Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Roses bloom all summer with their abundant flowers in so many different colors. Choose some now when you can see their lovely flowers.

• Attract hummingbirds to your patio this summer with hummingbird feeders, so you can enjoy their iridescent beauty and charm.

• Azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons can be pruned now without sacrificing next years bloom. Ask at your nursery if you need help.

• Feed rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias with an acid plant food to encourage lush growth. Pinch or prune to promote full, dense growth.

• Paint trunks of young fruit trees with Tree Trunk White. This will keep the soft bark from sun-burning which leaves cracks for borer insects, the most common cause of death of young apple trees.

Fragrance in the Garden

Nothing conjures up memories of the past the way a familiar scent can. Orange blossoms, jasmine, lavender, fragrant stock, gardenia – even the words seem to perfume the air. To bring back pleasant memories and create some new ones, choose a few plants to place near the door or by the walkway, or fill your garden with wonderful fragrances all season long.

The first plants that wake up our noses in the spring are narcissus, hyacinth and lily-of-the-valley. Not far behind is the sweet-scented daphne, followed by the intensely fragrant flowers of the lilacs.

Chinese wisteria blooms with a profusion of fragrant lavender flowers in long clusters. The evergreen clematis vine, with its powerfully fragrant white flowers, adds its sweet scent to the springtime air.

The white snowball bush is another sweet scent in the spring garden and so are the tiny flowers of Sarcococca. Mock orange (Philadelphus) is an old-fashioned favorite with its strongly scented showy white flowers in early summer. The large pompom flowers of peonies bloom in late spring. Place one in a vase in a room, and it will fill the room with its delicate fragrance.

The spring flower bed can be filled with the lovely scents of stock and sweet peas. A carpet of sweet alyssum in purple, rose and white will perfume the air from spring to fall.

Summer brings us lovely lavenders, butterfly bush, star jasmine, lilies, honeysuckle and, of course, roses. Varieties like ‘Falling in Love’, ‘Rock ‘n Roll’, ‘Midnight Blue’, and ‘Strike it Rich’ have all been developed for their strong fragrances. Gardenias bloom in early summer with their legendary sweet fragrance so loved for corsages.

Heliotrope has large violet flower heads with a strong vanilla fragrance in warm weather. It’s hard to find a more sugary fragrance than purple petunias, especially the variety ‘Sugar Daddy’.

The large, beautiful, white flowers of the Southern Magnolia tree bloom in the summer and their heavy fragrance and welcome shade make the perfect place to relax on a hot summer’s day.

Late summer bloomers with strong fragrance include the exotic and heady fragrance of tuberoses. Sweet Autumn Clematis blooms profusely with wonderfully scented tiny white flowers. The pink flowers of Naked Lady Amaryllis have a strong fragrance that wafts on the air.

Don’t overlook the herbs for their fragrant foliage. Rosemary can be grown as a shrub or a ground cover. Thyme has many varieties with scents ranging from lemon and lime to caraway. The mint family has a long list of fragrant varieties as do the basils: lemon, cinnamon, spicy globe and Thai basil. Many Salvias, or sages, have beautiful flowers and fragrant foliage. There are lots of other herbs that can help create an edible, fragrant garden.

Fragrance plays an important role in our enjoyment of the garden. Plant some memories in your garden with fragrant plants you’ll enjoy all season.

• Petunias can’t be beat for large, colorful blooms all summer long. The “Wave” petunias make wonderful hanging baskets for full sun. They come in purple, bright pink, and pale “misty lilac.”

• Ivy geraniums make wonderful hanging baskets for partially shaded spots where they will bloom all summer.

• Cage or stake tomatoes while still small so that you can train them as they grow.

• Cover cherry trees with bird netting to protect your crop.

• Ladybugs are a big help with aphids in your greenhouse or garden. Release at dusk in problem areas.

Delightful Daisies

Ask any 4-year-old to draw a flower, and chances are she’ll draw a daisy. Daisies have an innocence and simplicity that are attractive to young and old alike.

Daisies belong to the family called Composites. They are one of the largest families of flowering plants with some 25,000 species distributed all over the world. The family includes lettuces, artichokes and sunflowers as well as chrysanthemums, dahlias and many other popular garden flowers.

Most daisies are very easy to grow. They flourish in ordinary garden soil that is well-drained in winter, with plenty of sun. There are daisies for almost any garden setting, and they deliver an abundance of summer color.

Start with Shasta daisies, a hybrid created by Luther Burbank. This is one tough plant, growing happily on rugged hillsides where even the deer don’t bother them. Their beautiful white flowers are 3-inches across and grow on stems varying from 1 foot to 3 feet depending on variety. The wild ‘Crazy Daisy’ has shaggy, double white flowers that may be frilled or twisted with bright yellow centers.

