It's August, or at least very soon to be. That means that despite all our well-founded wishes, summer will again not last forever. Darn. In the meantime, the garden carries on in its own world. Pests have arrived. They hide in the tall grasses, appear at night to eat our flowers, and budding vegetables, they chew and deplete and devour. Somehow, though you don't want to own up to it, God doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the details.
So, on the job we mere mortals must be. Advice that comes to us via the National Garden Association says it's time to inspect your tomato plants carefully for tomato hornworm caterpillars. The stems will be stripped of leaves, leaving only bare stems. If you seem to be inundated, call a local garden center and ask about getting the natural insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis. Spray this on the foliage, and the tiny worms will eat the bacteria instead.
Other pests to watch for are grasshoppers moving in from open fields. Until they get their wings, the birds may keep them in check but as soon as they have wings, look out. They can eat their weight each day.
Lawns look beat up right now and it's no wonder with the hot weather and dry days we've had. In fact, lawns take a break in July. Now is the time to water deeply but less frequently until the lawn begins growing again.
Look for the empty spots in your beds. Is there room for something to come in next year? Should you be looking for some fall planting items already? Yes, yes, yes. Draw a detailed diagram or take a photo of your garden right now so you know how it looks. What needs to be moved? Where is that something that doesn't belong? Keep pictures, notes, plant markers and seed packets in a garden diary for reference. This time of the summer, it's all about knowing what to do next spring.
Earlier this summer at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden, David Salman, of Santa Fe Gardens and the High Country Gardens catalog, gave a talk on gardening at high altitudes.
His main tenets are no surprise. If you've done proper soil prep and mulching, your gardens should be flourishing. If not, catch up. Mulch your beds with compost and by next spring you'll be happy that you did. Group plants together appropriately for water, sunlight and soil requirements, and plant with the high altitude in mind.
Salman discusses ways of furthering our compressed growing season, including planting long lasting bloomers, with good companions and knowing your microclimates.
I'm like a broken record on this subject, but keep in mind that our water supply comes for the most part from mountain sources that are replenished by rainfall and melting snow. Without precipitation, those sources are not replenished, so we must always consider xeriscape planting.
Many of the plants Salman spoke of we are familiar with. There is penstemon, achillea, alyssum and salvia. It seems like the same old bland look, silver, blue and muddy yellows.
But plant hunters find new things for us to try all the time, and they often come from overseas.
South African ice plants come highly recommended by Salman. These include the Lewisia x longipetal, Delosperma nubigenum, and the Delopserma sp. Tiffindel Magenta. He called these virtually maintenance free for walls, areas with stones and rock gardens.
About the Nepetaa x faassenii (catmint), Salman said, "If you can't grow this, get another hobby." If cut back, it should re-bloom two to three times a summer.
The penstemon x mesicali (red rocks hybrid beardtongue) "blooms all summer here," he said. "Forget hybrid columbines," they are short lived, Salman said. Instead, the key to establishing columbine is that it reseeds itself, so don't mix with other varieties.
Some reliable and appealing plants are creeping thyme, saponaria ocymoide, heuchera, mondarda and Zauscheria garretti an orange hummingbird trumpet, originally from Idaho.
The Hirpicium (grassleaf mat daisy) was adapted from Turkey, the osteospermum from South Africa and many of what we consider natives actually came from Europe.
"You're only limited by your imagination," Salman said. "Plants are available by the thousands. We can mix them from different areas. Adaptive native plants enjoy a variety of companions. (And by the way) peat moss is a waste of time in a garden."
Dana Dugan
