My Midsummer Garden: What’s working, what’s not

It’s  mid –July and my summer garden is in full bloom, or at least most of it.  There are surprises every year.  Things that have not done well in the past now look glorious and happy,  and vice versa, of course.

My garden is divided by the house.  In the front, I have almost full sun and a relatively formal hardscape to work with.  In the back, close to the house,  I have part sun (and glorious flowers!). In the way back, hundred year old oak trees provide a tremendous amount of shade and the flowers (and my gardening efforts) diminish perceptively.

Whenever I step into the back yard, where I spend most of my time, I shiver with pleasure.  The wildness immediately eases the stress of living in the city.  Birds and butterflies (not to mention squirrels and chipmunks) make it all seem very alive.  Except for a few caladiums at the back patio, the garden is planted with all perennials, meaning it is very low maintenance.  Wherever there is a bit of sun, phlox, purple coneflower, blackeyed Susans and bee balm provide crayon-like colors to the landscape.

Perhaps my favorite bed, though, is one with very few flowers.  Here, ferns, hostas, Japanese Solomon’s seal, ornamental grass and elephant ears provide interesting shades and textures for the entire season.  

I keep pushing the edges of the lawn in the back, each year expanding the number of flower beds.   I keep working with the soil, pouring in organic matter so that things will be happy in their new home. Even so, there are plants that are languishing.  I simply cannot grow Heucera.  I have all the right conditions,  it just won’t grow for me.  My astilbe is puny and produces few blooms.   I’m not sure why these plants won’t perform well for me.  Maybe it’s like meeting someone for the first time.  Even though you might have a lot in common and all indications are that you should be friends, nothing quite clicks and a friendship never develops. I have plenty of things (and friends!) that do click, so I’m happy, though I’ll keep trying new relationships – with plants and people!

 It was in the front garden that I had my first stumbling block this year.  A low brick wall flanks steps and a central walkway up to the house.  I always plant a mixed border here, taller perennials in the back, full, vibrant long lasting annuals in the front and I plant only white flowers to complement the house. Last year I planted annual white vinca and in the heat and drought of the 2016 summer, they did spectacularly well.  Not so in the rainy, extremely humid 2017 Atlanta summer.   I planted white vincas twice this year and finally gave up, putting in white pentas instead.  The problem is, I was really late getting them in and it will be late summer (if at all) that they look “vibrant.”  Timing is so important when gardening.  Annuals need a chance to put down roots and become comfortable before the stress of summer weather hits, whether it is heat and drought or high humidity. Fortunately, perennials, such as this white echinacea, are looking good.

The main front bed is, for the most part, doing really well.  White and pink phlox rise tall and straight against a background of white and pink carefree roses, which are now reblooming after a mid-June trim.  Autumn joy sedum is already showing color while pink dahlias and Asiatic lilies provide stunning points of interest.  I stuck a couple of vegetables in toward the back. I was late putting them in (again, bad timing!) and they are shaded by taller plants that got a head start on them.  To describe them as puny is being generous.

There are few rules in gardening and if you follow them, you’ll be successful. (1) Right plant in the right place (2) Enough moisture (3) Enough sunshine and (4) Enough nutrients from the soil.  But it’s not always that easy.  The vagaries of the weather, timing, and even “personalities” always make gardening a fascinating, sometimes humbling but always interesting experience.

Just have fun in your garden.  Appreciate what you can grow, shrug off what you can’t and enjoy being out of doors.  Let me know what works for you – and what doesn’t.

Laura