The Gerbera or Transvaal Daisy is a real show-off in the garden. The large flowers come in every bright color and they bloom all summer long in sun or part shade. They don’t always winter-over in our climate, but they but on a glorious show all summer.

Old-fashioned painted daisies come in shades of pink and red. Their simple flowers grow on tall, straight stems. Give them afternoon shade in our climate.

Marguerite daisies are too tender to winter over here, but golden Euryops makes a fine substitute. Yellow flowers cover these dark green bushes all summer, and they’ll come right back next year and do it all over again.

Coreopsis is an easy-to-grow perennial. From the tall ‘Early Sunrise’, to medium-sized ‘Baby Sun’ and low-growing auriculata ‘Nana’, these golden beauties are constantly in bloom all summer long. ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis has lemon yellow flowers and threadlike leaves, and it makes a good companion for ornamental grasses.

Dahlias are tuberous rooted perennials that come in all colors except true blue, and a large variety of flower types and sizes from 2 to 12 inches across. Tubers should be planted right away for summer blooms.

Sunflowers are always a garden favorite. Both the dwarf ‘Sunspot’ and the 10-foot tall ‘Mammoth’ produce edible sunflower seeds. People eat the roasted seeds; birds enjoy the raw ones. Sunflowers for cutting come on compact, branching plants and bear 4 to 8 inch blooms in a rich variety of colors.

Use daisies to fill up spaces quickly and create an ‘established garden’ look while slower perennials fill in, and to brighten corners with their cheery flowers. It’s nice to have plants you can depend on.

• Rhododendrons are in full bloom now. Choose plants now for spectacular blooms in your shade garden.

• Earwigs are out and about and hungry. Control them with the new “Sluggo Plus”, or diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the plants, or go out after dark with a flashlight and a spray bottle of Safer’s Insecticidal Soap. One squirt will put an end to the spoiler.

• It’s time to plant tomatoes. Choose from the many varieties available now so you can enjoy delicious home-grown flavor.

• When you plant your vegetable garden, why not grow a little extra to donate to the food bank this summer.

• It’s time to put out oriole feeders. You can also attract them with fresh orange halves.

Hanging Baskets for Summer Beauty

Hanging baskets filled with colorful flowers bring outdoor living areas alive and make them a welcome retreat. Whether you have a sunny porch or a shady patio, you can brighten it up with hanging containers.

For a sunny spot, petunias, Million Bells and verbenas are perfect. The Wave petunias, Purple Wave, Pink Wave, Blue Wave, Tidal Wave and Misty Lilac Wave are ideal for hanging baskets. They grow in a horizontal habit, hanging down over the edge of the pots. Their bright colors are very eye-catching.

For the traditional colors, in red, pink, purple and white, Supercascade Petunias produce unending blossoms all summer.

Million Bells Calibrachoa makes a beautiful hanging plant. It is covered all summer with colorful flowers that resemble miniature petunias and they shed cleanly when the flowers fade. They come in bright cherry, red, rose, violet, blue, orange and yellow and grow very well in full sun.

Ivy geraniums grow well in morning sun and afternoon shade. They have a light, airy charm and come in red, pink, lavender, purple and white flowers. Their glossy ivy-like foliage is a handsome background for the bright colored flowers.

Several new Verbenas are now being used for hanging baskets. Tapiens Verbena makes an excellent flowering groundcover or hanging basket plant. They are fast growing with feathery leaves and bright-colored flowers on a neat, multi-branched plant. This is a very tough plant that is heat and drought-tolerant, thrives in full sun and even holds up well in windy conditions. Verbenas come in bright pink and purple.

Fuchsias are popular for shady areas. Their lush foliage and bright hanging flowers are frequently visited by hummingbirds. The flowers come in many shades of red, pink, purple and white and they bloom all summer if the seed pods are removed, and the plants are fertilized regularly.

Impatiens make lovely baskets for the shade, though they don’t really hang. You can plant them on the sides of a moss basket, though, to create a sphere of color by mid-summer. Add begonias and coleus for a riot of color all summer long.

You can create your own hanging gardens with combinations of colorful annuals. Impatiens, lobelia and violas provide summer-long color in shady areas. Petunias, alyssum and verbena give lots of color in sunny locations. You might also look for combination baskets already planted and blooming.

Hanging baskets should be fertilized weekly and watered daily in hot weather. Pinch off faded blossoms for continuous color all summer. Add a lovely color boost to your house or garden with hanging baskets.