July in the Garden

The year has a rhythm of seasons and each season has it’s own beginning, middle, and end. Mid-July, high summer, hot and dry. Weeding in the garden has slowed down with the lack of rain. Daylilies, beebalm, echinacea, daisies, all out in full force! It’s beautiful and quiet, visitors relaxing in the shade and catching whatever breeze might come up over Kingston Hill. Evidence of four-legged visitors is clear in the neatly “pruned” hostas all over the Garden.

I haven’t seen them yet so they must be wandering in at night. Other, very small critters hop around with no fear, too young to realize I could be a predator. So far they prefer the clover in the grass to my perennials, so I can sit back and enjoy their wide-eyed little faces and big ears.

July is a great time to take notes on what will need to be dug, divided, or moved in the fall. It’s also a good time to take pictures, for fun as well as for creating a visual history of the garden.

Finally, the little bit of a lull in July allows time for learning something new on a hot afternoon.

Hot Summer Days

Beautiful blue skies and hot sun. The garden is colorful but very quiet. This is the time of year when deer wander through, joining the rabbits and other residents who feast on the garden.  The damage isn’t bad right now, although visitors ask me if I trim the hostas that way (?!?)

The soil is dry, and  thunderstorms keep passing us by to the north, as they often do in South County. Most of the plants here are holding up well, but a few are beginning to droop badly. So it’s time to drag the hoses around. This is a time-consuming but unavoidable morning chore here at the Botanical Gardens.

The Gardener’s Blog is heading off to Vermont this weekend. The Botanical Gardens will be in good hands with The Boys, as long as they keep watering! There are exciting things in store including new glass for the greenhouses and a renovation of the Horridge Conservatory.  Stay tuned for an update when the Gardener’s Blog returns with pictures of beautiful weather (hopefully!) and northern gardens.