The Cycle
June marks a time in the garden where things turn over. Early-summer blooming flowers like salvia, valerian and veronica create seed stalks and need to be trimmed, the first set of greens begins to bolt in the heat and needs to be pulled out, leaving gaps in the garden. This is also the time of year when realize what I have not planned for, like weed control, incorrect placement of plants, and the quick growing and not-quick-enough-pruning of maples shading the tomatoes when they need sun the most. I did learn a bit more about how to plan for succession planting through this article in the New York Times, and finally reached which tomatoes are determinate and indeterminate after watching this helpful 20-minute video on tomato pruning (Indeterminate varieties this year are Green Zebra, Bumblebee, San Marzano, Golden Jubilee; determinate varieties are Roma and Red Siberian).
June 4th
The Moonflower seeds are pushing through the ground. The young clematis in the back has buds. The peonies are blooming, as is the white phlox. One of the sea hollies needed staking because it grew so tall.
The Asian greens are bolting in the heat. I found a Love in A Mist next to the garlic and it is blooming. The Delphinium out front is starting to bloom.
The bok choy is ready to harvest. The kale and spinach are ready to harvest.
One of the dahlias has not sprouted and one of the sprouting dahlias has wilted and looks dead.
The squirrels have dug around the okra and in the squash bed. The cucumbers and squash are coming up.
The Butterfly Bush in the front yard is coming back but may not bloom this year.
This morning I plucked the suckers from the tomatoes. One of the tomatillos has two blossoms.
The side yard needs lots of weeding.
June 7th
We weeded the front yard today. The front rocks are amenable to growing Prostrate and Thyme-Leaf sandmat, a type of spurge that is difficult to get rid of and quite toxic.
The final hanging basket was installed in the side yard, and we fixed the birdbath. Two of the three Clematis in the backyard are blooming. In the front yard, we identified the season’s first Black-Eyed Susan, which bloomed secretly under a purple coneflower plant.
The blue Delphinium is starting to bloom, and the Russian Sage is filling in nicely.
The weather has been so warm I water every day. The rolling thunderstorms in the afternoons are not bringing very much rain, but are also not dropping hail.
I clipped the dead heads of the Alium in the hopes that the plants will send their energy into their bulbs. The bulb bed needs additional soil.
The Yarrow is starting to bloom.
I thinned the cucumbers and attempted to replant the extra Zucchini – we will see if they can handle their roots being disturbed.
I also planted two each of the following short-season crops:
- Squash: Summer Patty Pan Scallop Blend
- Squash: Summer Patty Pan Jaune et Verte
- Cucamelon Mouse Melon
June 13th
One of the hostas has a blossom. I planted four sad looking butterfly bushes (3 in the front and one in the side yard) this morning, along with the rest of the Colorado Oasis Garden In a Box plants. The purple clematis has started to bloom out front, along with Calendula amongst the rocks and two small red poppies. Blue bells are also present in the raised beds in the front.
The peas are flowering and the greens (both the Asian greens and the spinach and Kale mix) have bolted.
We have Meadowsweet in the yard and it is blooming. It is a shrub I have never cared for from the previous owners. Ironically I have purchased at least two Meadowsweet plants that never grew, and the one plant I dislike and cannot seem to kill is thriving. Now I relish in the small pink flowers.
June 21st
The Sea Holly is starting to bloom and both hostas are growing buds on top stalks. The dahlias are starting to bud and the tomatillos are getting big.
Today I weeded the front yard and tied back the valerian and blue Veronica blocking the paving stones. Everything feels neater.
The front beds are bursting with plants and the cosmos are pushing through the rocks again, softening the view from the street.
The front clematis has burst into purple blooms and is stunning.
I continue to find corn, planted in twos, in all the beds.
I planted the bare root strawberries in their growing tower which finally arrived last week. I just hope they haven’t been in the box for too long.