May To Do In The Garden

Once again, thanks to those lovely and oh-so-knowledgeable folks at Sloat, here is what needs doing in the garden in May.  If you live in Northern Ca.  Of course since we have a miserable drought and scorching hot weather (90 in April...really!) I recommend mixing yourself a gin and tonic.  It won't alleviate the drought, but it makes watching your garden wilt a little easier to take.  Just a little.  

May

• Plant annuals like petunias, marigolds, begonias, lobelia, salvia and zinnia.
• Re-seed radishes, carrots and beets.
• Plant late summer edibles like pumpkins, squash, sunflowers, peppers, basil and melons.
• Select garden-ready dahlias, perennials, hydrangeas, and hanging baskets.
• Fertilize rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias with E.B. Stone Organics Azalea, Camellia & Gardenia Food.
• Give vegetables a boost with E.B. Stone Organics Tomato and Vegetable Food.
• Feed containers and hanging baskets with Maxsea All Purpose fertilizer.
• Plant new containers with E.B. Stone Formula 420 to provide the best moisture holding capacity.
• Prune spring-flowering shrubs after bloom is past. Prune spring flowering Clematis to control size and shape.
• Mulch vegetable and flower beds with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus to control weeds and conserve moisture.
• Freshen up containers and replace spent annuals with colorful 4-inch perennials such as verbena, calibrachoa, coleus, bacopa and ipomoea.
• Don’t forget mom on Mother’s Day! We have blooming flowers, gift cards, and hanging baskets.
• Check out our selection of specialty hand tools, gloves and sun protective hats.
• Release ladybugs and other beneficial insects to help control aphids, mites, whiteflies, and other garden pests.
• The spittle bugs have returned!  Learn more. >
• Stake tall perennials such as Dahlias.
• Use beneficial nematodes to manage grubs in your lawn
• Deadhead spring bulbs but leave the foliage until it turns yellow.
• Pinch back late summer and fall perennials to promote better flowering, especially mums and asters.
• Check your hose fittings for spent washers and leaks. Ensure your hose has a shut off valve or other water conserving feature. Consider a soaker hose to conserve water in your vegetable garden.

To Do In April

So just in case you have some spare time this weekend - bwaa ha ha - here, courtesy of Sloat Nursery in Danville, CA, is what to do in your garden now.  If you live in California.  In the north.  

If you are still shivering under a blanket of snow, may I recommend a Caribbean vacation?  Or a realtor?

April

• Prune back herbaceous perennials (example: salvia), to promote plant bushiness.
• Grow your own food this summer! Now is the time to plant edibles like lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, zucchini and berries. Consider a soaker hose to conserve water in your vegetable garden.
• Prevent powdery mildew and rust on roses and other plants with Bonide Neem Oil. Already have a powdery mildew problem? Treat with Actinovate or Serenade.
• Aphids are beginning to appear. Stop them early with Bonide Neem Oil.
• Tomatoes: choose a large cage — your plants will surely grow larger!
• Plant a tree, shrub, flower or edible for Earth Day or Arbor Day.
• Stake perennials like Delphinium, Foxglove, peony, coreopsis, garden phlox, hollyhock, centranthus, and Shasta daisy.
• Start planting summer annuals like lobelia, begonia, marigolds, cosmos, petunias, snapdragon and alyssum. Use Sure Start fertilizer for new plantings to establish them quickly.
• Apply a lawn fertilizer such as E.B. Stone Nature’s Green to green up your grass gently.
• Stock up on a season’s-worth of top quality, plant-specific fertilizers from E.B. Stone.The “Naturals” and “Organics” lines are environmentally friendly.
• Snails and slugs are hatching in your garden right now. Non-toxic Sluggo can help.
• Mulch vegetable and flower beds with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus.
• Release ladybugs, praying mantis, and other beneficial insects to help control aphids, mites, whiteflies, and other garden pests. If you release beneficial insects, please don’t spray for garden pests.
• Work cover crops into the soil before they seed.
• Say yes to summer bulbs! Plant gladiolus, dahlias & lilies.  Put stakes in place at the time of planting.
• Shop for clematis and other spring bloomers.
• It’s also time to start choosing and planting summer perennials: Penstemon, Salvia, Argyranthemum...

