Whew — the rains were dramatic, and so was the heat! The rain was very much needed, and does not seem to have overly dampened Fourth of July spirits. On the different rainy days, our home rain gauge measured one inch, half an inch, and 4½ inches. The July 10 evening cloudburst brought it to five inches. All to the good!
Flies and mosquitoes are hatching, and crabgrass is sprouting, but the first monarch butterflies have been spotted floating over sunny gardens too. Delightful smaller ones, painted ladies, skippers, and the like, are busy everywhere, especially on lavenders. Yuccas are candling, and Rhododendron maximum are in bloom.
We have our vote in town meeting of course, but truly, we only control our own little patch of ground. In thinking about gardens and plants in the current context of intense heatwaves, water retention is a hazy area. It used to be an afterthought, or left in the background entirely.
Try to make the garden (what many call their “yard,” but which I prefer to reframe as a “garden”) one that receives — and holds — the gift of rain. Good soil holds surprising amounts of moisture. Hardscaping that sends rainfall out into the street and down the gutter also radiates heat to your own premises.
A patio shaded by even a small tree sends less heat into the house, compared with one baking in full sun. The shade creates temperature differentials that move air. In our own gardens, we can practice geoengineering, even if it is on a small scale.
Voles
Are small rodents the Almighty’s humorous response to humans’ claim to dominion? As many irritated gardeners know, a population explosion of voles has wreaked havoc in gardens. They are everywhere!
There are multiple possible explanations, and no real cures that do not have downsides. Much like the proverbial lemming, small rodents of all descriptions are subject to both population explosions and crashes, precipitated by unpredicted factors.
At gardens around the Island, rodents seek stone walls and retaining walls. It is secure housing, with a possible bonus of stored radiant heat and access to plants’ roots. Poisoning is a short-term solution but one with dangers: for all domestic pets, not to mention our environment and the food chain.
I recall talking with Gus BenDavid about this. In what seemed like a counterintuitive statement, Gus insisted that the prey controls the predator. This seems to mean that a population explosion brings forth its own control. May it be so.
Daylilies and dahlias: What’s new?
July is daylily season. Two prominent growers, Walters Gardens and Wild & Son, post their latest introductions at bit.ly/WG_Daylilies and bit.ly/WS_Daylilies.
Dahlias are in bloom too. Floret Farm lists its top dahlia sources at bit.ly/FF_Dahlias.
Chewing insects have been active this year, including earwigs, who inflict damage on dahlia flowers. Traps baited with soy sauce and vegetable oil may help: Place mixture in small, plastic, lidded containers with holes punched in the sides for entry, sunk into the soil.
Nimblewill
Several years ago, I began to notice a new grass in my garden. There had been much talk about a novel invasive, Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). From the photographs and descriptions, as best I could tell, that was what my new grassy weed was.
I was mistaken, however. What that grassy weed turns out to be is a native, lookalike grass species, Muhlenbergia schreberi, observantly nicknamed nimblewill. It is not unattractive, and is a turf grass in many areas. Over the weekend I put a lot of hours into trying to rid the vegetable garden of it.
It has settled in and found a home in the raspberries and strawberries, sections that are less cultivated. It may be native, but it is still a brat. Every bit weeded out roots at the nodes, even if the bit has no rootball.
Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ persists
While chasing nimblewill in the raspberries, I was annoyed to find another uninvited guest, a flowering perennial that started out as a heralded 1999 Plant of the Year. I never brought this plant home into my own garden, yet there it is.
Widely used in drifts and big swathes, Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ has undeniable visual impact in July and August. However, it turns out to be a bit of a thug, needing constant vigilance as it advances into the spaces of neighboring plants.
I had discovered ‘Goldsturm’ among the raspberries two seasons ago, and dug it out. There was a little bit more last season; I took it out. Now here it is again.
In the garden
Mosquitoes: Eliminate all standing water.
It is reorganizing time, with early crops like peas and garlic finishing, and leaving space for succession crops. Carrots are particularly worthwhile, and are sown now. Sow radicchio for fall crops also.
Winter squashes and pumpkins require garden space, unless grown on compost piles. Another round of potatoes is always good. Plan for leeks. Decide where the next garlic crop goes, and work in soil improvements, sowing buckwheat in empty sections. Continue to sow bush beans.
Harder to achieve are salad greens in summer’s heat. Try growing in the shade of anything grown on trellis, or under floating row covers. Tie in or weave tomatoes if grown on trellis; otherwise prune and stake securely.
An annual task is checking grafted witch hazels, or other grafted plants, for understock sprouts; look for dissimilar low growth. In flower beds, deadheading annuals and grooming them yields rewards of cutting material and continuing color. Cut back oregano, thyme, and early lavenders grayed out by rain.
Rabbits looking for food and moisture damage bulb lilies’ stems; bloodmeal and spraying may work to repel them. Stake the tall ones, such as Orientals and Orienpets. Deadhead foxglove, delphiniums, and early phlox hybrids; they usually rebloom. Collect and dry lunaria seedheads for dried “silver dollar” flowers.
Tick check frequently: Don’t scratch — investigate.
