A WELL MAINTAINED LAWN/YARD/GARDEN will add marketability to your home when you are ready to sell!
Here are a few Summer gardening tasks and projects that you can do to help keep your lawn and garden looking it's best for the rest of this season.
WATERING THE GARDEN
Watering can be the biggest task during the summer months. Your lawn, most flowering plants and your veggie garden will need about 1 inch of water every week to keep them green and looking nice!
Be sure to water thoroughly, and deeply each time you water. When possible, do your watering in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. Deep watering will encourage the plant's roots to grow deeper, where they are less likely to dry out, as well as the added benefit of anchoring the plant into the ground better. Light, surface watering actually wastes water, because the water never actually reaches the root zone of the plant, and the moisture rapidly evaporates from the top inch of soil. Of course, if you planted drought resistant plants in your garden, you won't have to water as often, but the principal of deep watering still applies.
Be sure to check your hanging baskets and container grown plants every day during hot weather and about every second day on more mild summer days. Don't just check the surface... Push your finger an inch or two into the soil to be sure there is adequate moisture below throughout the root area. Water them thoroughly each time you water, but be careful not to over water them.
PERENNIALS, ANNUALS & BULBS
Take out a few minutes to pick off the old dead flowers on your annuals, as well as the spent flowers on perennial plants. When you remove spent flowers, your plants will not go into the seed producing stage and should continue to flower longer into the season.
Perennial and biennial plants can be started from seed sown directly into the garden this month or next.
Spring flowering perennials can be divided and transplanted in August or September. Be sure to do this during the coolest part of the day and water the plants thoroughly after transplanting.
SHRUBS & TREES
Summer blooming shrubs(not spring bloomers - they should have been pruned earlier) should be pruned for shape after they have finished flowering. Remove any dead or diseased branches.
LAWN
Contrary to popular belief, a brown lawn isn't necessarily a dead lawn. Grasses go dormant in times of drought, but will quickly return to life with the fall rains. If a lush green lawn is important to you, and you don't mind mowing, water it regularly, and deeply. If a water shortage is expected, or you hate tending to grass, you may choose to just let your lawn go dormant, and water it as seldom as once a month. Raise the cutting height of the mower. Taller grass cools the roots and helps to keep the moisture in the soil longer.
ODDS & ENDS
Keep the weeds pulled, before they have a chance to flower and go to seed again. Otherwise, you will be fighting newly germinated weed seed for the next several years. Weeds in the garden are harmful because they rob your plants of water and nutrients, harbor insects and diseases, and, on occasion grow tall enough to shade your flowers and plants.
Change the water in your bird bath regularly, and keep it filled. Standing water is less healthy for the birds, and may become a breeding ground for mosquito larvae.
Continue to watch for insect, slug and snail, or disease damage throughout the garden, and take the necessary steps to control the problem.
Your lawn and gardens can be enjoyed, even during the heat of the summer. A bit of tending in the summer months will provide you with much enjoyment as the temps cool in the fall!