What To Do In March

Here, courtesy of the lovely folks at Sloat Garden Center, is what to do in your garden in March.  Don't forget to thank them, preferably by shopping there! 

What To Do In March

• Wake up the garden by feeding it. We recommend:
  • Maxsea fertilizer is ideal for feeding container plants. Houseplants will enjoy a feeding with Maxsea 16-16-16 as will your over-wintered containers and baskets
  • E.B. Stone Sure Start fertilizer for new plantings to establish them quickly.
  • Fertilize your garden with E.B. Stone Organics All Purpose.
  • Stock up on top quality, plant-specific fertilizers like: E.B. Stone Organics Rose & Flower, Tomato & Vegetable, and Citrus & Fruit.  All E.B. Stone fertilizers promote healthy plants and the soil beneath them because of mycorrhizae.
  • Continue to prepare planting beds for spring. Test your soil for pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and add the appropriate fertilizer or supplement. We recommend amending your soil with Sloat Loam Builder, Sloat Forest Mulch Plus or Sloat Planting Mix. Also, add E.B Stone’s Agricultural Lime or Grow MoreMaxi-Cal to soil to provide needed calcium for vegetables & fruit to prevent blossom end rot.
  • Rhododendrons and azaleas are budding and blooming. Now is the best time to choose new plants.  Feed plants with EB Stone Organics Azalea Camellia and Gardenia Food after flowering
• It’s Vegetable Planting Time! Organic vegetable starts & seeds are in our stores so you can grow your own food.
• Water wise tip: For new plantings, consider using water holding polymers such as Soil Moist. The non-toxic granules hold water longer than soil alone, thus minimizing moisture loss due to evaporation.
• Apply mulches such as Micro Bark or Forest Mulch Plus to established and new plantings.
• Plant your favorite annuals for spring. Petunias, begonias, alyssum, marigolds, cosmos, and lobelia are budding and blooming.
• Check out impatiens alternatives: We carry a vast array of shade plants that will provide flowers and foliage in shaded spaces: begonias, heucheras, bounce impatiens, and New Guinea impatiens.
• Say yes to summer bulbs! Plant gladiolus and dahlias for summer color.
• Prune freeze damaged plants now (if you haven’t already). But, wait to prune spring blooming shrubs until after flowering.
• Snails and slugs are hatching in your garden right now. Non-toxic Sluggo can help keep them out. If earwigs, sowbugs, and cutworms are also a problem, use Sluggo Plus with spinosad. Edge containers and beds with copper tape.
• Aphids are beginning to appear. Stop them early with Bonide Neem Oil, Bonide Rose Rx 3 in 1 or Monterey Take Down Spray — safe for organic gardening. The best time to spray is at the end of the day after the bees have stopped foraging. Use on roses and all your plants.
• Consider planting companion plants such as Yarrow, Erigeron and Marigold to provide an environment that welcomes beneficial insects.
• Use Serenade bacteria-based fungicide to prevent and cure spring rust and mildew. (OMRI listed)
• Water early in the morning to prevent wet foliage at night. Wet foliage attracts snails and fungal diseases.
• Don't forget to shop at Sloat!

Do It Now

Here, once again, courtesy of the lovely folks at Sloat Nursery, is your to-do list for the garden.  Except, this year in our gardens everything seems to be happening about a month early!  Roses are leafed out; one at Deanna's is already blooming.  Grape vines have uncurled tight fists of leaves.  Daffodils are, for the most part, over.  The buckeye, always precocious, has thrown a dense green roof over the round gravel patio, and covered the big bathroom window.  When I brush my teeth in the morning it's like being under water, cool and deep green.

Dogwood buds have gone from tight grey pincushions to thick and wavy and yellow, like little flags.  They usually bloom in April; this year I don't think they'll last thru March.  

Of course, if you live in the Frozen East, this list will probably just piss you off.  Get out your snow shovel and get over it.  Or come visit - we'll be on the patio.  In our shirtsleeves.

What To Do In The Garden Now:

• Prepare planting beds for spring. Test your soil for pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and add the appropriate fertilizer or supplement. We recommend amending your soil with Sloat Loam Builder, Sloat Forest Mulch Plus or Sloat Planting Mix. Also, add E.B Stone’s Agricultural Lime or Grow More Maxi-Cal to soil to provide needed calcium for vegetables & fruit and to prevent blossom end rot.

