The page on the calendar has turned. It’s already July, which came in on a flood in Oklahoma. Today is gray, but I don’t mind. Gray skies bring cooler weather. July will be hot and humid soon so enjoy it while you can and get those July garden chores done.
It’s a completely different garden this year. Some plants have died from too much rain and Oklahoma’s clay soil. I thanked them for their service, ripped them out and moved on. Plants die. I’ve lost several things in this weather, including my tiny ‘Troll’ ginkgo. Yes, it’s sad, but the little guy just couldn’t handle the heat wave we had before the last rain. So, I’m replacing it with a purple fountain grass like ‘Fireworks’ until I decide on something more permanent. Grasses grow quickly and fill in bare spots. Thank goodness.
Earlier in spring, I moved my Hydrangea angustipetala ‘MonLongShou’ Golden Crane® to a new border with terrible drainage. I didn’t know how bad the drainage was until it started to suffer. By the time I figured out what was happening, it looked very, very sad. So, I returned it to its former spot. All of this moving may kill it, and I’ll have to try again. I’m telling you this because every gardener makes mistakes and has failures. It’s okay, if sometimes frustrating and expensive.
I thought I would share my July garden chores with you. They’re listed below.
Try tropical plants for summer. Tropicals are so happy with Oklahoma’s current hot and humid weather because these conditions replicate the plants’ native environment. If you have holes in the garden, consider plunking a tropical plant in the empty spot. No, they aren’t perennial, but anything that blooms abundantly, or struts an interesting leaf when the mercury hits 100°F isn’t going survive an Oklahoma winter. Consider tropicals your little black garden dresses for summer.
Some great tropical plants to try are:
- Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides. syn. Solenostemon scutellarioides). Make a place for those that can handle the sun including: ‘Henna,’ ‘Indian Summer,’ ‘Songbird,’ Colorblaze® KeystoneKopper, ‘ColorBlaze® Sedona, ‘Wasabi,’ ‘Religious Radish,’ ‘Big Red Judy,’ ‘Saturn.’ ‘Kingswood Torch’ and ‘Orange King.’ Remember, sun resistant types can also be grown in shade, but coloration will be different. The thicker the leaves, the better they perform in extreme sun and heat. For shade, choose one of the Wizard series, ‘Fishnet Stockings (can handle partial sun), ‘Black Dragon,’ or one of the excellent, large-leaf ‘Kong’ series. You can’t go wrong with Kong.
Two different varieties of Kong coleus. - Almost as large as the coleus group is the genus alternanthera. It’s a diverse clan including A. ficoidea ‘Red Threads,’ A. dentata ‘Purple Knight’ (which can be grown from seed,) ‘Little Ruby’ and ‘Brazilian Red.’ Then, there’s green and pink A. ficoidea ‘Partytime’ and ‘Raspberry Rum,’ a dark red and pink with larger leaves.
In late summer of 2011, the only border that looked good that dreadful summer was the one by the garage planted with tropical plants. Here, variegated oyster plant, ‘Peter’s Wonder’ coleus, alternanthera and heliotrope make a very pretty picture. - Tradescantia bermudensis ‘Variegata’, variegated oyster plant, aka Moses in the cradle, is a great tropical accent plant especially if you choose one of the variegated ones. Note that the golden variegated one isn’t as sturdy as the ordinary one or the white and green variety.
- Some salvias are also tropical. Salvia elegens ‘Golden Delicious’ pineapple sage has been a huge hit here in recent summers. The regular pineapple sage is pretty too.
Salvia elegens ‘Golden Delicious’ pineapple sage in front of my red fountain last fall. No filter, just backlit with beautiful October sunlight.
Shop for crapemyrtle shrubs and trees. You can plant crapemyrtles in full sun in this weather, and they will do fine as long as you remember to water them. If you forget, they will let you know. Why shop for them now? Because they are starting to come into bloom. Don’t just fall for a pretty flower though. Make sure the crapemyrtle you choose is the best one for its location. Before you buy, look online to see if your variety will grow too large for its space. Buy the right sized crapemyrtle, and you won’t need to perform surgery on it every spring.
Put out more Nolo Bait™ and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.) This will be my third application of Nolo Bait™. I normally only put it out twice, but the rain washed it off both times. As soon as this rainy spell is over, I’ll put out another application. Also, I have some Bt. spray for the Checkerspot Butterfly caterpillars. They’ve destroyed several of my black-eyed Susans. I don’t mind sharing some plants with them, but they are voracious this year. These are both organic controls only applicable to the particular pest. They won’t hurt other creatures including humans. By the way, I only put Bt. on the plants being hit the hardest. I don’t spray the whole garden because I don’t want to hurt other caterpillars like those of the Monarchs and other butterflies. Bt. also helps slow down the redbud leaffolders on The Rising Sun® redbud. For some reason, this cultivar is a leaffolder magnet. The tree was nearly destroyed in years past.
