I thought I'd just compile a list of tips and tricks for the person trying to maintain a garden in the heat and breeze that is July in Middle GA! If I missed something important, please don't hesitate to post something in the comments section!

1. Right now, lots of plants are leggy and long with the abundance of sunshine and rain we had in May & June. It's getting windy and some of those plants are falling prey to that wind. Stake 'em. Kindly...we're not talking about vampires here! :)

2. It's hot! Been a while since you paid much attention to your mulch? You might need to add a bit more, or fluff that which you already have so you get the best benefits. Mulch can help keep your plants moist in the heat and it also helps cut down on the weeds that get raring and ready in the heat we have.

3. Don't forget to deadhead. Sure some of your annuals and perennials are ending their bloom season, but extend that season as long as possible by removing the dead blooms that keep those last few new blooms from popping with color.

4. Don't forget those semi-established trees and shrubs. According to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, "Trees and shrubs planted in the last 3 years still need extra water during dry periods."

5. The University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science warns not to prune "woody plants after early July, as this will just stimulate new growth that may not harden properly before winter. Spring is the best time to prune most fruit trees and woody ornamental trees and shrubs. Likewise, avoid fertilizing these plants after early July."

Enjoy your garden this July and August!

Sunflowers are erupting in fields across Georgia. Many of the pics posted to our photo galleries pay homage to these gorgeous specimens. I had the pleasure of watching my sunflowers sprout from tiny seeds, to spindly stalks, to beastly beauties taller than me.


Tip 1: The garden beasties, from squirrels to birds, love snacking on the seeds, so it's nigh impossible to plant them straight in the ground, or even in pots outside (poor Suzanne had a seriously rough time with that this year). So start your beauties indoors and allow them a little time to establish before you put them outdoors to do battle with the fuzzy and feathered.

Tip 2: Young sunflowers are water hogs. And those of us who live in Central Georgia know, the full grown flowers can show a tremendous thirst as well. I watered my seedlings daily, because I didn't heed the advice above and started my babies outdoors in peat pots. During this heat wave, I've been watering even the biggest of my beauties daily, as they start to droop and sway when they succumb to drought.

Tip 3: Stake 'em. I actually haven't had to stake any of mine. I probably planted them extra deep when I transplanted them out of the peat pots, and apparently my soil keeps 'em steady. If you do need to stake yours, I found some obvious, but helpful, tips on the Old Fashioned Living site:

• Got a fence? Plant the sunflowers in front of it, then when they reach a decent height, tie them to the fence slats, using soft cloth or plastic that won't dig into the stem.
• Tie firmly, but at the same time, give the plant some room to grow. You know how gigantic these beauties get and you don't want to stunt their growth.
• Staking an established plant that is starting to lean? Try a bamboo stake, making sure to enter the soil far enough away from the plant's roots to avoid damage. Then tie in the same way you would to a fence.

Did you know? Sunflowers in full bloom will always end up facing east. Even if they started out their early bloom cycle facing the sun in a different direction, they will rotate. It's fascinating!

If you're a fan of a gardening blog, it stands to reason that you're probably also a fan of other online gardening resources. So, it seemed only right and fair to share some of my favorites with you.

My favorite gardening forum is the Helpful Gardener forum. It has a wide variety of topics, members from all over the United States and beyond, and the people who post are truly HELPFUL! Check it out if you have time, I think you'll enjoy it.

Interested in green gardening and composting? I like Composting 101. There are plenty of composting sites on the Net. But I like the simple, straightforward way this one presents the various parts of the composting process. The site is simple, it's easy to navigate, and it's informative.

OK...most of you probably frequent local nurseries or box stores for most of your plant needs. But if you do buy any plants online, I recommend American Meadows. I ordered some bare root astilbe from American Meadows this spring, and they are going like gangbusters. They are gorgeous plants. They get a lot of orders, so shipments aren't immediate. But the plants are packed with extreme care and within one day of planting the bare root, I saw growth and leaf formation. Color me impressed.

By now you're probably enjoying one of the best summertime pleasures we have in the Southeast - the home grown tomato!

We planted our crop a bit late so every morning I run out and nibble on the few husky cherrys we have dribbling in, it makes for a great breakfast.



But anyway, onto today's topic. I noticed that with the smaller tomatoes, you really have to keep up with them to pluck them off the greenery before the birds get to them or the hot temperatures in the area burst the skin of the fruit.