• Plant early blooming plants like peonies, wisteria, lilacs, flowering plum, cherries, and magnolia. You can also plant Mediterranean plants such as leucadendrons, lavender, rosemary. Ceanothus and manzanita are great California Native choices.

• Protect your plants from slugs and snails with Sluggo or Sluggo Plus.

• Now is the time to plant edibles: Potatoes, garlic, onions, rhubarb, and asparagus.

• Finish pruning roses, shrubs and trees. Need a little guidance? Check out a pruning seminar at our stores.

• Prune and cut back perennials & ornamental grasses.

• Stop the weeds! Weeds that begin with winter rains go to seed in March & April. But the clever gardener never lets them get that far. Pull weeds now before they go to seed.

• After pruning, feed roses with E.B. Stone Alfalfa Meal and E.B. Stone Naturals Sul-Po-Magto promote healthy cane growth.

• Prune lavender back to emerging new growth for best spike production this coming summer.

• In addition to preparing your planting beds, use winter aged compost to make room for your new trimmings and clippings.

• It’s time to think about starting seeds. Most seeds are started 6-8 weeks prior to the last frost.

• Add summer flowering gladiolas and dahlias to your garden.

• During the month of February we have the best citrus selection of the year. Stop in!

• Protect citrus from rodents with Repels All Ready to Use.

• Now is a good time to feed and repot houseplants in anticipation of spring growth. Check for insects.

• Deadhead cyclamen to keep them in bloom.

• After pruning, be sure to clean your tools.

• Feed the birds: We carry Wild Delight Gourmet Bird Seed, Songbird Blend, Nut & Berry, Nyjer thistle, and Sunflower Seed. Also we have suet in 6 flavors to attract a variety of birds from woodpeckers to phoebes. Finch Socks with Nyjer are easy to use and popular with the birds!

• Keep up on cleaning winter debris from beds and containers.

• Mulch to prevent fungal diseases, conserve water and reduce weeds..

January In The Garden

Here, courtesy of Dustin and the other fine folks at Sloat Garden Center in Danville, is your to-do list for January.  If you live in the SF Bay Area, that is.  If you live in the frozen Midwest or the stormy East, you have the month off.  And if the weather doesn't thaw soon, you might not be gardening until June!  I'm not sure right now whether I envy you or feel sorry for you.  I guess it depends on whether I'm on my way out to the garden, or on my way back in.  

January In The Garden

• Plant deciduous flowering cherries and plums, dormant fruit trees and Japanese maples. Look for deciduous vines as well: wisteria, akebia, and Boston Ivy.
• The first of our summer bulbs (gladiolus, dahlias and lilies) arrive in select stores this month. Call ahead to the Sloat Garden Center location nearest you for information.
• Dormant roses have arrived.  Learn how to plant and care for them. Plant roses with E.B. Stone Sure Start and Greenall Rose Grow Planting Mix.
• Top dress roses and tender plants with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus.
• If it has rained, continue to dormant spray. Dormant sprays help prevent peach leaf curl, fungal rot and other diseases. We recommend Monterey Liqui-Cop for disease. Bonide All Seasons Oil or Monterey Horticultural Oil for insects. They can be mixed and sprayed at the same time!
• Protect your plants from slugs and snails with Sluggo or Sluggo Plus.
• Protect citrus from rodents with Bonide Repels All.
• Don’t forget to water houseplants, especially if the heater has been on.
• Deadhead cyclamen to keep them in bloom.
• Protect plants and tender succulents from cold with a frost blanket such as Easy Gardener Plant Blanket or N-Sulate and Cloud Cover anti-transpirant spray.
• Clean up the garden: Prune roses, shrubs and trees. Prune and cut back perennials & ornamental grasses. Need a little guidance? Contact us!
• After pruning, be sure to clean your tools.
• Stop the weeds! Weeds that begin with winter rains go to seed in March & April. But the clever gardener never lets them get that far. Pull weeds now before they go to seed. Apply Weed Prevention Plus made from natural corn gluten to prevent weed germination.
• Now is the time to remove plants that aren’t thriving to make room for healthier plants. Sad, but true!
• Feed the birds: We carry Wild Delight Gourmet Bird Seed, Songbird Blend, Nut & Berry, Nyjer thistle, and Sunflower Seed. Also we have suet in 6 flavors to attract a variety of birds from woodpeckers to phoebes. Finch Socks with Nyjer are easy to use and popular with the birds!

