MY GARDEN PATH: If you plant it, it will grow
It's hard to believe, but June is here. May flew by, but hopefully June will slow down so we can enjoy it.
Speaking of enjoying it. I hope you have lots of blooming perennials. I'm seeing irises, peonies and many others just driving down the street. My iris collection is in full bloom and getting prettier by the day. No wonder they're compared to orchids!
If you grow annual impatiens, here's something you might want to try. Take a cutting off a full sized plant. Put it into a glass of water and in less than a week, you should see roots. Move it to small flowerpot containing some nice potting soil and before long you will have another blooming plant to move outside.
At long last … the annual pine pollen drop has come to an end. What a mess that stuff makes. Sure keeps the car wash places busy … especially if you have a black car. Now it's on to the catkin drop. Those long furry things will be all over for a while. Good thing we “love” all those big pine trees!
Next time you're at the nursery, you might want to try something different. It's always interesting to grow a plant that's new to you. Doesn't matter if it's a type of blooming annual or something for the vegetable garden. Keeps life interesting.
Now that the tulips are done blooming, be sure to leave their foliage alone until it starts to turn brown. Then it will be OK to cut. If you do this too soon, you won't be getting any flowers from them next spring. They need this time to build up those bulbs.
If you have any weeds in your lawn … and who doesn't? Keep after them to prevent as many as possible from going to seed. Some of the most common ones are black medic, woodsorrel and oxalis. That last one is capable of producing 5,000 seeds, which actually shoot out when touched.
An easy spray will work to kill a lot of these. Just mix up some vinegar, baking soda and detergent. If that doesn't work, you may need something like Weed B Gone. Of course, the best deterrent is a thick and healthy lawn. Keep it well watered and you're halfway there.
Hopefully, the hummingbirds have been entertaining you. Just be sure to clean that feeder at least twice a week and refill it with a new mix of sugar water. This goes for the seed eaters too, as well as keeping a clean birdbath. Hopefully, doing these things will help to keep the birds healthy so they can keep coming back.
Even though we have enjoyed some rain recently, it's nowhere nearly enough to cancel the current drought. Please continue deep watering your trees. It would take many years to replace them. Many cities are implementing schedules for watering. As lawns really don't need to be watered EVERY day, it's a good idea to get into the habit of every other day. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, just change the settings and forget it!
I like this one, “I'm not getting old, I just need to be repotted.”
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Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column has appeared in The Press every other Sunday from early March until late October for the past 12 years, going on 13 years.
