Forest Green Man Lavender Farm, Naramata, BC, photo by Amanda Jarrett

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The Garden Website for July

Newest!: The Heritage Vancouver 6th Annual Garden Tour
New - Powdery Mildew - New: Dunbar Garden Club Tour 
July Introduction - Ask Amanda - July Plant Combo - Amanda's Garden Blog -  July Garden Chores 
July Garden Stars - Plant Police - Water Restrictions - Lawn Care
Summer Tree Care - Watering Tips - Summer Pruning - Trouble With Containers - Roses Keeping Them Healthy​
July Arrangement - Need Help? - For the Tropical Gardener - Plant of the Month: Garden Phox

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Heritage Vancouver 6th Annual Garden Tour Blog

Garden #4 is an exquisite Japanese garden.

A total of unique gardens in West Vancouver, Point Grey, Kitsilano, Shaugnessy and Dunbar were on display for two days last June. This self-guided garden tour is a fundraiser for the Heritage Vancouver Society. It's the best way to show off Vancouver's finest gardens for a worthy cause. I took tons of pictures as per and was awed and inspired. Check them out by going to The Heritage Vancouver 6th Annual Garden Tour blog 

Gorgeous roses stole the show in Garden #2 like this floribunda, 'Take It Easy'.

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A Hummingbird & Scarlet runner beans Video

Little did I know that my planter full of scarlet runner beans would be such a hit with the hummingbirds. Bees seem to love it too. After a couple of failed attempts trying to get a video of the hummingbirds, I finally got one that was in focus. They sure are fast.. I will be planting more scarlet runner beans on the deck again next year. 

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The Dunbar Garden Club Tour 

Check out 4 gorgeous Vancouver gardens for ideas, inspiration and great plants. Click here 

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July Intro

July brings on the harvest of many tasty treats, including sweet juicy cherries.

I hate dragging hoses around the garden, mainly because I’ve done too much of it throughout the years.  I confess I pray for summer rains, preferably a couple of inches a week. It was just a few years ago our local water restrictions progressed to stage 3. That was not a good summer. Plants and animals suffered terribly. The forests were so dry, they went up like tinder boxes. Gardeners were limited to only watering by hand and using grey water. It took me four hours to get the job done and it still wasn’t enough. No wonder I pray for rain.
With any luck our water restrictions will not progress from Stage 1 this year.
We did have a few rainy cool days last month, so plants should be in good shape as we enter into July.
In the meantime, I am trying to be more attentive to the garden especially on sunny, hot and windy days. And yes, I am dragging out the hose when needed. My daily walkabouts end up with me watering as well as harvesting, or should I say grazing my way through the veggie garden.
​I just hope it is not too hot and dry this summer, not just because I dislike watering, but because all the plants and animals rely on it so.
It also be a treat to sit outside with a nice cool drink without feeling guilty for not getting out the garden hose.
After all, it’s summer so it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy.
Cheers,
Amanda

Masterwort, Astrantia major, is a perennial and prefers partial sun and moist soil.

Amanda's Garden Blog

This unusual flower is Deinanthe caerulea, a false hydrangea was a beautiful discovery while on the garden tour.

• Heritage Vancouver 6th Garden Tour
• The Dunbar Garden Tour 2018
• Easy Roses Do Exist.. Really!
• Dart's Hill, A Garden Park
• VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visit
• Tall Kale Tales
• Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Seattle
• Pruning in Winter
• Pruning & Training Grape Vines in Winter
• Insects & Diseases Control with Dormant Spray
• Why Christmas cactus Don't Blossom
• A Quickie Festive Swag
• Putting the Garden to Bed
• How to Drain Soggy Soil
• A Visit to the Arizona - Sonora Desert
• Banana, Palm Tree Winter Protection
• Lasagna Gardening, Sheet Mulching
• Saving Geraniums, Coleus, Bougainvilleas & Other Tender Plants 
• Spiders Everywhere - Oh My!
• Tomato Troubles & Soil Solarization
• Trees That Drip That Sticky Stuff
• Balcony Bliss
• One Huge Beetle! 
• A Summer's Day Harvest
• The Dunbar Garden Club Private Tour
• Leaky Birdbaths and Slug Free Strawberries
• Easy Roses
• Oops... Wrong Plant, Wrong Place
• I Had An Ugly Lawn...

To subscribe to my blog click here. 

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July Garden Stars

Diana, a Princess lily (Alstroemeria) is a long flowering perennial that prefers full sun. Great cut flower!