November In The Garden

Okay, once again thanks to Dustin and all the smart folks at Sloat Nursery in Danville (and other places), here is your to-do list for November.  Have fun, and don't forget to shop at Sloat!  

November: What to do in your garden this month

• Look to plant cyclamen in early November. It’s also a great time to plant ground covers and sweet peas.
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• Think fall & winter color: Violas and pansies are perfect for creating mass color in containers or flowerbeds. Available in a variety of hues, they are a terrific ground cover to plant over bulbs in pots or in the ground.
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• For a hardy alternative, consider planting ornamental cabbage and kale.
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• Prepare planting beds for winter. Clear weeds and rocks. Till soil and add soil amendments.
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• Fall is for planting! Get shrubs, perennials and trees into the ground this month. Winter rains will help develop a strong root system.
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• Select bulbs for spring bloom and winter forcing such as hyacinth, paperwhite & tulips.  Refrigerate hyacinth, crocus and tulips 4 to 6 weeks prior to planting.
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• Apply a lawn fertilizer and pre–emergent to control and prohibit annual bluegrass, crabgrass, and other weeds in your lawn and flower beds. Also, aerate and fertilize the lawn with E.B. Stone Nature’s Green.
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• De-thatch lawn if necessary
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• Top-dress perennial beds, azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus and feed with 0-10-10 fertilizer monthly until bloom (E.B. Stone Organics).
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• Divide the roots and rhizomes of perennials such as agapanthus, yarrow and iris.
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• Store away and clean any unused pots and containers that can be used as hiding places by overwintering insects, slugs and spiders.
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• Lightly prune Japanese maples while still in leaf. Select and plant maples for fall color.
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• It’s time to fill your bird feeders for winter. You can also try a suet feeder!
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• Clean up dead leaves, deadhead flowering plants- diseased leaves should go in the garbage, the rest can go in the compost pile
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• Mulch with compost or Forest Mulch to amend the soil and keep down weeds
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• Pull weeds before they have a chance to drop seeds.  Apply a pre-emergent after fall rains to stop germinating weeds.  Concern Weed Prevention Plus is a safe product derived from corn gluten.
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• Move perennials and shrubs between now and January-prune back lightly first
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• Continue to bait for snails with Sluggo
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• Strip roses Dec-Jan, prune in Jan-Feb
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• Fertilize cymbidiums with 6-25-25 food
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• Fertilize blue hydrangeas with E.B. Stone True Blue now for bluer blooms
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• Fertilize winter color with a blooming plant food (primrose, cyclamen) such as Maxsea 3-20-20.
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• Continue to fertilize citrus with E.B. Stone Organics Citrus Food or Greenall Citrus and Avocado food.
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• Clean and store tools- rub down with alcohol after each use. Grease with white lithium grease to prevent rust. Store shovels and saws in a bucket of sand with a little oil (5 parts sand-1 part oil)
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• If frost is imminent, be sure to water your garden (if it hasn’t rained recently).
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• Use Bonide All Seasons Oil when roses and fruit trees have lost their leaves

PLANT IT NOW! October & November are truly the most advantageous months of the year to get perennials, trees, vines, shrubs and cool season vegetables into the ground. 

Planting now will allow roots to become well established for much stronger, more vigorous plants come springtime. Fall and winter rains mean nature does the weekly watering for you, plus most gardeners see fewer pest and disease problems in the fall.

Happy Gardening!

To Do In The Garden - October

Okay - courtesy of Dustin and the other wonderful folks at Sloat Nursery in Danville, here's what you should be doing in the garden this month.  And check out the cool pumpkins and squashes they have for sale!  No watering required.  

(And if you sign up for their e-newsletter, all this info  - and more! will appear in your inbox.  Lucky you.)

