I love having fresh flowers in vases scattered throughout the house, but many times it means hacking away all the flowers in my garden and not being able to enjoy them outside.
A good solution to this is a cutting garden. Many common varieties of flowers make excellent candidates for a cutting garden. Check out this list of 45 fantastic cut flowers at Organic Gardening. Simply plant extra of the flowers you wish to cut to avoid having bare spots when you do pick flowers, or separate the plants you have and place them into a separate garden designated as a cutting garden, and get cutting!
While I’m still coming to terms with the fact that it is already July (where do the days go?), it’s time to start thinking about mid-summer gardening to-dos.
My gardening to dos are as follows:
- Water all containers regularly.
- Prune and deadhead all perennials to stimulate further blooms.
- Pull spent annuals and replace with fall bloomers such as mums.
- Weed, weed, weed.
- Pull the lettuce that’s bolted and sow some new seeds.
- Keep picking raspberries and strawberries, keeping an eye out for evidence of pests.
- Divide the bearded iris before they take over everything.
- Prune and fertilize roses.
- Keep checking on those tomato plants, watering regularly and watching for any color (other than green, of course) on the fruit.
- Keep cutting and using the herbs in the garden to encourage further growth.
- Enjoy my garden! As fast as summer arrived, fall will be here and the temperatures won’t be nearly as friendly and encouraging for outdoor activities.
What’s on your to-do list this month?
I love to put a new spin on a classic. So when I was planning my Fourth of July centerpiece, my mind wandered to all the flowers and plants growing in the flower beds around our house and in the garden. I was reluctant to simply pick a few flowers and put them in a vase - where was the creativity in that? - when I thought of something I had seen in a flower shop a while back. The florist had taken ordinary daisies and dyed the petals in pretty colors.
They’re super simple to make, and a fun project for both adults and kids. Simply pick some daisies and put them in a vase (a different vase for each color). Add fresh water to the vase, then a few drops of liquid food coloring in the desired color. Leave overnight, and by morning your daisies’ petals should have taken on the color of the dyes.
One of every three bites the average American eats is directly attributed to honey bee pollination. More than 25% of the U.S. honey bee population has disappeared over the last several winters. This affects many nut, fruits and berry crops – important produce for farmers and food manufacturers, and key ingredients in many of the most popular Häagen-Dazs flavors. The ice cream maker reports that researchers believe causes for the decline in the bee population include:
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). More than 35 states across the continental United States and in two provinces in Canada, Belgium, and Spain have reported this condition.
Varroa Mites – Inadvertently introduced into the United States in 1987, these tiny brown parasites feed exclusively on honey bees.
Viruses– Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) is linked with CCD.
Chemical Exposure – Tests on pollen in CCD-affected hives show levels of 45 different types of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.
Lack of Nutrition – A limited supply of good pollen and nectar (due to drought) has had an effect on the honey bee population.
So what can we as gardeners do to help the honey bees? Create a bee-friendly garden with plants that are attractive to honey bees. Plants that are bee-friendly include lavender, jasmine, rosemary, violets, thyme, blue bells, wisteria, cone flowers and sunflowers – common and easy to grow perennials and herbs that will both add beauty to your garden and bees to the environment.
Consider planting one or a variety of these plants and help the dwindling honey bee population.
Bee balm, or dotted mint, is an excellent plant for attracting hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other nectar-seeking creatures into your garden. The tubular flowers on the plant’s rounded flower heads are a showy addition to flower gardens and borders, and the plant’s leaves and flowers can be made into tea. A perennial herb, the plant will return in the same spot year after year.
Bees and hummingbirds are valuable visitors to your garden. Both can help with pollinating plants, and butterflies and hummingbirds are enjoyable to watch.
Bee balm flowers are pink, red, or white; double-flowered forms are also available. Blooms will appear from early to late summer. The plant grows to be 2-4 feet tall, depending on the variety. Plant in spring in an area of your yard that receives full sun to partial shade and has rich, well-drained soil. Some bee balm varieties can tolerate wet soil and will thrive along a waterway or in a bog garden.
