Fullness of a Crazy Summer- Time for a cleanup

The season rolls on and just after this full moon, I've noticed the turning edges of euphorbia blooms and spent iris and columbine blooms and all sorts of signs that we're in deep summer. The redtwig dogwoods are full and pushing beyond their space. Some trees (fruits, maples and magnolias for example) are in need of some control pruning. My loose leaf lettuce is goint crazy (in a good way) but my spinach bolted too soon (ah! the neglect of a summer vacation.) THere's a lot that can be done in the next few weeks to help maintain the garden and to prepare for the fall.

A gardener needs to be a bit careful about what to do and how much to do. Mid-season mistakes can make the next few months of looking at a shrub or tree less than pleasant. It's a good time to identify the plants that have outgrown their space, to see where the bulbs or anemones have spread out of their range and what plants may just not like being where they've been planted. Let them stay, but take note.

Also, if you haven't composted yet, now is not a bad time to do some spot composting to help your soils hold water. You'll want to be careful about the surface roots and trunks of some of your more tender plants. We don't want to let too much heat build up in the soil. But the chance for soil to retain water and to still have some great food introduced is a plus.

Let City People's Design and Landscape know if there are some maintenance projects you'd like to have done. We'd be happy to brave the heat and help that garden look even better!