Sloat's Bay Area Gardening Guide: October

PLANT

• Plant it Now! Fall is the best time to plant foxglove, canterbury bells and other biennials. Plant cyclamen in October/early November. It’s also a great time to plant ground covers and sweet peas.
• Think fall & winter color: Violas and pansies are perfect for creating mass color in containers or flowerbeds. Available in a variety of hues, they are a terrific ground cover for spring bulbs.
• For a hardy alternative, consider planting ornamental grasses. Grasses require little upkeep and can create a beautiful screening effect against the house or fence.
• Fall is for planting! Get container shrubs, perennials and trees into the ground this month. Winter rains will help develop a strong root system.
• Decorate for fall: We have ornamental kale, mums, iceland poppies, snapdragons, stock and ornamental grasses for waves of autumnal color. Also, stop by for pumpkins, then carve something ghoulish and enter it in our Pumpkin Carving Contest.
• Select and plant maples for fall color (now is the time to see fall color).
• Select bulbs for spring bloom and winter forcing. Begin chilling bulbs that need an artificial winter: Tulips, freesia, crocus & hyacinth need 4–6 weeks of refrigeration before planting.

FERTILIZE

• Top-dress perennial beds, azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus and feed with 0-10-10 fertilizer monthly until bloom (E.B. Stone Organics).
• Feed spring blooming shrubs with 0-10-10 fertilizer. Feed citrus with Maxsea.

PRUNE/MAINTAIN

• Prepare planting beds for winter. Clear weeds and rocks. Till soil and add soil amendments.
• Divide the roots and rhizomes of perennials such as agapanthus, yarrow and iris.
• Lightly prune Japanese maples while still in leaf.
• It’s time to fill your bird feeders for winter. You can also try a suet feeder!

CALIFORNIA’S SECOND SPRING

October & November are truly the most advantageous months of the year to get perennials, trees, vines, shrubs and cool season vegetables into the ground. Planting now will allow roots to become well established for much stronger, more vigorous plants come springtime. Fall and winter rains mean nature does the weekly watering for you, plus most gardeners see fewer pest and disease problems in the fall. 

REMINDER: Plant bulbs this fall and enjoy a festival of color next spring!

Read. Shop. Plant.

Here - courtesy of Sloat Nursery in Danville - is what to do in the garden this month.  Remember: if you don't shop at the local stores pretty soon you won't have any!  And if you sign up for their newsletter they will send you the info directly.

Read. Shop. Plant.  

September

PLANT

• Watch for the arrival of all our spring bulbs. Shop early for the best selection.
• Plan landscaping projects now. Think about walkways and flower/vegetable beds, as well as focal point shrubs and trees. Need guidance? Call Sloat’s Garden Design Department for expert advice.
• Choose fall blooming pansies and other autumn color.
• Plant fall vegetables such as kale, collard, spinach, arugula and lettuces.

FERTILIZE

• Apply lawn fertilizer monthly with Nature’s Green Lawn Food.
• Aerate compacted soil.
• Containers, summer annuals and cool season annuals will enjoy monthly feeding at this time of year with Maxsea all-purpose fertilizer.

PRUNE/MAINTAIN

• Keep the garden clean. Pick up fallen fruit to avoid pests and disease next year. Clean out plant debris. Prepare soil with Loam Builder for fall vegetable beds.
• Mulch with Greenall Micro Bark to inhibit weeds and conserve moisture.

Fall Planting

With the possible exception of Thomas Keller, who has a staff of thousands, nobody I know grows enough vegetables.  Or fruit, but that's a winter topic.  So here are the fall tips from our dear friends at Sloat.  Read it, weed it, then go get some plants from Sloat and plant.  You can thank me later.  When you're eating those delicious veggies and feeling happy and healthy.  

All about planting Fall vegetables

posted by Sloat Garden Center

Vegetable gardening isn’t just a springtime activity. Summer and fall are ideal times to plant cool season vegetables, greens and root crops. Not only does cool weather enhance their growth rate, but light frost will improve their flavor. Another benefit to fall planting is that many common pests like caterpillar and leaf miner are not as plentiful. Cooler temperatures also enhance the colors of leafy greens and roots. Carrots are more orange, radishes are redder and red pigments in greens are more pronounced.

These are considered cool season vegetables: greens- kale, collards, lettuce, mustard, spinach, chard, arugula, mache, endive, bok choy, escarole, root crops- turnips, rutabagas, radishes, carrots, beets, cole crops- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, peas, fava beans, leeks, celery and spring onions. Further enhance the appearance of your vegetable garden by interplanting fall annuals: alyssum, pansies and violas.