A pure silky white gladiolus. Full sun, and best if dug up and stored over the winter.

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Each of the Vulcan dahlia's flowers have different markings.

Blackberry Candy Daylily does well in full sun and light shade.

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Lucifer crocosmia (Montbretia), a perennial, prefers full sun to part shade.

Vanilla Spice Summersweet, (Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice') bears fragrant flowers and prefers full sun. A 3 to 6 ft shrub.

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Casa Blanca is a fragrant Oriental lily best in full sun and grows to 4ft.

Shasta daisies, grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide and prefers full sun.

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Gloire de Versailles is a French California lilac (Ceanothus), bears fragrant blue flowers, grows to 6 feet and prefers full sun to light shade.

Superba clustered bellflower is double flowering Campanula, grows to 18 inches. Full sun to part shade.

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JUly PLANT COMBO

A pink floribunda rose, purple alyssum, Royal Candles veronica and white feverfew make a nice combo.

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plant police

This little tree would benefit more from a bed around it rather than the useless stakes.

If you look closely at the base of the trunk, this sapling has already been injured by a lawn mower or line trimmer. A bed surrounding it would have prevented any injury. 

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Water Restrictions 

For Metro Vancouver, B.C.,water restrictions start May 1 and end October 15.
Lawns: Two days a week and only in the morning. Exemptions are permitted for new lawns but you must get an exemption permit and have it prominently displayed and have handy your receipt for lawn seed or sod. Treatment for chafer beetles is also exempt. For more information click here. 
Even-numbered addresses: Wednesday, Saturday mornings 4 am to 9 am. Odd-numbered addresses: Thursday, Sunday mornings 4 am to 9 am 
Trees, shrubs, flower beds: permitted any day, but only in the morning from 4 to 9 if using a sprinkler. There are no restrictions for hand watering, soaker hoses or drip system, however, hand held hoses must have an automatic shut-off device.

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Lawn Care
Summer Maintenance

Mow lawns at 3 inches and only cut off 1/3rd off at a time.

Watering lawns in the summer is essential, especially if you don’t want it to be infested in weeds and grubs. It doesn’t need much, just an inch a week will do.

Mowing takes a back seat during the summer as grass slows right down. When mowing is necessary, set the mower at 3 inches and don’t cut off too much at one time; only 1/3rd of growth at a time. If clippings are short and don’t clump, leave them on the lawn. They provide nutrients, especially nitrogen as they decompose.
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It’s best to wait until fall to install new lawns and for any lawn repair. 

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Summer Trees

The foliage of a katsura tree fold inwards indicating it is suffering from drought.

Some trees suffer more than others with the lack of rain during our dry summers. Look for signs of drought distress: limp, yellowing leaves that may curl inwards or show their backsides. Overall, trees will look a bit droopy and slightly pale or even silvery. Pine, spruce and other conifers develop brown needles and scales and often fall off. Cedar (Thuja) hedges often suffer a slow death over many years from lack of summer watering. They’d appreciate a weekly drink and they would look better for it too.

Thirsty trees become dangerous over time. Deprived of water, their roots don’t grow to their potential. This results in an unstable and unsafe tree.  

An easy way to water trees is to set a garden hose on a slow trickle for 15 minutes twice a week. Move the hose to wet the entire root area. Don’t forget any city street trees on your property. Many municipalities provide water bags for any city tree. They are also available at many home hardware and garden stores.

Tree watering bags are sold at home hardware stores and garden centres.

Some trees can handle dry soil but others suffer big time. The following is a list of the most common trees and shrubs that need to be watered during the summer. 

• Azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron species)
• ash (Fraxinus species)
• katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)
• mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
• birches (Betula species)
• hydrangeas 
• tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
• Skimmia  
• Stewartia pseudocamellia  
• sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
• ornamental flowering cherries, plums (Prunus species)
• dogwoods (Cornus species)
• maples (Acer species)
• horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum​

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Watering Tips

Soak the soil thoroughly when watering.

There is an art to watering – well not really, but there certainly are techniques
Handwatering:

• Don’t just water the plant, water the entire area as dry soil acts like a wick.
• Allow water to puddle a couple of times before going to the next area.

Sprinklers:

• Lawns need 1 inch of water per week minimum.
• Garden beds need enough to penetrate to at least 4 inches.
• To measure the amount of water use a water gauge or a tin can.

