|
Enjoying Summer
Greetings!
 It never fails to amaze me. My 12-year-old son, Will,
complains mightily about how outdated his gaming systems are and
pretends to be bored with the latest action movies and racy television shows.
And yet, last week, there he was, running into the house, all excited because
the garden had yielded up its first strawberries.
Will popped
one, fully ripe and warm from the sun, into his mouth and said, "Wow! I
never knew strawberries could taste like that!"
I
am a flawed mother in many, many ways, but one great
gift I've given my children is our garden. My now-grown older children share
magical memories they have of it, and all the fun they had doing everything from
raiding the compost pile to transform wilted produce into an elegant
imaginary tea party feast to constructing a hide-away with chairs and
blankets under the two huge lilacs (dubbed "Fort Lilac").
So
grab a kid, a grandkid, a niece or nephew, or even a neighborhood kid or two,
and plant something, dig something, or harvest something. In that way,
gardening is like Christmas. It's more fun with kids!
Happy Gardening,
 Veronica Lorson Fowler |
|
Advertisement
|
The Continuing War on Weeds
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the worst weeds are the
prettiest? That's because we just can't bear to rip them out--until it's too
late and they've taken over.
 Case
in point: Wild campanula, also called wild bellflower. It's one of my worst
weeds. I have a hybridized campanula growing in my garden that looks very
similar, but it's well-behaved, never spreading or reseeding. The wild type,
however, is impossible to get rid of by mere pulling. It propagates itself from
any roots or bit of the plant left in the soil.
The
solution? First, be ruthless in pulling out as much as you can. Then, if you're
okay using chemicals and you have enough room around the campanula, apply two
to four applications of Roundup on the remaining plants that resprout. Time the
applications every 5 or 6 days during dry, sunny weather.
Also,
check out our Seven Tips for Spending Less Time Weeding.
|
What's Eating My Plants?
 Theeeeyre here! Various
bugs and other critters have started munching our plants. Click here for photos of the damage
from the most common in our region, plus helpful tips in controlling the
problem.
Shown here: Snails. Ugh.
|
Visit An Iowa Garden
Iowa gardens are in their prime this month. Check out our listing of the best public and private Iowa gardens to visit.
 Pack up a garden friend or the family and take an afternoon to enjoy
beautiful flowers and a pretty locale. It's also one of my favorite outings when I have out-of-town guests. Pack a picnic lunch or check out a
small-town diner. The perfect, inexpensive mini-getaway!
|
Be a Great Gardening Friend
Forward this email to a gardening friend and if they sign up, they'll be emailed a two-for-one coupon to the Reiman Gardens in Ames. (Maybe they'll even take you along!)
Forward this newsletter by clicking on the link in the green bar below. You might want to add a note explaining the two-fer coupon special.
And if you're reading this and you aren't a subscriber, then sign up. Anyone signing up in June will receive the coupon!
|
|
|
|
Garden Quote:
"A weed is a
plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in
rows."
-- Doug Larson
|
Advertise with The Iowa Gardener
Your business will reach thousands of avid local gardeners with some of the most reasonable rates around. Click here for advertiser information, which includes a publishing schedule, or email us at info@theiowagardener.com. |
|
|
Sponsored Links
Ted's Garden Center, Cummings
This
one-of-a-kind center has topiary, unusual trellises, interesting garden
art, container "recipes," and more.
Sign up to make your own mini block garden on July 19, or a "Fabulous Fountain" June 26 or a Fresh Hydrangea Wreath on August 28.
|
Garden To-Do List
For a printable version of this list for June, click here.
 Go ahead and buy plants on
clearance, but buy only those plants that look healthy. Avoid runty, dried out,
or otherwise tired-looking plants. They're unlikely to rally.
Weed, weed, weed! Get them now while they're small and
prevent big problems later. Click here for tips on how to wipe out
max weeds in minimum time.
You can move and divide perennials that bloom in spring now, as needed
or desired. Hold off on dividing those that bloom in late summer or fall. For
them, it's too close to show time!
Deadhead flowers on annuals, perennials, and some shrubs. It keeps
your garden more attractive and in many cases, it will encourage more flowers
longer.
Continue to plant
container-grown or balled-and-burlapped trees, shrubs, and roses now. However,
avoid planting bare-root roses and other bare-root plants. This late in the season,
they'll struggle to get established.
Time to practice tough
love. If a tree or shrub is still struggling with winter damage or overall
sickness, with significant amounts of dead wood, it's almost certainly time to
dig it up or cut it down.
Remove the browning foliage
of tulips and daffodils once it pulls away easily. Until then, the plant is
using it to rejuvenate for next year.
Pinch mum buds until the
4th of July. This helps them produce larger, bigger flowers on stronger stems.
Harvest early and often for
the most tender, sweetest produce and to keep plants producing well. Pick zucchini, for example, with the
yellow flower still attached.
Most lettuce by now has
started to bolt, that is, send up tall, elongated stalks. At this point, it
turns bitter. Pull it up and pitch it on your compost heap.
Check out the bulb catalogs
and on-line sources. Ordering now assures the type and quantity you want this
fall, when supplies run low.
Find out how to deal with
moles by clicking here.
Now is a great time to build a raised bed. Click here to find out how.
Check out our month-by-month listing of what to plant when in Iowa.
|
Garden Events
Saturday, June 19
Rose Festival Reiman Gardens, Ames
9:00 am-10:30. Enjoy live
music and the annual Iowa Rose Society Rose Show from 1-4. An assortment of
roses, including Easy Elegance and Buck roses, will be sold. Or sign up to take
a painting class on painting roses with watercolors. Pre-registration required
by June 10.
Saturday, June 19
Loki's Garden, Van Meter
10 am. Veronica will be speak on Growing Glorious Roses at this
wonderful nursery, formerly Heirloom Gardens. $5 registration fee. Sunday, June 20
Father's Day Free Admission Des Moines Botanical Center
10 am-5 pm. Free admission to all fathers and center
members. Sunday, June 20
Father's Day Free Admission Reiman Gardens, Ames
9 am-4:30 pm. Fathers get in free. Kids can make their own
Father's Day cards. Saturday, June 26
Home Tour
Central Gardens of North Iowa, Clear Lake
10 am-4 pm. View a variety of charming homes and gardens in
the Clear Lake area. $8-$10.
Click here for further listings of more garden events throughout the summer. |
|