Soil preparation is the same as you would do in the spring. The nutrients need to be replenished and the soil tilth needs to be restored. We recommend Sloat Loam Builder mixed 50/50 with the native soil or one bag for every 25 square feet. Be sure to work the soil to at least a 1 foot depth if you are considering root crops. Apply Agricultural Lime according to the directions. Lime is especially important for the cole crops. Incorporate Sure Start or E.B. Stone Vegetable food.

If you plant in containers, use Sloat Organic Potting Soil and E.B. Stone Sure Start. Many cool weather vegetables are available as transplants but root crops will need to be planted from seed. It is recommended that onions be planted by seed as opposed to sets in the fall. Seed is planted a little deeper in the fall than in the spring. The reason for this is that it is drier at the soil surface in the fall and the resulting , deeper seedlings are kept cooler. Thinning is necessary if you want good sized roots and greens heads. Be sure to keep young plants moist. Water maturing plants regularly to keep them growing. Bitterness develops in greens that are not watered enough. Sometimes, birds can become pests in the fall vegetable garden, mostly in the early morning hours. Golden crown sparrows are notorious for eating young seedlings, especially peas. You may want to protect young plants with a lightweight row cover.

Sloat Nursery's Vacation Tips for Your Plants

Vacation tips for your plants

posted by Sloat Garden Center

As you plan for your vacation you should take into consideration that your garden and plants are going to miss you. There are certain things you can do that will cut down on your absolute need to be there, but it does mean preparing for vacation needs a few days before you leave. A recently fed plant will have a tendency to grow. This can contribute to an increase in water needs or make it more succulent for the voracious appetite of garden invaders. Put off the normal feeding, or if it must be fed, cut the feeding to half strength and plan on providing the second half when you return.

Mulching is probably the most important thing you can do before leaving on vacation. Be sure you have watered the area before you apply mulch, then water enough after it is applied to have the mulch damp on its own without having to draw moisture from the soil.Mulch can be used in flowerbeds, vegetable gardens and around trees and shrubs. Leave approximately six inches around the trunks of trees and shrubs so they can breathe. It is even safe to add a little to containers but take care that the stems are not choked by the mulch.

Containers can be moved to a light shade area for the time being. Hanging baskets should be taken down so that they are more easily watched unless you have a drip system that is on a timer. While you are gone, the local bugs will not be on a holiday and would be happy if you forgot about them.Use Sluggo Plus to take care of snails, ants, some cutworms and earwigs during your absence. Indoors plants can also be taken care of with a little thought. Large container plants should be watered well before you leave and if the plant can be moved, place it away from the windows so it will not dry out. You can put small plants in the bathtub after they have been well watered. The coolness of the bathroom will help retain moisture. Do not leave plants standing in water. Also, visit your local Sloat Garden Center location for a variety of watering devices to help keep your plants moist while you are away. We recommend the Plant Nanny, Scheurich water dispensers, and DriWater products.

June Postcard From The Hedge

I promised, and I always keep my promises - so here is the to-do list for June courtesy of Sloat Nursery.  Check them out, sign up for their newsletter.  Shop there.   They have the most delicious plants - and the most delicious photos on their website.  

Remember - you vote with your wallet every day; you only vote by ballot every couple of years.  Vote often.  Vote local.

June to-do list from Sloat Garden Centers

PLANT

• Warm season annuals are here! Plant zinnias, salvias, cosmos, lisianthus, portulaca.
• Plant herbs for use in the kitchen. Re-seed greens, cabbages and kales.

FERTILIZE

• Your spring plantings are getting hungry. Feed with all-purpose fertilizers such as E.B. Stone Organics and Maxsea.
• Feed your lawn with high nitrogen organic fertilizer like Nature’s Green Lawn Food.

PRUNE/MAINTAIN

• Continue to deadhead roses, shrubs and other flowers with a new pair of Felco pruners to encourage new blooms.
• Mulch shrubs and beds to conserve moisture. Try GreenAll Microbark for its beauty and utility.
• Make sure vegetables are supported with cages, stakes or trellises.
• Check early-bearing fruit trees for heavily laden branches. Thin fruits now to prevent branches from breaking. Harvest vegetables to keep them producing.

It's Back!!!!