Click on the gallery below to see more photos of the garden. I walked around the outside to get some different angles this time.
Mulch. If you mulched with quick-decaying matter like shredded leaves or fine pine, you may need to add to it. We’ve had a lot of rain that has taken a toll on mulch that floats. The rain has been rushing in instead of falling gently. I don’t know about you, but not only is some of my mulch at the bottom of the hill, but the gravel from my paths is too. Also, when it isn’t raining, the weather is hot, muggy and buggy. In hot weather mulch decays faster. I’ll be adding some shredded leaves to my beds this week around the plants, especially anything new. It’s really the wrong time of year to plant new things, but the weather has been so rainy, I take chances.
Add shredded leaves to swampy borders. The new border next to the house has a section that is full of clay. Not only that, the border within the retaining wall drains into this bed. After the five to six inches from a few days ago, along with last night’s rain, I now have a swampy mess in the middle. I’ll work some shredded leaves into this swamp with the hope that earthworms will break up the nasty clay. I won’t plant anything there until next spring. I’ll probably add some chicken manure to it too.
Fertilize with an all-natural liquid fertilizer. The garden could use a mid-summer boost so I’m going to put a hose-end fertilizer sprayer on and spray organic liquid fertilizer all over the garden. It will smell like a lake for a couple of days, but the plants will be all the better this tonic. Make sure your organic fertilizer has fish emulsion and molasses (or some other natural binding agent), I like John’s Recipe from Lady Bug Brand a lot. I also like Jobe’s Organic All Purpose Fertilizer
Deadhead blooming plants. Any plants that have finished blooming can be deadheaded now to encourage more bloom. I don’t deadhead my hydrangeas because I like to leave the blooms intact and watch them turn to a beautiful brown or dark pink. Later, in fall, I might cut some of them to bring inside. However, I vigilantly deadhead my roses, lilies, daylilies, daisies and echinaceas so that their energy goes back into the plant instead of into forming seed. Also, you might cut back your asters again. I only cut back my mums once, but my asters are crazy this year. I cut them back three times, and some still bloomed. I’ll cut them back again because I want fall flowers.
Continue weeding. Weeding is ever constant, but it gives me time to let my mind float while I still get something accomplished. As I weed, I ponder all of the blessings in my life. Blessings like all of you who read this blog.
Okay, that’s all of the July garden chores I can think of. Guess I’ll go have a glass of iced tea and watch the sun set–if I can find it in all of these clouds.
It sounds like your garden is getting its second wind and mine is still trying to get its first wind. I like the cool temps better than some plants do. Most tropicals would be a bust here this year unless I bought them quite large–which I didn’t. Just have a few dahlias and cannas and neither are blooming yet.
We too have been having all this lovely rain. My soil has a lot of sand so I haven’t had anything succumb to the wet conditions. Boy do I have a bumper crop of weeds and bugs. I haven’t been out to cut back plants like I should have. I need to stake some plants that are flopping over into the gravel path. The garden is good so far this July. Your garden looks so lush. Those big tropicals do give the garden a punch of color.
Oh goodness, me too. The weeds are just getting out of hand here, and I’m not even sure how to tackle them. I’ll start in the veggie garden tomorrow morning, but I need to get some straw to put down first. I do love the lushness of the plants. Makes me happy!
Well, now I’m tired reading all those chores! Nothing is getting done around here, it rains and rains every day. I managed about an hour and a half on Tuesday, and that’s about it. I have high hopes for tomorrow though, no rain in the forecast and hubs will be home to help. Fingers crossed!
Oooh Robin, that’s exactly how I feel. The rain just kept coming down, and I’ve gotten behind. I’ll get back to it tomorrow. I have an appointment this morning, and then it will be too hot.
My that’s a long list for July, Dee. Aren’t we supposed to just sit back and enjoy at this point? Ha! Yes, I am being sarcastic. I still have plants I haven’t planted yet – it’s becoming a trend with me. Order, or graciously receive, plants – because I just can’t turn down a good plant – and then keep them alive on my porch steps for the majority of the summer. And this weekend is blown so there is another lost opportunity to get them planted. I need to weed my non-weeds! I can’t believe the way things grow in my garden – so thankful BUT … I love tropicals, and your choices. Even here in North Country I have opted for some tropicals this year – on the steps – which would look better without all those plants in a holding pattern – I have a grouping of Crotons – who needs flowers with foliage like that? I am also tremendously enjoying my Passion Vine and the Corkscrew Vine has grown to the top of its trellis but no blooms yet. It is paired with Grandpa Ott’s Morning Glory so there is still a show. I also tucked in a couple Gloriosa lilies and one just opened! I have too many chores to list but number one is taking care of the hornet’s nest that is growing increasingly large in my little greenhouse!
