Southern Gardening - Potpourri for June

In June, does everyone know that we have 2 State holidays: Monday, June 2-Jefferson Davis' birthday and Thursday, June 19-Juneteenth. I always say that the more holidays there are, the more time for getting out in our gardens. June is a busy month for the gardener. We need to pull out the spent pansies and dianthus, cut back the spring bulb leaves that you have allowed to die back, weed, purchase the new annuals or perennials to fill in the vacant areas and add more soil to the beds. If you did not plant caladiums last month it is not too late. Caladiums need the soil to be at about 65 degrees before they come up, so now is the time.

This month is also a great time to repair or put in a sprinkler system. Just think, no more wrestling with hoses to move them around the yard, and trying to untwist the kinks that suddenly occur. Even the newest rendition of hoses are not trouble free. A Plus is that you can determine which areas of the yard need more watering and which do not by adjusting automatically. Believe me, your flower garden will say thank you many times over for this addition. Also going out of town in the summer months for more than a day means no one has to help with the watering chores. Several times before I had a sprinkling system, I forgot to manually turn off the hose and woke up the next morning with a flood in the yard, plus a big water bill. As you can tell, I am a big fan of automatic systems.

One tip about Knock-Out Roses that perhaps you all know, but I did not, is that they really love fertilizer about twice per year. I tried an experiment where I fertilized one area of Knock-Outs for the year, and left the other unfertilized. The difference was like night and day with the fertilized ones with lush deep green leaves and more blooms than the others.

PLANT OF THE MONTH--TORENIA

The genus of this plant has changed classification from the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) to the Linderniaceae family. Torenia, an annual, is also called the wishbone flower or Bluewings with their blooms resembling snapdragons. I love this flower and use it in flower beds that have part sun and part shade but can also tolerate full sun. It reseeds and can be propagated through cuttings. It does spread, but not aggressively and makes a great filler for the garden. The fact that it drops its dead heads is another attribute I love about this plant. Most common colors are deep purple, dark blue with a yellow center, and all shades of pink. It is a long blooming flower from spring until frost. For those who want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, this is a must have addition to your flower garden. And needless to say, these plants are great for pots, too.

GOOD GARDENING.