Lessons from July

I've hardly spent any time working in my garden this summer due to the non-stop rain. I've emerged a couple of times to get the weeds under control (particularly the tree seedlings that were blocking my view while trying to back out of my driveway), but I haven't spent the weekly time in the garden I should have (I think I even made a New Year's resolution about that...oh well). At least I haven't needed to water any of my plants. I think my plant-sitting friends secretly laughed at me when I asked them to keep an eye on my plants when I went on vacation. After all, why would it suddenly stop raining all the time like it had the previous month? I felt better knowing I had a back-up waterer, though.

In late July, when the heat and humidity are the worst, it's a good time to take a look at the garden and see what's worked this summer, and what hasn't. After all, wouldn't we all like a garden that looks beautiful in the middle of the summer with little or no effort from us? That's my dream, anyway. So here it is, what I've learned in July:

1. Spend time in the garden every week. The weeds are incredible. They love this rain. I would have a lot fewer weeds if I had just spent 30 minutes a week pulling some.

Is that a weed or a petunia? I'm not sure.

2. Mulch, and mulch some more. I didn't use nearly enough mulch in my garden. There are far fewer weeds where I applied the mulch good and thick. Where I only used a thin layer of mulch, I can hardly tell between the weeds and the garden plants.

I love how this border has turned out overall, but I need to
move my hydrangea somewhere else.

3. 'Twist-n-Shout' hydrangea does not tolerate direct sun. When I was planning the flower bed on the east side of my front door last fall, I carefully watched to see how much sun it got. At the time, the answer was none. I selected plants that could tolerate full shade. At the beginning of the summer, my 'Twist n' Shout' was covered in beautiful blue blooms. Some time in June the sun moved, and the hydrangea started getting hot afternoon sun. It's a sad, sun-burned mess. When fall comes, I'll have to transplant it to a spot in my backyard where I know it won't get any direct sun.

My Flower Carpet 'Scarlet' rose has flourished.

4. Winning plants: Verbena 'Purple Homestead,' 'Flower Carpet' and 'Knockout' roses, Hosta, Torenia, and Petunia 'Purple Wave'. Those are all plants that look lush and disease-free right now. I've always sworn by heat-and-sun-loving purple verbena for summer color. 'Knockout' roses are the recent Southern favorite for a carefree rose, but the 'Flower Carpet' roses I won have lived up to every disease-free, heat-tolerant promise. (See here for a picture of what it looked like when I planted it, and compare to the picture above to see how much it has grown.) You can't beat hostas for a lovely, shady groundcover in the summertime. This was my first time growing Torenia (aka wishbone flower), but both my blue and white Torenia have looked beautiful all summer in their part-shade flower borders (they love this rain). My white petunias (variety unknown) look all but dead, but my 'Purple Wave' petunias are doing just fine.

My hostas continue to flourish and spread.

Verbena 'Purple homestead' looks great down by the
sidewalk. Surprisingly, my lavender plants are still alive.

How is your garden doing right now? I'd love to hear which plants are working well for you this summer. Happy gardening!