Soaker Hoses & Drip Systems:

• Both systems just water plants and not the soil therefor soil health is compromised.
• Use numerous soaker hoses placed close together as seepage is slow to spread through the soil.
• Drip irrigation systems work well for containers and patio planters.

When: It’s best to water in the morning, but don’t let plants wilt.
Frequency: Water at two to 3 times per week, not daily.
New Plants: water thoroughly every other day
Mulch: apply 3 inches on top of soil but water the soil thoroughly beforehand.
Inspect: To see how far the water has penetrated use a trowel or shovel. 

A drip hose does its best to water the plants, but there are still many dry spots. Mulch placed overtop would help.

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Summer PRuning 

Apple trees benefit from a summer trim.

Why Prune in Summer?

• pruning in summer deters growth unlike winter pruning
• tame obnoxious plants
• increase flowers and fruit on fruiting trees
• reduces suckers and watersprouts 
• prune ornamental cherries in summer to prevent the spread of bacterial canker
• the best time to prune Japanese maple is summer, not winter  

What to Remove

• dead, diseased, damaged and broken branches
• crossing branches and ones that grow towards the inside of the plant
• suckers and watersprouts

Apples: to create more fruit, cut back all side shoots to a few buds. The remaining stub will revert to fruiting spur in a couple of years.
Wisteria and Vines: Tame obnoxious vines by cutting back side shoots to a few buds.
Grapes: Cut back stems keeping only a few clusters per branch. You’ll have fewer grapes but they will be bigger. 

Prune apple trees by shortening side shoots to a couple of buds to increase crop yields.

The best time to remove suckers and watersprouts is summer.

July Garden Chores

A Bon Bon Rose Cosmos

Water: Watering takes priority with summer’s rising temperatures and lack of rain. Daily inspections are warranted as drought stressed plants are more prone to insects and diseases.
Containers: Check plants daily as they are often the first to run out of water and food. To make watering more efficient, keep drainage trays under pots. Yellow, weak growth are sure signs a plant is hungry.
Fertilize: Hungry plants look yellowish, pale and lack vigor. Yellow leaves with green veins need nitrogen and/or iron. Growth slows and flowers often fall off.
Planting: Plant if you have to, but it’s best to wait until September when temperatures cool and the rain returns. If you have to do some planting, check on them daily and keep them well-watered. To protect plants from the hot sun, especially if the plant is wilting, provide some shade like an umbrella.
Garden Beds: Trim overgrown plants that are impeding the growth of others. Add fish fertilizer, organic plant food, compost or composted manure to hungry plants that are yellow and are struggling. 
Trees: They need water too. Trees that don’t receive adequate water will drop their leaves earlier in the fall than healthy trees. They are also more prone to insects and disease. Lack of water reduces root growth, which makes trees unstable, so do give them a nice long soak.
Pruning Trees & Fruit Trees: Remove suckers, watersprouts, crossing branches, weak and old ones too. Don’t lop off tree canopies as this makes trees unsafe and is unsightly.
Pruning Shrubs: Cut back shrubs after flowering, especially if they are spindly. Remove no more than ¼ of overall growth. Don’t forget to remove old, unproductive stems, spindly ones, and branches that grow towards the plant’s center.
Pruning Wisteria, Grapes & Vines: Control the beasts by cutting back all side shoots to a few buds at the base of each shoot.
Bedding Plants/Annuals: Revive tired petunias, impatiens and other annuals by cutting them back by a half. Do this before they go to seed to prolong their life, encourage more flowers and to spur on more bushy, compact growth. Follow them up with a drink and some plant food so they can recover faster.
Remove Flowers: Don’t allow basil, dusty miller to produce flowers. Pinch them off to prolong their life and to promote a bushy plant.
Cedar Hedges: You have until the beginning of August to allow the new growth to harden before winter arrives.
Cuttings: Take semi-hardwood cuttings until October. Select stems that are partially mature just after a new flush of growth has ended. A suitable stem will snap when bent and not break in two. Most evergreens including broadleaf and conifers are propagated this way, but feel free to experiment.
Weed: They are much easier to pull out of the ground when the ground is wet. Diligence is needed at this time of year. And if you don’t have the time to weed, at least pull off their flowers before they go to seed.
Stake: Remove stakes from peonies and use them for those in need: Autumn joy sedum, lilies, dahlias, delphiniums, tomatoes, Japanese anemone, fall asters etc.
Divide Perennials: overgrown and crowded daylilies and irises once they have finished flowering.
Street Trees: Don't forget to water any street trees that the city planted on and around your property. 
Lawns: Set your mower to 3 inches and mow often so the clippings are small. Keep the trimmings on the lawn to add nitrogen and other goodies.  Apply an inch on water a week and follow your local watering restrictions. Wait to reseed patchy lawns in fall.
Compost: Keep on adding green and brown waste and turning. If you have too much green stuff and not enough brown, use torn up newspaper instead. Add water when needed as nothing happens without it. The pile should be slightly moist, not wet nor dry.
Veggie Gardens: Harvest daily, weed often, water when needed and feed plants if they are yellowing and weak. If weeds and frequent watering is an issue use straw as a mulch between plants. Torn up newspapers also are effective.
New Spuds: When potatoes produce flowers, it is time to harvest new baby tomatoes. Either pull out a few spuds or dig up the entire plant and harvest them all. 
Going on vacation? Do try to find someone to water and harvest the garden while you are gone. They get to keep what they harvest as a nice thank you.  

