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...because all the best garden advice is local

June 2, 2011
Is This Heaven
Or Is It Spring In Iowa?


  

V's garden looking south

Greetings!

I'm almost there. That magical point in time where I've weeded and mulched all my flower beds. The heavy lifting of gardening (so to speak) is completed. From now on, it's pretty much maintenance weeding, watering, deadheading, and the occasional bit of disease and pest control.
   How nice that this moment of semi-rest coincides with my garden's peak, when the peonies and Siberian irises are at their height, along with the roses, German bearded irises, hardy geraniums. The veronicas and catmint are going great guns, and the extended cool weather means even the pansies, columbine, and lady's mantle are still plugging along prettily.
   It's one of the few moments of the year when I can walk through my yard on a dew-laden summer morning, coffee cup in hand, and really feel a sense of peace and appreciation for what I've created.

Veronica, The Iowa Gardener

Yours in happy gardening,



Veronica Lorson Fowler
 
Put Them On a Pedestal

 

Pot raised on bricks

I like giant pots, but I don't like the expense or the weight. So here's a nifty trick to lift smaller pots up high and make them look kinda cool and more dramatic, like my pot shown here.
   Just take a 12-inch square concrete pavers and set it on the ground, being sure to get it very even. Using a level is smart, though not critical.
    Then grab some bricks (the more weathered, the better) and stack them 2 by 2, alternating directions. I usually do three layers. Top with a second concrete paver and you're done!
 
Marth digs compost in V's yard

My neighbor, Martha,
digs up compost from
one of my piles.

The Compost Rule

Whew! I've been doing a lot of planting lately, but no matter how exhausted I am, I always try to follow a good rule I picked up from a gifted gardener: With everything you plant, put some compost in the bottom of the planting hole. It's nature's best plant food and soil improver.
   When planting small annuals, I just work a spadeful or two into the top several inches of the soil.
    What! You say you don't compost. Horrors! It's truly the best way to help your garden--promise. Click here for tips and hints on how to compost with minimal mess and fuss.
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Garden Flowers Longer
cut flowers in a shite vaseThis time of year, I can hardly cut the flowers from my garden fast enough. I love filling the rooms of my house with blooms and scent, like these gorgeous peonies on my nightstand.
   Most garden flowers will last three to five days in the vase while most florists flowers (since they sell only those kinds of flowers bred to last a long time) will last a week or more.
   To make flowers last longer, be sure to change the water every day or so. Otherwise, it gets stinky and gross. Click here for more tips on how to make your cut flowers last longer.

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Garden Quote

I have to admit that I have a special fondness for this particular selection. I had to memorize it for a sophomore English class and this time of year, it pops into my head constantly.

"And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays."

-- James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Have Tough Garden Questions?

The Iowa State University Horticulture Extension Answer Line gives great, free advice! 515-294-3108

Issue: 51  
Sponsored Link 

  

Ted's Garden Center, Cummings   

Saturday, June 4

Grape Expectations  

10 a.m.- noon. Learn backyard viniculture with hands-on training to maximize both visual appeal and backyard berries. Includes a grape vine to take home. $35.

 

Sunday, June 12

Vertical Gardening 

1-3 p.m. Learn to create a garden on a wall. Perfect for those with little space. You get your choice of herbs, flowers or succulents. $75.

 

Saturday, June 18

Natural Methods for Nasty Pests 

10 a.m.- noon. Go green and learn about natural organic products to take care of pests and diseases. Also includes a talk about natural organic fertilizers. Free.

Garden To-Do List

 

For a printer-friendly version of this list, click here. 


Seeds of cucumbers, squash, corn, beans, and melons need warm soil to germinate well. Plant now. 

 

If you haven't already, mulch heavily around your tomatoes to prevent disease. Also pinch off the bottom leaves to further prevent disease. Click here for more tips for healthy tomatoes! 

 

You can divide perennials that bloom in spring now, as long as they're done blooming, now as desired. Hold off on dividing those that bloom in late summer or fall. For them, it's too close to show time!

 

Once they're done blooming, prune spring-blooming shrubs, such as lilacs, as desired.

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.

Remove the browning foliage of tulips and daffodils once it pulls away easily. Until then, the plant is using it rejuvenate for next year.

Pinch or cut back mums buds and tall asters until the 4th of July. This helps them produce larger, bigger flowers on stronger stems.

 

Upcoming Garden Events 

 

Saturday, June 18 Polk County Master Gardener's Tour
9 am-4 pm. Seven home gardens and one public garden. . $10-$15. 515-957-5760.

June 10-11
Indianola Garden Tour
Five gardens, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. $10, including Friday reception and Saturday refreshments at Sesquicentennial Park. Tickets available at various Indianola business.

For more upcoming Iowa garden events, click here.

Have a garden event or events that you'd like featured in The Iowa Gardener? Click here and send us your information.

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