OUTSIDE: Summer
Peonies just begin to emerge from the ground in spring while spring bulbs are in full force, sprouting up like reddish asparagus spears. This makes them great filler for bulb beds, taking over with dark green foliage and full-headed blooms in late May. Peonies hate being moved, so they will not bloom the first season after you have planted them. Expect blooms the second season, and more and more blooms the following seasons.
Give beneficial bugs a welcome home in your garden so that they will be ready to dine on any bugs that damage your prized perennials.
Honey Bees are suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder as a result of unsustainable practices by humans and overuse of pesticides. Honey Bees need to maintain a certain number population in order to survive, and they need all the help they can get right now. Plant drought-tolerant, flowering plants like lavender, echinacea, speedwell, geraniums, coreopsis, dianthus, black-eyed susans, delosperma, dicentra, salvia, columbine, day lilies, phlox, borage, or yarrow, to name a few ideas.
Peonies just begin to emerge from the ground in spring while spring bulbs are in full force, sprouting up like reddish asparagus spears. This makes them great filler for bulb beds, taking over with dark green foliage and full-headed blooms in late May. Peonies hate being moved, so they will not bloom the first season after you have planted them. Expect blooms the second season, and more and more blooms the following seasons.
Summer Reading (and Doing)
Preserve summer's bounty to enjoy during the cold months by canning. Check out Marisa McClellan's food in jars for some really delicious recipes.
Favorite Summer Gardening Tool:
The Weed Puller
The "V-ed" end of this tool centers around the weed you're pulling, and the long shaft gives you more torque to pull out deep, stubborn roots, including dandelions.