Don't be afraid to pick your maters a bit early. When they start to get a nice pink you can take them off the vine. I wanted to make sure I'm not steering you wrong so I did a quick Google search. I found at www.garden.org that scientists say the red color won't form as quickly when the thermometer goes above 86 degrees. Well it gets that hot around 10 A.M. in these parts. I'm not a scientist, but I do figure your tomatoes will turn red. I think the point here is that its perfectly fine to let them finish off their process in the comfort and care of say your kitchen. And in my world that completely protects them from bird beaks! On the other hand I do have to keep them away from Salty our dog, but that's a whole other blog, my friends.

Happy Gardening.

"Don't just work in your garden, look in your garden" - can't tell you how many times I've uttered those words to beginning rosarians. Just last night I was cutting roses to take into the office the next day, when I spied a young adult grasshopper happily chewing away on one of our rose leaves. Normally, I would get a small plastic baggie, come back to the bush, grab him off the bush with the baggie and quickly dispatch him with my garden clog. This time there was only time to yell to George, also in the garden, to "Quick, get me a paper towel!". I snatched him off the bush and hastily ended his leaf enjoyment.

This is only an example of being a detective in your garden. Chances are that if you spy an eaten leaf or bud, you can locate the culprit and dispose of him or them quickly. I use fingers to rub out aphids on my leaves - of course, if you do this or any garden task without gloves, washing hands after is mandatory.


The best time to kill beetles is at night. If you are fortunate enough to have motion activated spotlights, you can do this task alone. If, on the other hand, nothing will light your way, enlist the aid of a family member or neighbor (one who has been on the receiving end of your roses) to hold a flashlight for you. If you are a bit squeamish, put on rubber gloves (beetles will not bite or sting) and carefully inspect the petals of your blooms - in beetle season you undoubtedly will find one or two hiding and chewing. Pick them out and either drop them in a baggie, or if a hard surface is nearby, smash them with your shoe!

And never lose hope, your garden will survive and thrive if you "look in your garden" and don't just work in your garden.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine told me the craziest thing and I just have to share.

Judy lives down in Jacksonville and she said that if you dangle red Christmas tree ornaments on top of your tomato cages at this time of year it will keep our feathered friends from pecking away at the real fruit when it comes in. Now, can you imagine birds nipping at the ornaments? I think their beaks may take a beating. But hey, I'm willing to try it.


As a rule I chunk out copious amounts of sunflower seeds for the birds during the fall and winter months because I don't want them to be tempted to take a run at my tomatoes in the summer. It seems to work out pretty well. And now that I think about it, I would probably put out seed in the spring if it weren't for wild hogs running through our yard. Nope, we don't really have pigs but we do have furry tailed squirrels that think our bird feeders are a personal feeding ground. I mean how do those birds even get a few nuggets when you have those hungry varmints hunkered down at the post like it's a buffet.

But, I do sort of have an answer for that, too. Our dog Salty is squirrel trained. Whenever I see sixteen squirrels in the yard I open up the door and say "Salty go get those SQUIRRELS!!!!" Salty is an Australian Shepherd and believe me he's never caught one of the four legged little guys, but believe me both species get a run for their money... ha ha.

So whether you go with the holiday ornaments...or the dog chasing squirrel strategy, happy growing season!!

What one calls a weed, another might call a thing of beauty! Well, that might be pushing it just a little bit too far. But, really, some invasive, taking over your whole yard plants are often called weeds, when they might not meet the expert definition of the term. I did a search of some "weed expertise" on the web and came up with the following:

According to the Penn State's Integrated Pest Management Program a weed is:

• a plant out of place and not intentionally sown
• a plant growing where it is not wanted
• a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. (R.W.Emerson)
• plants that are competitive, persistent, pernicious, and interfere negatively with human activity

So, wildflowers, which can grow in overabundance when folks throw seeds out of their windows along highways and seeds from rambunctiously self-seeding plants that flutter along with the breeze and fall into neighborhood yards both fall into the first description. Kudzu, ivy, mexican petunia and even yarrow (one of my faves) can fall into the last category. If you can think of other examples, share them here in a comment.



Possibly the best description of weeds I found came from iVillage: "A weed is a plant that is growing where it is not wanted, it can have strong and healthy growth, and is able to overgrow valued plants by overcrowding, thus depleting soil nutrients and moisture that would otherwise be available to preferred plants."



So, basically a weed is an unwanted or even an unknown plant life that might be keeping your other plants from growing to the best of their ability. Seems simple enough, until you get into the specifics about how best to remove those unwanted and unknown plants from your garden. That will be blogged about in the next installment. I leave you with a couple great "weed" quotes...

Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons. ~Dave Barry

Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere

Free Weeds. U Pick 'Em! ~Author Unknown