July 4th on a Thursday, who would have guessed – does that give you an extended weekend? What about all of this rain? Can they set fireworks off in the rain? Will they work? If so, who will stand in the rain to watch them? Where did the sun go? This is abominable….
Maybe I’ll go back inside grab a good book and forget about it. Really? Do you think that will work? What about the picnics and the guests – don’t forget about the yard – Yea, that big piece of greenery that wraps completely around your residence. Yep, that same piece of greenery you would like to forget about, sometimes – If only those imitation landscapes really worked. Faux turf with no pests, Faux Pines with no Pine tip weevil or scale, Faux Shrubbery you could by from a local shrubber and Faux perennials made from a 3-D printer that grant you divine color from spring to…. um…spring and if they fade? Print a new one. Forget Christmas Décor, which is passé we have moved on – the new trend? Print your own landscape, or Hire an artist to paint it. Pave paradise and put up a Muriel –
We have the freedom to imagine a beautifully balanced landscape so eye catching passer bys slow to get a better look, and could you believe it is completely maintenance free? There is only one way to achieve this statement within any form of reality and that is to hire a professional company to sneak in while you and the neighbors are away so it appears as if the landscape takes care of itself.
Back to real reality, now is a great time to trim your evergreens such as Pine or Spruce, Boxwood and Holly. The Knockout Rose varieties could use a good shearing if you haven’t already to help to push another big flush of bloom. Be careful when shearing on a hot day, the shears heat up when operated for lengthy periods of use and if not permitted to cool can sometimes cause leaf burn, especially on Boxwood. If you have burnt your shrubs accidentally with the shears, give your shrubs in question a good watering when it is cooler and the sun is not directly on them and give them a good feeding. Baby them for a week or so and they should flush back out, becoming an attractive shrub once again.
If you have a type B clematis such as Barbara Jackman, Asao, Henryi, Dark Rupple or one of the many others. Trim back any unwanted extended growth; trim back any stems that are beginning to die back naturally or ones that have finished bloom. Neaten and tidy this Clematis as desired.
Pansies…. Aren’t these an early spring flower? Yes, Also a mid-to early fall flower. Generally Pansies are planted early in the spring before anyone even thinks of placing tender plantings outdoors. They thrive and add abundant color where there was none. They welcome the Pear trees blossom and the Lilacs. Though, when summer throws her blazing eyes the Pansies way, the Pansies begins to withdrawal until they seem to be no more. As soon as you have forgotten they had once adorned the landscape, as the summer heat has stolen their memory from you. Fall beckons at the door, tripping over itself as it spills its bucket of leaves through the air and the Pansies arise from the dust sprinkling the landscape with their confetti of joy for one more season. Do not be disappointed if your Pansies fade this summer, it is the life of a pansy. By the way, the rabbits will love you for planting them!
It seems a silly notion, gardening, in regards to freedom. Community gardening is a blessing to many lives, farmers markets – we all look forward to them, and oh how we take them for granted. Let us all remember this week and every week and ask ourselves these questions – that a simple privilege such as gardening or sharing a bounty is a privilege of freedom and if freedom is such an easily acquired commodity why is it in need of celebration? What has your freedom brought you? What has your freedom cost you? What is your freedom worth?
We bet you enjoy your garden just a bit more this season!!!
Happy 4th of July!!!
