July 2009

As of today, I would say that officially it is now summer.  It’s extremely hot, over 90 and there’s barely a breath of air.   Even the lizards are avoiding running along the rocks in the dry stream bed.   When lizards lounge around in the shady spots, you know that it’s darn hot!

I watered the garden a couple of days ago in preparation for the heat and even in the last couple of days, I threw a few buckets of water on some plants that looked like they needed an additional drink.   One of the Penstemons was dried out around its edges and turning brown and I new I’d better get some water before it was too late and  died.

I mentioned in a previous post, that it’s very important to keep checking up on the condition of a native plant garden.   Sure, the point is to cut back on water use, but that doesn’t mean “no” water especially in the first 2-3 years.   If you don’t give native plants any water after you’ve put them in, they will die just like any other plant.   And then all of your efforts, time and money to change your landscape will be wasted, so pay attention or regret it later on.

Eventually as a garden becomes established, the plants will require less water but until that time, watering a couple of times a month will be necessary depending on where your live and the type of plants that you have.  

The Monkey Flowers are done blooming, turning brown and don’t add much in the way of glamour to the garden anymore but they are doing what they do, naturally.   They may not look too good but they are just conserving themselves to get through the summer. and will be blooming once again in the Spring.

Ditto with the Sages.   I have two that are still blooming but one of the Whirly Blues has begin to drop it’s leaves on the ground and is looking skimpy and dried out.   But again, an adaptation to the heat of summer, this is what they are supposed to do and watering them  now may cause root rot, ultimately killing the plant.

I had trimmed back the Needlegrass several weeks ago and I hung it in bunches to be dried and used for arrangements later on.   I’m very glad that I did because now I have the most stunning display of golden long stemmed branches in a beautiful cranberry colored container in my kitchen.  Hopefully it will last for some time and this winter when I look at it, it will remind me of summer.

Since I trimmed them, I noticed that they are starting to sprout some new stems, so maybe I will have them growing once again in the garden.   I loved they way they looked then, as they swayed back and forth in the breeze and they added a very lovely, tranquil element to the garden.