Ooh Kathy, be careful when you deal with that hornet’s nest. Hornets are one of the few stinging creatures that really scare me still. I snorted when I read your first sentence. With all the rain, I am so far behind I may catch up with myself. Plus, I’m taking off this weekend on a motorcycle ride with Bill. So, I’ll get back to work on Monday. Your vine montage made my heart swoon a bit.~~Dee
I like your suggestion about adding autumn leaves to swampy borders. We are moving to a house with a very wet backyard – so to be the native garden – and this rainy summer is making it wetter than I expected. No shortage of autumn leaves and I will use them.
Hi Pat! I just dumped a huge load of them in that horrid place I have. I like the idea of your native garden in the swampy backyard. That will look great. Nothing like natives to make pollinators happy.
My garden is totally different this year, too, Dee with all the rain. The slugs and weeds are keeping me busy! My coleus is looking great — I join with you in recommending it. I just linked to your Virtual Garden Club with my July veggie garden update. We have a weekend of perfect weather coming up — it’s about time! P. x
Oh Pam, enjoy that weekend. Thanks for linking to the virtual garden club. I need to do an update on The 20-30 Something blog too. I’ve just been so busy with kids and stuff. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll come visit probably on Monday since we’re going riding this weekend. ~~Dee
I love your containers and like you, look at the weather changing from year to year and find myself relying more and more on annuals plants. They take the extremes better of dry heat. This year even though drier than last, at least was not as hot here. I feel for you hitting 100°. So far no days that high yet in Niagara. Your combination of plants in the 2011 photo are stunning.
Thank you Donna. That was a happy accident on that combo. I tried it again later, and it looked nothing like that. Isn’t that the strangest thing? This year, we’re positively swampy which is almost as bad as the four years of drought previously. I swear, it’s hard to be a gardener sometimes.
Creative approach! I’m feeling the same way about how different the garden is this year. In some ways, I’m pleased, and in others I’m disappointed. We’ve been unseasonably cool, so blooms are lasting longer, but summer plants are taking longer to get their mojo. It all makes life and gardening more interesting. 😉 Your potted plants are lovely, Dee. The blue ceramic looks great on the red decking.
Hi Beth, I guess gardening is one of those things we can never become perfect at because it changes all the time. It does make it endlessly interesting. I do love my pots this year. All that rain has made them abundant. I went through my containers and got rid of many of them. I pared it down to only those I really love. I’m doing that a lot these days. Thank you so much.
Hi Dee, Sorry to hear the rains have been so destructive! Seems like it’s feast or famine.
I love Coleus……there are different ones all the time….and I bring them in for the winter so I can plant them the next spring.
I guess we’ve all lost plants that broke our hearts to lose. I appreciate it coming from the talented gardener that you are. Makes me feel a little less like a hack!
Happy gardening!
Hi Sally, you know, I’m okay with losing things. It happens. I always try to share my successes and especially my failures because we all have failures. Anytime, you’re dealing with living things, they may sometimes die. Other things are happy though. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Lovely Dee…so much to see and for you to do…here too. With all the rain little has been done and now to the weeding. Moving plants and dividing etc will have to wait.
Donna, I fear the weeds are trying to cart me off when I go out there. Anyway, Monday I start back, and I must get that veggie garden mulched. So much to do. So little time.
Alternanthera spends the winter here as several dozen cuttings in a mug of water. They transition easily to soil, come spring.
Tiny coleus cuttings in flats of soil in your greenhouse this winter will grow big when spring comes. Mama used to keep coleus cuttings in water but they get SO leggy.
They do get really leggy Nell Jean. I always take cuttings of all of it before winter winds blow. They keep me happy until spring and give the garden a head start. Thanks for reminding me.~~Dee
Here I have to re-edge the beds in July as the lines become a bit blurred. I love the containers and your garden looks lush.
Thank you Layanee. We don’t re-edge the beds because they all have barriers. Otherwise, the d***n Bermuda grass would take over. It tries to anyway. We use the string trimmer around the vegetable garden every two weeks to keep stuff under control. It’s so much work. ~~Dee
Your cobalt blue container plantings are beautiful. So sorry about the ‘troll’ ginkgo. I have never seen the pineapple sage ‘Golden delicious.’ Which do you prefer, the regular pineapple sage or ‘Golden Delicious? Mine are so full and tall this year I am debating pinching them back? Thank you for all the useful information especially how you mulch and selectively use Bt. something just loves my dwarf pomegranate.~J
Thank you Jeanette so much. I like ‘Golden Delicious’ best, but the other are good too. Go ahead and pinch them back. It won’t hurt them. They will still bloom. I’m so glad to help.~~Dee
Thank you for all the good information. My friend Frances Macy, Bluebird Farm, is having a garden tour Saturday, July 11 from 10:00 to 2:00. It is so beautiful, all the rain.
Martie, I love her garden. I’ve been there once, and it was wonderful. I won’t be in town this weekend because we’re going on a motorcycle trip. If not, I would so be there. Thank you for telling me.~~Dee