July brings steamy temperatures, less rain and a good deal of blooms here from the Mid-Atlantic. This month starts the harvesting of different fruits, vegetables, fruits and even seeds. Do not be discouraged by all of the heat and bugs. Just keep collecting your backyard bounty and dismiss the plants which have gone to seed or have been eaten alive.
In my backyard, a groundhog has decided radicchio is his green of choice, so I am choosing to overlook his thievery and revolve around the mass quantity of mustard plants going to seed right now. Dijon?
Below are a few more of my July favorites here from the Mid-Atlantic. Feel free to add your own favorites from the comment section under — I would really like to hear them!
Amy Renea
July is the month when the garden comes into its glory and then starts a slow descent into autumn. Sunflowers are in their best this month, from enormous single-bloom stalks to multiblooming branch specimens such as ‘Bashful’. Allow the seedheads to dry on the stalk and collect the seeds when they become black, brittle and dry.
Amy Renea
Sunflowers aren’t the only plants displaying off seedheads and seedpods. Have a look at the spacey-looking seed pods from love-in-a-mist this time of year!
Amy Renea
One of my favorites this time of season is rose hips, which begin to grow after the roses have finished blooming. Rose hips contain seeds but don’t grow from seed readily. Rather, try eating them to get a dose of vitamin C. They also make a fantastic tea. (Just look out for the fine hairs inside the hips, as they can irritate your throat a little.)
Amy Renea
Even if the hips are ready on Rosa Rugosas, you might get another flush of flowers in the other rosebushes in your own garden. Continue cutting roses to get the best bang on moment blooms.
Amy Renea
Lavender, arguably the best plant in the summer garden, also blooms this month. With its relaxing scent, waving purple wands and tough growing habits, this plant is a winner in almost any backyard.
Amy Renea
To harvest lavender and other herbs, then wait for a hot, dry day and snip a package of stems off the plant. Allow the stems to dry or utilize the fresh herbs in bathing or food preparations.
Amy Renea
To utilize lavender, scrape the flowers off the top of the stem with your fingernail and discard the woody stem. The lavender flowers then could be ground into a powder and used for many different homemade luxuries, such as lavender salt, lavender oil and even play dough.
Amy Renea
Collect leafy herbs early in the month before they begin to fade and go to seed. To prolong their viability, proceed baskets into some shady area or colour in-ground plants together with summer vegetables like zucchini and cucumber. Even if you aren’t utilizing your basil, be sure to snip off the tops to promote tender infant leaves to grow. This really goes for greens such as carrot, spinach and chard as well.
Amy Renea
It is not all about the edibles this month — plenty of summer bloomers are showing off, such as daisies, a huge variety of wildflowers, and shrubs such as the smokebush (envisioned).
Amy Renea
Many flowering vines shine this month in the Mid-Atlantic, such as trumpet vine and the conservative, timeless morning glory. Make sure that you don’t confuse morning glory with its cousin, bindweed, that is one of the worst weeds in the backyard. Bindweed blooms white, and the leaves have a thinner, thinner shape compared to those of the traditional morning glory.
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC
Whether you’re snipping coneflowers for structures, gathering lavender for bath additives or ending up the basil, July is a month of wealth. Keep deadheading and snipping leafy herbs to get more production into collapse, and maintain thug weeds such as bindweed from the backyard. Do not forget to enjoy the steaming weather while it lasts. Before you know it, Snow will probably be here!
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