Summer garden maintenance tips
Article content
By Penny Esseltine - It's Still Dirt
Marilyn Verhoeve says she takes a walk around her and her husband Hector’s Tillsonburg gardens each morning and again in the evening just to check things out and to see how it’s growing. She says “there’s something about plants producing for you that can really just make you happy.”
Marilyn started to build gardens on their half-acre property that fronts onto Broadway 18 years ago by adding three full truckloads of triple mix to the existing clay soil. Today it’s a lush garden full of perennials, shrubs, trees, potted plants, statuary, natural stone, and there’s still plenty of room for vegetables at the back.
Many of the trees are Carolinian species like Golden Rain, a huge Pagoda Dogwood, Column Oak, and a Kentucky Coffee Tree. Marilyn says her favourite tree is the Fringe Tree. She likes the Mock Orange for its smell and the 20-25 foot Beauty Bush (original to the garden) is a sight to behold. I especially enjoyed the Rose of Sharon hedge which Marilyn says has multi-coloured flowers when it blooms.
Because she was born and raised on a farm in the Langton area, Marilyn says that growing things is just something she has always done.
“You get the bug in your blood.”
Our plan was to talk about summer maintenance in the garden. I asked Marilyn how she knows when her plants need water. Marilyn says plants are very smart. They will let you know. All plants will start to wilt or show signs of suffering. If they begin to droop, put your finger in the soil and feel for moisture. Marilyn says she waters by hand with a hose and a soft spray is best.
Annuals take the most water. Perennials are a tougher breed she says. Anything that has just been planted will take more water and potted plants require daily watering and watching. She says, “Caring for plants is just like taking care of children. Each one is individual.”
Often garden experts suggest watering your garden in the morning for best results, but Marilyn chooses to water at night and to water over the whole plant. That way the plants can take full advantage of the water. Marilyn says this works best for her. You can’t argue with success.
Hundreds of hostas thrive in the Verhoeve gardens and Marilyn says as the weather warms it’s important to use a slug repellant. There are pellets that you can sprinkle under the leaves, or you can add a half cup of ammonia and a dash of dish soap to a watering can, then fill it with water and use it to water the plants. The soap helps the mixture to cling to the leaves and thereby repel the slugs. Marilyn says that earlier in the year you can use crushed eggshells to deter slugs. She saves eggshells all winter long and then in the spring, as soon as she sees hostas breaking ground, she sprinkles the crushed shells around them and this too serves as a slug repellant.
Here are some of Marilyn’s other summer garden maintenance tips:
• Deadhead annuals and perennials to encourage continuous flowering.
• Hoe to keep weeds down and the garden clean (especially in vegetable gardens).
• Watch for bugs and use a spray bottle or watering can with a drop of dish soap in water to remove them.
Marilyn says that last year she found orange bugs on the lilies and they would lay eggs there. Again, use soapy water to wash these off.
Remove hosta flowers before they go to seed but don’t worry about seed pods on trees, especially if the trees are exceptionally tall like Marilyn’s lilacs.
As she continues to tour her gardens twice daily Marilyn notices things. This is the first year that she has seen a great abundance of seedpods on the Red Bud trees and she attributes this to our climate and the especially late spring.
On my way to Coward Pharmacy later I see that the Red Bud trees by Springer and Associates have a huge number of seedpods too. And still later at home, I see my Red Bud is covered with the same seedpods as Marilyn’s. We could all perhaps enjoy this habit of Marilyn’s by observing the amazing things happening in our gardens each day. This may be the best gardening tip of all (be it spring, summer, winter or fall).
The Tillsonburg Horticultural Society will take a break from regular meetings in July and August. Be sure to check out our website www.tillsonburghorticultural.ca for what’s coming up in the fall. Our column will continue each month.