The fragrant Oriental lily called Aubade.

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​The Trouble with Containers

Planters often need daily watering during the summer.

The problem with growing plants in containers is they depend on us for water and food. Drip systems work well if they are set up properly, but for the most part watering containers is a daily sometimes twice daily chore. Moss baskets often dry out so much, the only way to revive them is to submerge them in a bucket of water to resoak the rootball and moss.

One way to cut back on watering is to place a deep dish or tray underneath each container. Water plants thoroughly so water collects into the drainage tray below. The tray acts as a reservoir, holding the excess water to be absorbed as needed. 

Hunger is another problem with container grown plants. Yellow leaves, lack of vigor and flowers that fall off prematurely are common symptoms. Diseases and insects often follow. For quick results use a soluble plant food mixed with water then apply. Follow up with a slow release granular fertilizer for a continuous feed for 3 months. An inch of compost, well-rotted manure, triple mix or SeaSoil is a also a good idea. 

Place drainage trays under plant pots to act as a reservoir for efficient watering.

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Roses: Keeping them happy

When removing roses, cut stems back to a leaf with 5 to 7 leaflets.

​Once rose blossoms have faded a little TLC goes a long way to encourage more flowers and a healthier plant.  Cut off spent blooms just above an outward bud or leaf with 5 to 7 leaflets. For stems without foliage, cut canes back by ¼ to just above a node or side branch.  This also applies when cutting roses used for flower arrangements.
 
To help roses recover, give them a drink and some food. Enrich the soil with an inch or two of compost mixed in around the roots. Top it off with a 3 inch layer of mulch followed by a nice long drink of water. Roses also benefit from a high phosphorous fertilizer (middle number highest ex: 6-8-6). Water soluble types are mixed with water then applied to the soil. They work quickly but need to be reapplied often. Granular types are best worked into the soil and watered in. They last a longer than liquids, especially slow release types, but they do take longer to take effect.
 
Black spot and or powdery mildew? Apply a fungicide: copper, neem oil or sulfur. It will kill any fungi it touches, but it will not repair the damaged foliage. Repeat applications are necessary. Remove infected foliage from the ground and the plant.
 
To prevent blackspot, keep water off the foliage by watering from below. Water in the morning and provide roses with at least 6 hours of direct sun per day. Don’t crowd them, as they need good air circulation. And next time you’re rose shopping, select black spot resistant varieties. There are many types of easy care, low maintenance and no spray roses available.

Pink Meidiland roses are resistant to diseases.

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Powdery mildew Remedies

A rose leaf with powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew first appears on new foliage and flower buds as a white dust similar to talcum powder. Affected parts quickly yellow and become distorted. 
Cause & Prevention: When selecting plants, look for varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew. Provide susceptible plants with morning sun so dew quickly evaporates. Rain and cool nights followed by humid days, overhead watering, fog and dry soil also encourages this prevalent disease. When watering, avoid getting foliage wet and don't do it late in the day. Wet foliage and dry soil encourages this fungus so water before soil it becomes too dry. Don’t crowd plants as good air circulation deters the fungal spores from settling. 
Control: Read more... 

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July Arrangement

Oakleaf hydrangea, daylilies, redhot poker, miniature pink roses, Mystery Day dahlia, garden phlox, Crazy Daisies, Lucifer crocosmia and Bressingham Beauty hosta flowers.

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Plant of the month
Garden Phlox - Phlox paniculata​  

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A white eyed garden phlox.

