Tending To Your Midsummer Garden

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Tending To Your Midsummer Garden

Midsummer brings blooming flowers, and golden sunshine, but don’t forget about taking care of your garden as you enjoy the blooms and warmth!

Water Water Water

Spring has ended, taking the rain with it, and the Midsummer heat waves are beginning to stay longer, stressing your plants. This means that keeping your plants sufficiently watered is a priority. I recommend that you water your garden either early or late in the day when water is less likely to be lost to evaporation. Drip systems, like our Plant Pal system, are a great option to minimize water loss!

Water is especially important to trees that are less than 3 – 4 years old because the roots are still trying to establish themselves. You can use a drip hose for these trees to water the surrounding area for about an hour.

Your plants in pots and baskets also need more water during the hot summer months. They may need to be watered twice per day, especially on windy days. Wind can dry out your plants more quickly.

 

Continue to Weed

Like doing laundry, weeding is a never-ending task, but it must be done. Removing weeds is important because these weeds compete with your plants for water and nutrients. You can pull weeds easier when the soil is damp, so weed after you finish watering your garden!

 

Compost
Aerating your compost in July will help accelerate the decomposition process and minimize unappealing odors.

 

Stay tuned for Midsummer gardening tips on our blog! Happy gardening!

 

🌱You can receive free shipping on your flag purchases or purchases of $50 or more

🌱Local? You can place an order through our Curbside Pickup Service at our Pembroke store Monday through Sunday from 12 PM to 6 PM! Email customerservice@gardengazebo.com with your order, name, and contact information. You can also stop in either one of our locations during these times!

April Gardening Tips

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April Gardening Tips

Spring is officially in full-swing, and gardening is a great way to spend some time outdoors right now. Here are a few more late April gardening suggestions with some some garden design tips!

🌹 Plant Roses

Bare-root and container-grown roses can be planted in April gardens. Knock out roses are an easy option and pair beautifully with perennials such as catmint and Black-eyed Susan. Select a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Design Tip: These specific type of roses look best planted in groups of three or more. Repeat at intervals scattered through your garden!


🌷Prune Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Trim daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips flower stems as they begin to naturally fade. Trimming encourages the plants to store energy in their bulbs. Waiting until the foliage fades naturally is crucial because the plant needs the leaves to make energy for next year’s blooms.

Design Tip: To disguise bulb foliage, inter-plant annual flowers around the bulbs.

Tender Bulbs

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Tender Bulbs

Now that we are beginning to have consistently warm weather, it is time to plant your tender bulbs outside in your garden. If the temperature is still cooler or you have frost on the ground in the morning where you live, you can get a head start on the season by planting these bulbs under your grow lights inside.
These tender bulbs can include caladium, canna, and tuberous begonia. I adore the vibrant color of the tuberous begonia blooms and the way the rich dark color fades to a pale.

Pro tip: Plant caladium and tuberous begonia with their rounded side facing down because new growth sprouts from the concave side!

🎉You can receive free shipping on all flag purchases or your purchase of $50 or more

Memorial Day Appetizer

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Memorial Day Appetizer

We may not be able to celebrate Memorial Day in the way that we always do or had hope to this year, but you can still use ingredients from your garden to create some delicious food to bring the cookout to you.

Here is an easy appetizer recipe that will help you celebrate the holiday and the beginning of summer. But, please do not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day while you cook and enjoy the warm weather. Who are you remembering today?

Ingredients:
* 3 avocados, diced
* 1 cup ricotta cheese (You can use a dairy free version if you want to make this recipe paleo!)
* 1 red bell pepper, diced
* 1/2 cucumber, diced
* 1/4 red onion, minced
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* Freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley from your herb garden
* pinch of salt and pepper

Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl, and enjoy with your favorite chips! I was inspired to use this salsa with some protein in a Mediterranean-inspired wrap while creating it, but you can even put it on top of a flatbread. Let me know what you think, and I hope you have a beautiful Memorial Day!

Rainy Spring Days

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Rainy Spring Days

The past few weeks in Virginia and its surrounding areas have been filled with rainy days. We may finally be seeing some sunshine, but there are more rainy days to come this month.

Your plants thrive if they are watered, but there is such a thing as too much water!

Plant diseases like bacteria and fungi flourish from prolonged leaf wetness and excess moisture around the plant root zone areas, so make sure to watch for fungal diseases. Some common signs of foliage include spots, large patches of browning, and white spores.

Too much rain and cloudy skies can also slow your plants’ growth and leach nutrients from the soil of your garden.

We may not be able to stop the rain, but there are a few preventive measures that you can adapt to minimize its negative effects.

💧Avoid walking on your wet garden soil. Walking on it can compact the soil and limit root growth. You can spread light mulch or place stepping stones (We have a large collection in our stores, such as this Life is Better stone!) to make your garden beds more accessible while minimizing the disturbance of the soil.
💧If your garden is located in a low-lying area, place a barrier on the slope to divert the water away from your garden or build a trench.

What Should You Plant At The End Of June?

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June is coming to an end, and summer is officially here! Here are some plants you can begin to plant right now in southeastern Virginia:
* mums
* vincas
* geraniums
* marigolds
* turnip greens
* mustard greens

Here are a few gardening tasks you can also do:
* Plant a cover crop to protect the soil if you have unused garden beds.
* Layer compost over the garden beds that you plan to use. This will ready the beds for planting.
* Mulch your garden to control weeds

Love mums and geraniums?🌺 I included some flag recommendations that I think you will love!

Fall Mums Garden Flag

Gingham Geranium Garden Flag

Fourth of July Popsicles

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Fourth of July Popsicles

Escape the summer heat this 4th of July by sharing a frozen treat with a color scheme perfect for the holiday!

Made with the ripe summer berries from your garden and creamy yogurt, these sweet and tangy popsicles are the perfect healthy end to your 4th of July picnic or pre-beach snacking.

You can combine the flavors into a layered popsicle or make each popsicle a different flavor!

Recipe

Makes 10 – 12 popsicles

 Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 1 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 2 cups blueberries
  • ½ cup strawberries
  • 4 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar

 

Layered Popsicle Directions:

  1. Puree 2 cups of raspberries, 1/2 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp lime juice in a blender until smooth
  2. Pour raspberry puree into popsicle molds to fill one third.
  3. Insert the popsicle sticks, cover and freeze the 1/3 full popsicles for 2 hours or until the puree has solidified.
  4. Blend vanilla powder, vanilla yogurt, and strawberries
  5. Pour the yogurt into the popsicle molds with the frozen raspberry puree
  6. Puree 2 cups of blueberries with 2 tbsp lime juice and 1/2 tbsp sugar in a blender until smooth
  7. Pour the blueberry puree into the molds
  8. Cover and place the molds in your freezer for 2 hours to let the popsicles solidify
  9. Enjoy!

Individual Popsicle Directions:

  1. Puree 2 cups of raspberries, 1/2 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp lime juice in a blender until smooth
  2. Pour raspberry puree into popsicle molds
  3. Blend vanilla powder, vanilla yogurt, and strawberries
  4. Pour the yogurt into separate popsicle molds
  5. Puree 2 cups of blueberries with 2 tbsp lime juice and 1/2 tbsp sugar in a blender until smooth
  6. Pour blueberry puree into molds
  7. Insert popsicle sticks, cover and freeze the full popsicles for at least 2 hours
  8. Enjoy!