Beat the heat and keep your garden thriving! This week we're exploring drought-tolerant plants and water-wise design tips, mastering the art of deadheading for endless summer blooms, and getting creative with garden bed designs. Plus, we're providing you with strategies to outsmart those pesky hornworms. Ready to make your garden resilient and beautiful? Let's dig in!
With hotter summers and longer dry spells, now is the perfect time to make your garden more resilient. Learn how to conserve water while keeping your landscape lush and vibrant all season long! These 20 plants will get you through the summer—and then some. And, with options for Zones 3–11, there's something for everyone! Photos by: Proven Winners & Janet Loughrey.
A note on establishing drought-tolerant plants: Plants that are labeled drought tolerant or drought resistant still need to be watered deeply (to a depth of 6-12") and regularly (daily for a week, then every other day for a week, then every 2 to 3 days), for their first season to become established—and up to 3 to 5 years for larger trees and shrubs. Eventually, allow your plants to dry out slightly between watering to toughen roots and encourage them to seek out water. This will make them more self-sufficient. Deeper watering encourages deeper roots; shallow watering causes weak, shallow roots that dry out quickly. Even after established, most plants look much better with an occasional deep summer watering.
Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Ideas
Creating a landscape that is truly drought resistant goes well beyond choosing low-water plants and adding mulch, although those are definitely two very big components. Discover planting and design techniques, water-saving ideas, and maintenance tips that will help you design a garden that is both beautiful and tough. Pictured: A water-wise garden in Encinitas, CA. Photo by: Richard Bloom.
More: How to Help Your Garden Survive Drought, from Ken Druse
In 2020, Olivia Laing began to restore an eighteenth-century walled garden in Suffolk, an overgrown Eden of unusual plants. The work brought to light a crucial question for our age: Who gets to live in paradise, and how can we share it while there’s still time? Moving between real and imagined gardens, Laing interrogates the sometimes shocking cost of making paradise on earth.
Deadheading 101:
Keep Your Summer Garden Blooming
Why is summer the ideal time to master the art of deadheading? Here are 3 reasons:
- Deadheading can extend the blooming season of many summer flowers, potentially allowing them to continue flowering into fall.
- Summer heat can stress plants, and deadheading helps redirect energy from seed production to new growth and blooms.
- Many popular summer-flowering annuals and perennials benefit greatly from deadheading, such as petunias, marigolds, zinnias, and black-eyed Susans.
Learn how to get the most from your summer garden with this simple task.
10 Big Ideas for Small Garden Beds
(And Even Bigger Ideas for Large Beds)
Freshen existing beds or create new ones with these 10 inspirational ideas from our friends at Proven Winners. From hot, head-turning brilliant colors to cool and calm designs, your creativity is bound to be sparked. Photo by: Proven Winners. (Psst: You'll see more of this garden in next week's newsletter!)
The bad news? Once you actually see these guys in your garden, it can already be too late. Tomato hornworms can decimate entire tomato plants in a matter of hours (or pepper plants—where I found 3 this week!). The good news? We have 6 tips to help you prevent and control them so you can save your tomatoes.
Plus, check out this short video from Erin, The Impatient Gardener, on how to find them at night!
As a general rule, summer is not the best time to plant—at least not in hotter climates. However, if you've got plants in pots and are waiting for a "better time" to get them in the ground, stop waiting! Getting them in the ground will provide more stable soil temperature and moisture, as well as allow the roots to begin spreading for even more access to water. Yes, you may still lose some, but you will greatly increase the odds of them getting through summer. And, if you can provide some temporary shade, that's even better!
Happy summer gardening!
—Linda
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