July in the garden is mostly about maintenance and watering. The hard work of spring cleanup, planting and mulching is behind us. Now our attention shifts to maintaining the garden beds, i.e., weeding, deadheading, adding plants where needed either for color or to fill an empty spot and watering.
July can be especially hard on planted containers as they tend to dry out really quickly in the heat of summer, sometimes requiring daily watering. It’s also important to feed your containers on a regular basis to ensure blooming for the whole season. A container in my garden planted with Salvia ‘Amistad’ (Friendship Sage), two Calibrachoas (Callie Hot Pink and Callie Apricot) and a trailing Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ (Golden Creeping Jenny) is a thirsty one, but keeping up with watering and feeding rewards me with a profusion of petunia-like flowers and the lovely tubular, dark purple salvia flowers. A word to the wise about Creeping Jenny, though, don’t let her escape the confines of the container because she is a garden bully, forming dense mats that become difficult to get rid of. Had I known this earlier, I probably would not have added this particular plant to my container.
A design aspect I’m particularly fond of is the “garden vignette”, an intimate spot in the garden that provides a focal point or scene. A couple of vignettes in my small garden:
A cobalt blue birdbath, nestled among the foliage of a Japanese Maple, Hakone Grass, Hosta and Sedum, is visited often by Goldfinches, House Finches, Robins and even Yellow Jackets, both to bathe in and to drink from. I make it a point to keep the basin clean and full of fresh cool water to encourage their frequent visits. It’s fun to watch them, especially the Robins, such enthusiastic bathers! The ceramic goldfish, a bit of whimsy, does not seem to bother the birds at all.
Another vignette is in my shade garden where the chartreuse leaves of Hosta ‘Fire Island’ provide the background for the colorful leaves of Coleus ‘Trailing Rose’ a perfect combination to brighten up their spot in the garden. In the spring, the colorful pink flower plumes of Astilbe ‘Rheinland’ add their own beauty to this scene.
What is a garden without a comfortable place to sit, relax and enjoy the results of your hard work? My front porch offers the perfect spot from which to watch wildlife’s comings and goings, among them a Monarch butterfly feeding on Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’ flowers (Swamp Milkweed) or to just contemplate the garden and dream of what comes next: enlarging a bed, adding a favorite plant, or some new garden ornament to enhance the border.
By the way, many of the plants that fill my garden were purchased from the Friends’ Annual Plant Sale this spring, i.e., Salvia ‘Amistad’, the two Calibrachoas, the gorgeous Coleus and the Asclepias, among others.
Happy gardening and do remember to take time to enjoy your efforts!
Text and pictures by Margery Ennist.
