some need to be covered with soil and some just sprinkled onto soil surface. Cover planted seeds in a container with a lid to keep them moist and warm by placing in a sunny window or on top of your refrigerator. It acts like a tiny greenhouse. They can be uncovered once they begin to sprout. (Be sure to sterilize your seed soil first by placing in an old roasting pan and heat on the lowest setting in oven to kill unwanted fungal bacteria.) Cook for an hour then let cool. This will cut down on fungal disease killing off the seedlings. Other good containers include large paper drink cups and plastic food or fruit cartons. Poke holes in the bottom for drainage and place onto plastic trays. Write on the outside of them to mark the name of the plant. You can water as many as ten or more at a time by pouring water in the tray to let it absorb from the bottom. Don’t over water, watch to see how much is absorbed in an hour to gauge the amount. If there's still water in the tray you have put too much. Seeds need to be moist not soggy and let them dry out in between.Generally add water each day if placed in a sunny location, but every ones house is different.
