Innehållsförteckning för July/August 2024 från Garden Gate

This summer, I’m aiming for a “good enough” garden. Some years are like that. With a construction project, a busy summer of travel and other responsibilities on my plate, the garden isn’t getting much attention. Some years I’ve been able to pull all the weeds, deadhead every last flower, futz with containers and even sweep the mulch off of the steppers, but this year, I’m just hitting the high points. I might deadhead the daylilies along the sidewalk as I pass by them every few days and collect the debris in a tub. But the ones in the front yard are mostly viewed from afar so I’ll probably snap off the spent heads once or twice, toss them on the ground under the plant and call it good. I’ve never…

GRAY OR SILVER LEAVES Light colors reflect heat and light. SUCCULENT LEAVES Fat leaves help store moisture. SMALL OR NARROW LEAVES A small surface area means less evaporation. WOOLLY OR HAIRY LEAVES Hairs shade the tops of leaves and raise humidity on the undersides. WAXY LEAVES Extra coating holds in moisture.…

There’s so much to love about gardening in the shade. Weed seeds don’t germinate as well, so there are fewer to pull, and the sun isn’t as intense, so you can easily relax. Though the temperature is the same in sun or shade, it can feel 10 to 15 degrees cooler when the sun isn’t hitting your skin. On a hot summer day, that’s a big plus! The challenge is creating colorful borders that you can really enjoy to accent those laid-back retreats. NO MORE HO-HUM BORDERS Shade gardens are often filled with loads of texture in subtle hues of green. That can look great but may not be your style. There are plenty of shade-loving plants that can make a splash with bright flowers and bold foliage. The colorful…

Is there anything worse than seeing a crop of cabbage devoured by cabbage loopers? Or your roses and fruit trees skeletonized by Japanese beetles? Even when you do all the right things to grow strong, healthy plants, sometimes insect pests invade and wreak havoc. Though you may be tempted to reach for a pesticide spray, here are seven eco-friendly ways to protect your plants from pesky insects. Jennifer loves to see garden spiders catch grasshoppers and other pests in her garden, but she doesn’t get too close. 1 A STREAM OF WATER Something as simple as hosing a plant down goes a long way toward keeping soft-bodied insects at bay. A strong stream of water will knock them off, often killing them in the process. COMMON OFFENDER Tropical hibiscus, above,…

Yellow nutsedge Cyperus esculentis What it looks like The shiny yellow-green leaves of this perennial, also known as nut grass, grow 12 to 32 inches tall. Golden yellow to brown spikelets are arranged in clusters of small bottlebrushes and appear from early to late summer. When you pull a nutsedge, you’ll feel the triangular stem and see that it has a red-purple tint at the base. Its extensive system of segmented, white rhizomes with tubers, or nutlets, at the tips makes it hard to eradicate. Where to find it You’ll see it in lawns and beds that are rarely cultivated. It spreads quickly in moist, well-drained soil and full sun to part shade. How to control it Nutsedge spreads by underground tubers and occasionally by seeds. It does not tolerate…

Colorful Windowbox Plantings Nothing adds to a home’s charm like a windowbox full of foliage and blooms! Find planting plans online. Gardengatemagazine.com/articles/container-gardening/ Summer Gardening GardenGateMagazine.com DIY Privacy Screen Follow our instructions to create this good-looking and versatile garden structure. Container Plants You Don’t Have to Deadhead These low-maintenance plants let you take a summer vacation. Common Hosta Problems Here’s how to identify and fix a few of the struggles that many hosta gardeners face. Dividing Plants in Summer Not all plants recover from summer division well. Learn which ones do and the best techniques for success. Poison Ivy Lookalikes Follow our guide to identifying and getting rid of poison ivy (and its doppelgängers) safely. SEE MORE ONLINE Scan the QR code to access these articles, additional information from each issue,…

The right plant pairings can transform your outdoor space into a living masterpiece. But figuring out what works well together and which plants to choose can be a challenge. Not to worry! Here are four fantastic combos that will keep your garden full of blooms from summer to fall. Whether you’re crafting a serene setting or a lively floral display, these plant pairs promise to look beautiful and bring in plenty of pollinators to keep your garden thriving. Sun Sisters In this combo, ProCut White Nite sunflower’s large, creamy white blooms with dark centers tower gracefully above the delicate white flowers of ‘Cupcakes White’ cosmos. The bold sunflowers make a strong statement, and the cosmos foliage adds a soft, feathery texture that seems to dance around the sturdy sunflower stems.…

