Gardeners know the best dirt

Where did our summer go? It seemed awfully short, probably because it took forever to get here. With any luck, we'll get a long warm fall to make up for it.

The vegetable gardens sure are producing. For those of you who are new to this hobby, be sure to pick those green beans before you can see bumps on their sides. Once those seeds inside become noticeable, the beans get tough.

We might not be crazy about it, but the tomatoes sure love the hot weather we've been having. They're coming on like gangbusters. Don't fertilize them and water only when they start to wilt a bit. This stresses the plants and they think they're going to die. That makes them hurry up and ripen as they want to make seeds.

Carnaby is a fabulous clematis. It started to bloom the first of June and is still producing new buds and flowers in the middle of August. Amazing.

Climbing roses is a misnomer. They do not climb. Rather, they just get tall and lean against whatever vertical surface is nearby. True climbing plants have either tendrils or suckers which they use to secure themselves to trellises, walls etc. With "climbing" roses, we need to tie them to a fence or trellis. Otherwise, they may break off or blow down in a strong wind.

If you would like to see more early spring bloomers in your yard, now is the time to order bulbs. The catalogs have started to show up in the mail. Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths all do well in our area. Also many of the minor bulbs too. I noticed an ad in a recent edition of the newspaper for tulip bulbs. It is way too early to plant them, so if you buy them now, be sure to keep them in a cool dark place until October. More on bulb planting later.

Be on the lookout for those nasty Hobo spiders as they are plentiful around here. A bite from one of those can be quite serious. Luckily, they're not aggressive and will usually dart out of sight at the slightest movement. Other types of garden spiders are good to have around as they don't bite and they do kill huge numbers of bugs such as aphids.

If you have deer visiting your yard, you have my sympathy. There don't seem to be any truly "deer proof" plants. The best you can hope for is "deer resistant" as they seem to want to taste just about anything that grows. The experts generally recommend trying plants with a scent, those with gray foliage and those that have thorny parts. Deer seem to think that flowers are candy and will eat most kinds.

Deer may be pretty to look at, but I'll bet you're calling them names other than Bambi.

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. Since then, she has always kept a garden of some sort, growing everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and house plants. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.