I used to write a monthly column for a garden newsletter.  And an advice column - Sage Advice by Mary A. Gardener.  Excellent advice, if I do say so myself.  Then I stopped.  And lots of people said they missed it - so I began to count, and I promised myself if it got to 100 asks, I would start again.  Just the column, unless you start asking questions.

So here it is - complete with a monthly to-do in the garden, courtesy of Sloat Garden Center (I go to the one in Danville, and if you haven't been there lately, you are missing out.  Cool stuff, kind caring smart staff, plants that will make you drool.)


Postcard From The Hedge - July 2013

We were away for more than four weeks, and I barely recognize my garden.  Hollyhocks that were ruffled leaves all in a clump when we left, sort of like a horticultural mop, have bloomed on tall spires and are now bent over, with a few shiny hot pink ballet dresses at the ends of the branches, and black seeds bursting out of wheel-shaped papery casings.  I bet they were spectacular - I'm sorry I missed it.  I'm spreading seed and hoping I'm home for the show next year.  Call me if you want some seeds.

The quince has grown three feet taller, and has flung out arms to block the path.  As I tried to breeze by a big fuzzy fruit knocked me on the the arm.  Ouch.   It was hidden by leaves - not any more.  It's now in a vase on the hall table.

The Boston ivy is trying to become curtains, sending feelers over the kitchen and family room windows, and thru the bedroom screens.  It's gonna be a bear to get out of the screens.  The wisteria had blocked my garage door, and I couldn't get my car out.  If I were my aunt, I'd move.  She used to say "Johnny, the ash tray is full.  It's time to get a new car!"

The Philadelphus has blocked the window by the tub, the one that goes all the way down so I can sit in the tub and see out.  Not any more - not until I prune.  But I could bathe at mid-day and have total privacy.  Of course I'd be even more wrinkly...maybe I'll grab the loppers and head out.

I remember the first time we swam in the pool - the gunite guys had just left, it wasn't balanced or chlorinated - but we couldn't wait a week, so we slipped off our clothes and went skinny dipping.  After dark.  Then we could rest our chins on the downhill edge of the pool and see the street, and the car lights illuminated us slithering out without clothes - or towels.  Oops.

Now you can't see the pool from the path just a few feet below the downhill edge, and you can't see into the garden from the street, for the English laurel is tall and dense.  When did that happen?

I remember that first December, our garden was new, and Najat was giving a wreath workshop.  Bring your own greens.  I tiptoed around the garden, snipping a leaf here and a leaf there, dismayed at the vastly reduced and sometimes lopsided plants that were left.  That year I brought one produce bag full.  Not nearly enough.  Thank goodness for generous friends.  This year I had Norberto haul away truckloads of greens and branches, and there will still be enough to cut for wreaths for all my friends and family.  And probably the whole town of Danville.  Greens, anyone?

Rose campion, the unfortunately named Lychnis coronaria, has bloomed and seeded in the front, forget-me-nots that I cut back in spring are sheets of blue.  I used to have an organized garden, plants carefully placed for color and texture, but I am enchanted by the self-seeders and I think I'm moving toward a cottage garden.  Complete with herbs and vegetables among the flowers.  Including some truly dreadful tomatoes.  If you're going to home-grow tomatoes, the least they can do is be tasty!  They were labeled Sweet 100.  They are not.  Mealy and thick-skinned and boring.  Oh well, there's always next year...

To Do this month in the garden - from Sloat Garden Center: 

July 2013

TO DO IN THE GARDEN: July

PLANT
• Summer flowers abound! Fill your garden with color that will carry you through until fall such as cosmos, snapdragons, salvias, lisianthus, vinca rosea and zinnias.

FERTILIZE
• Feed vegetables, perennials, containers, hanging baskets with a water-soluble fertilizer such as E.B. Stone Fish Emulsion or Maxsea All Purpose Fertilizer. Avoid feeding during the heat of day.
• Fertilize camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons with E.B. Stone Organics Azalea, Camellia andGardenia Food.

PRUNE/MAINTAIN
• Cut or pinch off spent flowers to promote more blooms. Finish pruning all spring-flowering shrubs.
• Spray evergreens & shrubs with CloudCover to reduce drought stress.
• Mulch all garden beds with Sloat’s Forest Mulch Plus to protect from summer heat and keep garden maintenance down