Morning glory Ipomoea spp. and hybrids Morning glory vines can cover a 6-foot-tall trellis in a mere six weeks — perfect when you need fast color. Lush foliage is loaded with beautiful flowers that open early in the morning but wither by midday. They’ll last a bit longer in afternoon shade or on cloudy days. WHERE IT WORKS BEST Though typically planted in the ground to cover fences, trellises and arbors, morning glory also makes an excellent container plant. Give vines a structure to climb, with supports less than a half inch in diameter so the tendrils can twine around them with ease. HOW TO GROW IT Morning glory is commonly grown as an annual, but it may survive over winter in USDA zones 10 to 12. Direct-sow seeds outdoors…

FROM THE TEST GARDEN What might seem like a small garden decision can have effects that linger for years. In hopes that you can avoid making the same mistakes, here are four of my garden goofs and how I’ve fixed them. Can you relate? 1 Letting a prolific plant go to seed A friend gave me a half dozen flowering tobacco seedlings a few years ago—the kind with huge leaves and 6- to 8-foot-tall flower stalks covered in fragrant white flowers. Due to my failure to deadhead, they are now everywhere. It seems that merely walking too close to a spent bloom unleashes a barrage of tiny seeds that cling to my clothes, get in my hair, and fling all over the garden, where they sprout unchecked. The ripening pod…

1 | Melnor® Wash & Fill™ Hose Connection Hub This handy hose bib attachment makes it easy to get water without having to find the end of the hose or unscrew it from the faucet. Simply turn the dial to the shower setting to rinse your hands or fill a bucket, all while leaving your hose connected. Switch the setting back to allow water to flow through an attached hose. Another great feature — the hose connection swivels 180 degrees side to side and up and down, so you can orient the hose almost any direction without it kinking near the faucet. ($10.99) Amazon, amazon.comHome Depot, homedepot.com 2 | Chapin® Telescoping Lawn & Garden Watering Wand Water the far reaches of your garden without stepping into the bed with this telescoping wand…

You can take the art teacher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the art teacher out of the garden. Just ask Karen Watson-Newlin. After teaching K–12 art for 34 years, she couldn’t help but apply the lessons she taught her students to the sprawling 1½-acre garden she started 16 years ago with her husband, Rob, in Wisconsin. Karen says the principles of good design apply to the garden. After all, she’s also an artist whose acrylic paintings are often inspired by her garden. “Texture, color, form, contrast—they’re all necessary elements of good design. The eye searches for patterns. And the repetition of these elements is what provides continuity and balance.” One look at Karen’s garden and it’s obvious she has an affinity for daylilies. It all started when…

Nolynne keeps a small square of nonslip cupboard liner in her garden caddy and one next to her hose spigot. When it’s time to undo wet hose connections, the rubberlike material provides the extra grip needed to disconnect the hose. Nolynne Lewis, ON Canada Indispensable solution Tammy Troglin, GA “Water your hanging baskets until they drip” is the usual advice gardeners get. However, it can create a messy puddle underneath. That’s why Tammy sought a handy sidekick: a disposable shower cap. She puts the shower cap on the outside of the basket to cover the holes and collect the water. It’s especially helpful when watering her indoor hanging plants. The elastic holds the shower cap in place and can be stretched to fit a variety of basket sizes. Easy mulch…

As a plant geek, I have a garden filled with cool horticultural specimens, arranged more like a display to look at than a garden to actually live in. But I’ve gained a new perspective after talking with landscape architect Lynn Kuhn. In her book, Conversation Gardens, Lynn discusses the human need for meaningful interactions and how a comfortable garden can nurture those deep personal connections. She outlines these five key components that transform a collection of plants into a “Conversation Garden.” The Grabber This is something that draws you to a space and makes you want to linger. It can be a colorful plant, an inviting bench, an ornate arbor or a sentimental sculpture, for example. Spatial Definition Solid walls and ceilings or implied boundaries offer a sense of safety…