Gardening Guides
Northeast Gardener's June Checklist
Tote out garden ornaments, unleash your color passion and glean inspiration from the many Northeast tours
According to the Farmer's Almanac, the summer solstice will occur on June 21 in 2013. As we approach that date, days lengthen gradually and our gardens become full of activity — and so do we. My car is usually loaded with plants from local sales or garden centers, as there are changes to make, new plants to grow.
Garden center displays are a great way to get ideas about plant combinations. Take some photos for reference and ask about things that might be new to you (there's always something). What's in peak bloom is usually front and center, because that's what sells; seeing the colors of flowers is extremely helpful when you're planning a composition.
The Garden Conservancy's Open Days are happening throughout the Northeast this month; tour private and public gardens and get design ideas while supporting a great organization.
Garden center displays are a great way to get ideas about plant combinations. Take some photos for reference and ask about things that might be new to you (there's always something). What's in peak bloom is usually front and center, because that's what sells; seeing the colors of flowers is extremely helpful when you're planning a composition.
The Garden Conservancy's Open Days are happening throughout the Northeast this month; tour private and public gardens and get design ideas while supporting a great organization.
Grow clematis on a split-rail fence. Vines like honeysuckle and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) are aggressive and can be hard to control, so if you're thinking of adding a vine to a fence, choose a flowering clematis — it will be well behaved. This is 'Candida' (Clematis lanuginosa 'Candida', zones 4 to 9), a white cultivar that has huge blooms. It's growing on my vegetable garden fence.
Gardeners who love purple might like C. 'President', which offers huge blooms and makes a great display on a trellis.
Clematis 'Étoile Violette' (zones 4 to 8) produces smaller (3- to 4-inch) violet flowers on new growth and blooms for a longer period. A friend has it growing on the side of her porch. It's bushy and robust, and makes a good privacy screen.
Clematis 'Étoile Violette' (zones 4 to 8) produces smaller (3- to 4-inch) violet flowers on new growth and blooms for a longer period. A friend has it growing on the side of her porch. It's bushy and robust, and makes a good privacy screen.
Add some alliums. They're everywhere this month, and it's not hard to see why. With perfect round spheres of purple or white florets that stand tall, flowering onions (Allium spp) like 'Globemaster' and 'Gladiator' are great additions to a mixed planting bed and are especially striking when the flowers fade; cut seed heads for flower arrangements at the month's end (but leave the foliage to die back so bulbs have food to store for next year).
Plan to order alliums in the fall with other spring bulbs.
Plan to order alliums in the fall with other spring bulbs.
It's peony time, so grab your pruners. Peonies take center stage when they open this month — they're so beautiful, lush and fragrant. Invite your neighbors to cut bouquets and fill your house with mason jars of blooms in luscious hues.
A word of advice: Don't bother with hoops or stakes; they aren't necessary if you cut the flowers when they're in bloom (or deadhead them shortly afterward). Remove the stems from the plants; you'll have mounds of deeply lobed foliage that looks great throughout the growing season.
A word of advice: Don't bother with hoops or stakes; they aren't necessary if you cut the flowers when they're in bloom (or deadhead them shortly afterward). Remove the stems from the plants; you'll have mounds of deeply lobed foliage that looks great throughout the growing season.
Romance the shade with layers of texture. If you’ve got a monoculture of Japanese pachysandra, periwinkle or English ivy in your shade garden, think about making a change.
Adding variegated perennials like largeleaf brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, zones 3 to 7) or Japanese forest grass will brighten up the shade and catch the eye. Look for the tiny sprays of blue flowers arching above the milky leaves on the bugloss, named the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association.
Adding variegated perennials like largeleaf brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, zones 3 to 7) or Japanese forest grass will brighten up the shade and catch the eye. Look for the tiny sprays of blue flowers arching above the milky leaves on the bugloss, named the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association.
Decorate your beds. Hello there! I love the way this frog peeks out from the ferns in this neatly trimmed border, making a fun, playful focal point. Now that summer's here, you can put that lawn ornament out too. Maybe you have an orb, a whirligig or an etched stone that says something. It's your own sanctuary, anything goes.
It's also the season for yard sales — I've got my eye out for an old wheelbarrow or wagon to use as a container.
It's also the season for yard sales — I've got my eye out for an old wheelbarrow or wagon to use as a container.
Notice the details. Woodland gardens are at their peak this month — hostas have unfurled, and there are spotted lungwort and bleeding heart, rhododendrons and native foamflower (Tiarella spp), with airy wands of bugbane (Cimicifuga spp) on the way.
Masterwort (Astrantia major, zones 4 to 7), shown here, brings delicate detail to the shade garden. Its flowers appear now and continue through summer; the plant likes moist soil and partial sun, and it combines well with astilbe and ferns.
Masterwort (Astrantia major, zones 4 to 7), shown here, brings delicate detail to the shade garden. Its flowers appear now and continue through summer; the plant likes moist soil and partial sun, and it combines well with astilbe and ferns.
Grow edible flowers. Put nasturtiums in a window box, in a raised vegetable bed or along a sunny garden path, and give them room to grow. There are mounding types and others that trail or creep; pluck flowers to dress up salads and serving platters.
Get inspiration from the work of other gardeners. Sometimes you have to get away from the weeding — seriously! Take a day off from garden chores, put on a clean pair of pants and go out to see what other people are doing. There are loads of options this month.
Garden tours are addictive — you're in the company of other plant lovers, and there's always a lot to learn. Happy travels.
Garden tours are addictive — you're in the company of other plant lovers, and there's always a lot to learn. Happy travels.
What's your color passion?