It doesn’t matter what the calendar says; 90-degree days mean summertime is here. Texas gardeners need to be tough to garden in our particular brand of summertime heat and intermittent rain. And while many sections of the nation watched some spring rains, the truth is that we’re still in a drought cycle. It requires a little additional effort to have a beautiful, healthy and thriving garden in these conditions, so follow this checklist for some helpful suggestions and be sure to always follow the suggestions of the regional professionals and governments.
Troy Rhone Garden Design
Sow seeds. From the fruit and vegetable garden, sow black-eyed peas, okra, New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach, winter squash, cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon.
For herbaceous plants, plant thyme, tarragon, tansy, basil, anise, bay, catnip, comfrey, southernwood, sorrel, winter savory, cumin, fennel, germander, lamb’s ear, lavender, oregano, summer savory, rosemary and sage.
Add yearly color with zinnias, sunflowers, periwinkle, morning glory vines, moonflower vines, marigolds, impatiens, gourds, hyacinth bean vines, four o’clocks, gomphrena, cypress vines and coleus.
guides to vegetable gardening
Landscape Designer, Jason Lackey
Plant fruit, vegetable and herb transplants. You can also plant black-eyed peas, pumpkin, okra, Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, peppers, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon from nursery containers.
Also search for basil, bay laurel, bee balm, yarrow, thyme, tansy, catnip, catmint, comfrey, sage, lavender, oregano, lamb’s ear, echinacea, lavender, lemon balm, lemon verbena, Mexican mint marigold, mint, pennyroyal and artemesia.
The Design Build Company
Plant annuals. Favorite warm-weather annuals contain zinnia, torenia, purslane, begonia, blue daze, celosia, ageratum, copper plant, impatiens, marigold, geranium, petunia, penta, dusty miller, Mexican heather, portulaca, periwinkle and gazania.
jenny_hardgrave
Plant perennials and ornamental grasses. Now is also the time to plant perennials: black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Copper canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii), cuphea (Cuphea spp), four nerve wracking (Tetraneuris scaposa), coneflower (Echinacea spp), lantana (Lantana spp), ruellia (Ruellia spp), salvia (Salvia spp), plumbago (Plumbago ariculata), sedum (Sedum spp), coreopsis (Coreopsis spp), esperanza (Tecoma stans), gayfeather and blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum).
Add ornamental grasses to your backyard, such as maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis), purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum), gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa), Mexican feather grass (Nasella tenuissima)and inland sea turtles (Chasmanthium latifolium).
Shown:an Assortment of annuals and perennials with purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum)
Tend your yard. In Texas it’s recommended to fertilize your yard three times every year — in March or April, again in June and a third period in September or October. Search for a lawn fertilizer which is higher in nitrogen (the first number in the three-number ratio on the package), which encourages vigorous growth and deep green color.
Avoid overfertilizing, which can burn your yard and run off to the water system. Fertilizer after the lawn is mown and the grass is dry. Lawns at the time of year will need approximately 1 inch to 11/2 inches of water per week — but make sure to always follow your area’s water limits or guidelines. Remember, watering less frequently but more profoundly is actually better for your yard.
Missouri Botanical Garden
Repel mosquitoes. Mosquitoes aren’t simply a nuisance; they also carry diseases like West Nile virus for both humans and heartworm for dogs. There are numerous things that a gardener can do to minimize the mosquito population, beginning with eliminating any standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
Add products such as Mosquito Bits and Mosquito Dunks to ponds, birdbaths and around air conditioning trickle tubes; these products and many others like them contain nontoxic ingredients which keep mosquito larvae from developing into adults. You can also include mosquito-repelling plants such as catmint, citronella and lemongrass to your backyard, or install a mosquito misting system close to your outdoor gathering areas.
Urban Hedgerow
Entire a summer garden project. Summer is the best time to plan some creative garden jobs. Add a compost bin, then construct a simple deck, install a water feature or make an insect habitat. Beneficial insects such as ladybugs, beetles, centipedes and bees have fewer and fewer places to nest and create a habitat. These beneficial bugs really are great at keeping the “bad” bugs under control.
Insect habitats are a creative way of displaying dead wood, leaves, tubes, sticks, straw, hay and bark to promote the good men to stay around and do their part to maintain our houses healthy. They are also great jobs to do with children, who can learn lessons about recycling, life spans and garden health in the procedure.
Shown:An Urban Hedgerow bug habitat
siamesepuppy
Control grasshoppers. Several years the grasshopper population simply gets out of hands, and the harm to our gardens can be astounding. Grasshoppers will strip trees, flowers, vegetables and shrubs bare with their voracious appetites, apparently overnight, so it pays to stay on top of this issue. There are quite a few organic sprays and spreads which are offered to stop grasshoppers in their course; request your garden center for a recommendation.
Or mix up a DIY remedy in the home comprising:
1 cup diatomaceous earth1 mill water2 tablespoons blackstrap molassesSpray the mixture on vulnerable plants.