The News Tribune (Lite) - Pay attention to landscape as summer rolls along

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Section: Home & Garden

Pay attention to landscape as summer rolls along

THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Although lots of summer activities beckon beyond the garden this month, be sure to give the landscape some attention.

Keep up Continue deadheading annuals to keep them blooming, and pluck weeds whenever you spot them. Mulching will help conserve water during this typically dry month. After vegetable crops are done, compost the plants or dig them into the soil.

Plant veggies Start fall and winter vegetables like beets, broccoli, lettuce, peas, onions, radishes, spinach and cabbage.

Water well On average, just over an inch of rain falls during the whole month. Coming on the heels of an even drier July, it’s important to make sure plants get enough water. Water deeply so the whole root zone gets wet; frequent light sprinklings can make plants suffer drought damage more easily. Established plants should be watered deeply a couple of times each summer.

Leave the lawn Consider letting the lawn go dormant this month – which means no mowing! The grass will green back up with the fall rains. If a green lawn is necessary, water it an inch each week if there’s no rainfall; growing lawns need at least an inch each week of combined rainfall and irrigation.

Freshen the view Pull out any annuals that are starting to look tired, and replace them with late-blooming plants like sunflowers, asters, coreopsis and pansies. Perennials can be planted now if they’re kept watered; choose gallon-size plants for a better chance of survival. Place a piece of pottery or garden art in the landscape to fill a vacant spot.

Get ideas Find out what’s blooming in other people’s gardens now by attending the Garden Conservancy’s Olympia Open Day on Aug. 16. The self-guided tour includes several private gardens in DuPont, Olympia and Tenino. Admission is $5 per person per garden (kids younger than 12 are admitted free). Details: gardenconservancy.org/opendays. Jean Parietti is a Federal Way freelance writer. E-mail her at southsoundgarden@aol.com

Sources include WSU Extension.