Ah, summer! A time to sit back and marvel at the full foliage and robust color on display in the garden and landscape! Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?
Well, for a flower farmer, summer is the busiest season of the year. And for all of us this year, the long summer days have been extremely hot!
Summer heat can take its toll on your flowering annuals and perennials. Here are some tips for maintaining your garden during the hot days of summer.
- Every evening when the sun goes down, head to the garden. With clippers and buckets of water in hand, harvest blooms. Do a bit of deadheading and weed pulling while you’re there.
- Every other day, if not daily, trim spent foliage and blooms. This encourages fresh growth that will help keep your annuals and perennials looking good, perhaps up to the first fall frost. Perennials that often rebloom if deadheaded or cut back now include yarrow, blanket flower, dianthus and salvia.
- Extend and maximize the beauty of your flowers by adding fertilizer. I prefer a fish and seaweed blend.
- Take note of which flowers will need to be divided come late summer. Many perennials are at their peak size, which makes it fairly easy to decide which ones will require attention.
- Decide which plants will make the cut for next growing season—and which ones won’t. Each gardening zone is different, each gardener has a different taste in flowers and each flower is not to every gardener’s taste. I love trying new varieties, but that doesn’t mean they’re here to stay. I have my tried-and-true favorites that I routinely rely on for gorgeous, healthy blooms and foliage. Then there are those I grow for one season only because, well, they didn’t pay for their space in the garden. (Stay tuned. I’ll have more to say about this in a future post.).
I hope your summer has been full of flourishing plants and beautiful bouquets—and that you’ve had a balance of summer relaxation and gardening adventures.
Happy Gardening!
Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden