Louise enjoys her time among the flowers.
Louise Grabell
April showers bring May flowers. So now what? Is it now time to look into 5×5 sheds for sale so I can begin with my cucumber and tomato growing? I love flowers and have devoted a small part of my landscape to growing flowers. Yes, I know it gets very hot in the summer, but you can maintain a beautiful array of summer-blooming annuals for the entire season with a bit of effort. Nothing worth anything in life comes without a bit of effort, right?
First of all, summer annuals need irrigation. Whether in the ground or in containers, our excessive heat may require watering at least once daily and sometimes twice. The summer monsoon may help out in this regard and take the onus off you when there is sufficient rain. Monsoon rains should help maintain your perennials even better than your annuals but since we are talking about annuals, be sure to check the soil in between rainfalls to make certain it is moist. Annuals depend on soil water storage in the first four inches of soil and guess what? That’s what dries out first on a daily basis.
Second, summer annuals need fertilization every few weeks—or at the very least—every month. Fertilizer and manure degrade very quickly in the summer heat and must be replenished. This is a serious matter for containerized plants that have only the soil you put in there to use for nutrients. Time-release pellets work well but must be applied much more frequently than the package directions.
Third, and this is the best part, you must spend time amongst your flowering beauties removing the spent blossoms in order to stimulate the production of more buds. Annuals are plants that have only one purpose and that is to make seeds. Once the blossoms are fertilized by the birds and the bees, seeds will form and the annual is done for the year. But if you remove the old blossoms on a weekly basis, the plant will continue to do what it is genetically programmed to do and you will have new blooms all the time. Some plants may need to be pruned back, like petunias and calybrachoa; otherwise they get very leggy and produce few new flowers. And when you are out in your garden, do not take a phone or run to answer the doorbell. Just enjoy your time out there, listen to the birds and watch those cute little crawly things that make your garden healthy and beautiful. You might eventually find throughout caring for every flower in your garden you rack up a fair amount of gardening tools and supplies, a gardener shouldn’t be without their supplies all year round – for this reason, if you’re an avid gardener no matter the weather, you might want to look into storage options like a 12×20 portable garage.
The Master Gardeners of SaddleBrooke invite you to visit their website: sbmastergardeners.wordpress.com for all up-to-date information and events for our community. Garden questions? You can reach our very own SaddleBrooke Garden Helpline by calling Pat at 407-6459. Your phone call will be forwarded to a Master Gardener Volunteer who will aid you in solving your problem. Your SaddleBrooke Master Gardener Volunteers are here all year-round to assist with any plant or landscaping problem.
Remember, nothing brings more tranquility to the heart than a beautiful garden.