White phlox provide a stunning backdrop to the blue agapanthus at Kew Gardens, England.

A pure white garden phlox partners well with a blue agapanthus.

Phlox blossoms are held in large clusters and are often fragrant.

This tall phlox is a major component of this mixed border.

This phlox is reblooming after being deadheaded.

Each flowers bear 5 flat petals fused together.

Common Name: Garden Phlox
Botanical Name: Phlox paniculata
Form:   Upright vertical
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Phlox
Species: paniculata
Plant Type:  herbaceous perennial
Mature Size: 2 to 4ft x 2 to 3ft
Growth: fast
Origin: Eastern United States
Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8
Foliage: simple linear green leaves that are opposite on the stem, some cultivars have variegated foliage
Flowers: large clusters of flat 5 petalled flowers, showy, fragrant, pinks, purples, whites, some have a light or dark central eye, July to September,
Stems: green, sturdy with opposite leaves
Exposure: full sun best
Soil: soil tolerant including clay, rich moist soils, dislikes dry soils
Uses: bird, butterfly and humming bird gardens, borders
Propagation:  divide in fall after flowering or early spring, seeds
Pruning: Remove dead flowers to prompt more blossoms, cut to ground in fall​Problems: powdery mildew prone
Cultivars: many, select ones with mildew resistance: Jeana and Delta Snow have the best resistance. Others include: Caspian, Omega, Rosalind, White Admiral, Cinderella, David, David’s Lavender, Midsummer White, Miss Universe, Hot September Pink to name a few.

​There are many different cultivars of garden phlox available. Some are under 3 feet tall: Red Riding Hood, Jr. Dance, Jr. Surprise, Little Boy. Phlox over 10 feet include Caspian, Mile High Pink and Caspian.
Comments: 
Phlox are flashy, gorgeous plants that are reliable mainstay in many gardens. Garden phlox are intolerant of drought and wilt rapidly. Avoid placing under trees or overhangs as they are prone to powdery mildew, which is encouraged by dry soil and wet foliage. Phlox benefit from being mulched, which holds moisture in and keeps the soil cool.

Deadhead spent flowers for a repeat bloom and to prevent their seeds from unwanted self-seeding. Their seeds revert to the species which grow with vigor.

To prevent overwintering diseases, cut back plants to the ground and remove any of their leaf litter from the ground. 

Garden phlox need moist soil and benefit from a layer of mulch so they don't wilt like this sad specimen.

Powdery mildew is a common garden phlox malady.

Leaves are simple and opposite.

Phlox stems on the verge of flowering are quite dramatic.

A garden full of phlox.

Phlox flowers attract humming birds, bees and butterflies.

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Need Help?

Need help figuring what to do in your garden? Make an appointment for Amanda to come to your garden to show you how to grow food, sow seeds, prune, design beds etc.  Need help trying to figure out how to get the garden ready for spring? Get Amanda to teach you the ropes by making an appointment here. 

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Job Postings 

​For landscapers looking for work and landscape companies looking to hire.
If you are looking for work or if you wish to post a position please go to Job Postings.​

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THE GARDEN WEBSITE INDEX

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​About & Services ​                        Contact ​                         Job Postings ​              Ask Amanda                     Classes & Workshops

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Learn How to Garden Introduction 

• Planting Know How
• Soil Building
• Cover Crops
• Composting
• Compost Tea

 ​ Growing Food Introduction

• Crop Succession, Crop Rotation, Companion Planting

​Pruning
Lawns

Container Growing 101

• Choosing a Container

Monthly Flower Arrangements
Growing Roses Introduction 

• Types of Roses
• Climbing Roses
• Rose Insects & Diseases
• Pruning Roses

Mulching & Types Introduction

• Living Mulches – Groundcovers​

Fertilizing & Feeding Plants Introduction

• Fertilizers & Ratios
• Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
• Organic Plant Food

Propagation Introduction

• Growing Seed Outdoors
• Growing Seed Indoors
• Taking Cuttings

​Amanda’s Blog
Plant of the Month

for the tropical Gardener

While working in Florida as horticultural consultant, it became apparent that there was a need for a book on tropical shrubs. There are so many wonderful shrubs to choose from, so I wrote a reference book to make the selections easier. Ornamental Tropical Shrubs includes pictures in full colour and information about the plants in point form. So if you live in the tropics and subtropics and need a reference book on tropical shrubs, or you just want to have a look-see click here. 

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Love plants, love to garden. ​
​Amanda's Garden Company
The Garden Website ​

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