Five July Tips (for busy gardeners)

  1. Deadhead any spent flowers to encourage more blooms. This keeps your annuals looking their best.  Also keep watering and checking planting beds and containers daily, and liquid-feed according to label directions to encourage additional flowers through the season.
  2. Plant annuals in containers to add extra instant color to your garden.
  3. Keep your kitchen garden in continual vegetable production mode: As one crop finishes, pull it out, compost it and plant another!
  4. Keep weeds to a minimum whenever possible – they rob your beloved plants from moisture and nutrients! 
  5. Mulch your landscape beds if you haven’t done it yet. A few inches of organic mulch is all you need to keep weeds at bay, conserve needed soil moisture and protect roots from the hot, scorching sun. (A word to the wise: Never mound mulch against the crown or trunk of plants; keep it a few inches away.)