outdoors

JU N E G A R D E N E R

Sweet Feet

That pretty potted garden

on your deck or patio can

sometimes create a nasty

problem— water damage.

And those big containers

can be so difficult to move.

We ran across a solution to

both problems: Pot Pads.

These small plastic disks

slip easily under pots to

provide better air flow, and

they also make it simpler to

slide the pot to a new spot.

Choose from several colors

to match your containers.

Pot Pads, $6; find a retailer

at

allsopgarden.com.

I

PO T-A BLE W ATER

A large container in a sunny

area and a few aquatic plants,

such as duckweed and water

lettuce,

left,

are all you need for

a water garden. Add some

pizzazz with a few fancy glass

floats. Drop a mosquito control

tablet in the water, and top off

the water as it evaporates.

Some aquatic plants are

invasive. Never dispose of

them in ponds or streams.

For buying information seepage 253.

o f h o u s e h o ld s th a t g r o w

vegetables and fruits do so because they

think home-grown tastes better.

Source: National Gardening Association

TH IS M O N TH

IN T H E G A R D E N

n o i L H Got a moist,

sunny spot in your yard? That

would be perfect for a bed of

cannas,

above.

Plant other

summer bulbs now

as well—

dahlias, caladiums, elephant

ears, gladiolus,

Agapanthus,

and

tuberous begonias.

s U u t ^ l Replace the

spring stragglers in your

container gardens with heat

lovers, such as angelonia,

above, Tithonia,

or portulaca.

If hot sun proves to be too

much for them, move pots into

afternoon shade for protection.

w e s t Tall flowers, such

as lilies and delphiniums, need

staking now

if you didn’t do it in

spring. Push long garden stakes

at least 10 inches into the soil,

6-8 inches away from the stem

of the plant, and loosely tie the

stem

to the stake in 2-3 places.

132 JUNE 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

PHOTOS: (POT PADS) BLAINE MOATS; (WATER GARDEN) PETE KRUMHARDT; (CANNA) MICHAEL VENERA; (ANGELONIA) MARTY BALDWIN; (STAKING) ROB CARDILLO