outdoors
JULY
GARDENER
ways to
j
be thrifty
in
i
the garden
■ Take advantage of
midsummer discounts.
Garden centers slash prices on
plants (such as the dahlia,
right)
after the spring buying rush is past.
Remember, though, you get what
you pay for. Too much time spent
on racks can leave some nursery
leftovers leggy and stressed. To
revive them, pinch back stems just
above a set of leaves to encourage
branching. Enrich soil with compost
before planting, or apply a balanced
fertilizer.
■ Revive old tools.
Do you really need that
spendy new tool? A little
free TLC can return well-
worn workers to full function. For
how-to, go to BHG.corrVtoolcare.
■ Use branches for
supports.
Turn tree trimmings
into rustic trellises for annual vines,
including morning glory, scarlet
runner bean, and moonflower.
Choose limbs with interesting
twists and turns, such as curly
willow and sumac.
■ Recruit volunteers. Let
flowers that sow their own seeds—
including cosmos, poppy, cleome,
black-eyed Susan, hollyhock, and
alyssum—grow where they blow,
or transplant them to gaps in your
garden. To encourage volunteerism,
delay deadheading flowers.
arden sm arts
C onserve soil m oisture and shade out w eeds by covering
soil around plants w ith 2 -4 inches of w ood m ulch. To
save money, buy discounted m ulch in bulk (sold by the
cubic yard at m any garden centers) instead of in small
bags th at are m ore costly and hold only a few cubic feet.
THIS MONTH
IN THE GARDEN
north
Harvest dill as
soon as seeds form,
above.
Hang seed heads upside down
in a paper bag to dry. When
seeds drop into the bag use
them to flavor recipes.
weed,
above,
flourishes despite
July’s heat and humidity. The
sturdy 3- to 4-foot-tall ‘Little
Joe’
(Eupatorium dubium )
is
great for gardens.
west
Feed roses with a
granular fertilizer formulated
for roses,
above,
or spread an
inch of compost around the
base of rosebushes. Compost
doubles as mulch.
114
JULY 2010 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
PHOTOS: (TOOLS. DAHLIA, DILL) PETE KRUMHARDT; (JOE PYE WEED) MATTHEW BENSON; (FERTILIZING) JASON DONNELLY
