Dear Gardener...

Surrounded by this bright and cheerful looking sunflower field we took a break from the greenhouse work and gathered around our sign for a group photo. Many people actually stopped their cars and took pictures of this sight (not of us, but of the flowers!) We do not sell sunflowers but Rudbeckia and Heliopsis (the perennial sunflower) can create a little taste of this summer look to the garden.

The Hydrangea family of woody shrubs are one of those great plants that forever remains popular. They are 'old-fashioned', yet new varieties keep coming on the market for us to select from so the interest stays fresh.

Hydrangea, the name, comes from the Greek words 'hydro' or water, and 'angeion,' or vase -- water vase. Much as we would like to say that it's descriptive of how the flowers can be used, the name actually relates to the shape of the plant's seed capsule. Fossils show that hydrangeas grew in North America 40-70 million years ago and up to 25 million years ago in Asia. The first hydrangea in Europe was Hydrangea arborescens, imported into England in 1739. The plant was found growing wild in the colony called Pennsylvania by a botanist named Peter Collinson. The plant was popular immediately and quickly spread from England to The Continent. While Europeans, notably the French, have put the plant 'on the map' in the last century, they did it with imported plants as the hydrangea is native only to the North American and Asian continents! Hydrangea arborescens and Hydrangea quercifolia are native to America; all others are native to Asia. In most species the flowers are white, but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), they can be blue, red, or pink. In these species the exact color often depends on the pH of the soil; acidic soils produce blue flowers, neutral soils produce very pale cream petals, and alkaline soils results in pink or purple. Hydrangeas are one of very few plants that accumulate aluminum. Aluminum is released from acidic soils, and in some species, forms complexes in the hydrangea flower giving them their blue color.

The photo shown here is of the 'Pink Diamond' Hydrangea. Pink Diamond grows to about 6-8' tall and wide. It has 4-inch long deciduous leaves and a rounded, branched form giving the plant an overall coarse texture. Huge white flower heads 12 inches long and 8 inches across appear from mid-July through mid-August. Individual florets on these heads grow to 1' inches across. As the flowers age they turn a wonderful rich pink. By the time frost arrives, the sepals on the inflorescence will have turned a tan color.

With the return of the bold-is-beautiful style of landscaping, Pink Diamond should fit right into a modern landscape theme. It is probably best used as a specimen shrub. It could also be used as a background planting in a mixed border or even as a mass planting in the large landscape. It blooms best in full sun but will tolerate light shade. Unlike most hydrangeas, it has good drought tolerance, but bloom size will be reduced under drier conditions. Once established Pink Diamond hydrangea should be pruned hard in late spring to encourage long shoots with big flowers. It is resistant to most insect and disease problems.

The annual Endless Summer Event on Saturday and Sunday, August 4th and 5th, is approaching rapidly and we would like to invite you to join us this weekend for lots of inspiration, sales and free refreshments. On both days two seminars will be conducted. At 11:00 a.m. at 'Tree-mendous Tips' we will show you the best performing trees for our area. At the 1:00 p.m. seminar called 'Shrub Parade' the topic will be outstanding shrubs for your garden. These seminars are as always free. If you have some specific questions there is always time to cover them as well. For those of you that haven't joined us before, we hope you will be pleasantly surprised with the pleasant atmosphere and sense of excitement that is generated on this weekend.

During this weekend of Endless Summer all our Perennials, Trees, Shrubs and Roses, as well as Pottery and Gifts will be 25% off their regular price! The sale is for this weekend only so you may want to come in and get some great plants along with lots of advise on how to get them started the best possible way. Our nursery selection is still very large and there are still a lot of very nice and healthy perennials to choose from.

Watering chores will most likely monopolize your time right now with this on-going drought. As always, water deeply and occasionally, rather than shallow and often. A good rule of thumb - if you haven't had an inch of rain for the week then water! Some of you may even be dreaming of easier ways to water. Soaker hoses are an effective solution. Try one and see what you think! If you are hand watering, a good water wand with a water breaker will certainly make the job easier. Container plantings can need watering as often as twice daily in hot, windy weather. And don't forget to fertilize twice as often at the same time! If you are using slow release fertilizer, a little booster at this time of year often does wonders for the plants.

Check to see that your mulches are up to the mark, especially if they break down quickly, like grass clippings or straw. Two or three inches of a good bark mulch is usually most effective. Mulch will save you a lot of watering, weeding and it helps over-wintering tender plants as well.

Along with all this, keep deadheading! Just a few minutes each day keeps the garden looking tidy and the blooms multiplying. Some perennials benefit or require to be cut back to just a few inches to rebloom. Plants like Daylilies look a bit shabby when done blooming. Cutting it back will encourage a fresh looking set of new foliage to carry you in to the fall. Other plants like Nepeta or catmint can be either pruned back partially or completely. It will make a nice mound as well as rebloom within a couple of weeks. The following varieties will reward you with a second flush of blooms if you shear them back after their first flowering period: Achillea, Anthemis, Campanula, Chrysanthemum (Shasta Daisy), Coreopsis, Delphinium, Gaillardia, Myosotis scorp., Monarda, Penstemon, Phlox maculata and paniculata, Salvia, Scabiosa, Trollius, Verbascum, Veronica.
Also, some plants like Geraniums get leggy during the growing season and many of the spring-blooming rock garden plants Arabis, Iberis, Creeping Phlox, Creeping Veronicas etc. Benefit enormously from a midsummer 'haircut'. They'll come back with a fresh new growth of leaves and sometimes some extra blooms. A little trimming now will give you an extended season of fresh looking plants in September to look forward to.

If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?
 - Steven Wright