1. This is crazy because they are JUST coming into bloom but our Day Lily perennials are on sale for 20% off. And we have a great, great selection!

Day Lillies are a must staple to any perennial garden. They are reliable color plants for years and years. They can be feature plants (and take up some space) or they can be effectively "tucked into" some tight areas and still show great color.

Also our 10" flowering hanging plants and geraniums on sale as well! Beautiful fresh hanging plants and geraniums are coming into our stores every day!

Our annual seedlings (we have some great fresh offerings here) are on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free!

 Click HERE for more details and to see what else is ON SALE at Skillin's!  

The Lovely Rocket City Day Lilly--On Sale NOW!!

2.   Flowers are coming and going in our perennial gardens. Time for a review of the timeless Grateful Dead(heading)  as written by the legendary yet timeless KCB! This is a great post that deals with the principles of just when to prune back your perennials for more growth AND more flowers! 
  

3.  My rose bushes just finished their first round of blooming. A couple of days ago I pruned off the dead or dying blossoms and the stems the blossoms were on. This pruning makes way for more stems that produce blossoms and encourages the roots to put on new growth that will mean flowers down the road. When my roses get to this point I also sprinkle some more Flower Tone by Espoma around the base of the roses. I then water the Flower Tone in with a nice slow and deep watering. 

 4. Gardening guru KCB told me that she has found a great technique to combat tall "flopping over" Nepata or Cat Mint. She first shears the middle of the plant and thus the blue/purple color is retained by the edge stems. In about a week the middle begins to re bloom nicely and that means it is time to prune those tall edge stems. In short order your garden has a compact Cat Mint that is ready to offer color for weeks ahead! My question is would this "inside out" pruning method work well with some Coreopsis--another perennial that will flower for a good period of time but can get floppy? Well...we are not sure BUT this method seems worth a try with coreopsis as well.
 

 5.   My lawn (and yours) is not growing as fast in the heat but just a couple of reminders: Do not bag those lawn clippings. And keep your grass "high" for less weed growth and more moisture retention. Let those lawn clippings lie on the lawn and then decompose into your soil. What better organic matter can there be than lawn clippings! Plus if you are feeding your lawn organically a couple of times per season then you have "live soil" in your lawn that will quickly integrate those lawn clippings into the soil. Click HERE  for Skillin's Lawn Program--an easy to follow and easy to do Lawn Program for the year that will give you a great looking and naturally safe lawn!
  

 6.  Mike's Must Have Perennial for the Week is the Monarda or Bee Balm.  

It is time to pick one of my ABSOLUTE favorites--the Monarda, "Bee Balm". And my personal favorite is the RED Bee Balm--right now we are featuring the Grandview Scarlet and Jacob Cline. 

 

Monarda Red Bee Balm!--one of my absolute favorites!!

The Red Monarda is just a premier eye catcher. I plant it in and near a perennial bed that can easily be seen out of my back kitchen window. Let me tell you the Red Monarda catches my eye out that window for weeks on end. And it looks great close up as well. The Red color is simply electric! 

7.  For even more mid July gardening tips (including more details about Mike's Must Have Perennial for the Week; more deadheading tips; repelling slugs; harvesting garlic; raspberry and strawberry care; 10 great HOT plants that you must consider and  Skillin's Moisture Meter) check out our garden blog--the Skillin's Garden Log!

Our 2011 nursery and perennial catalogs are now ONLINE! Check them out!