Now is the time to check out northern gardens. When you take your
summer vacation or maybe a trip to see relatives check out the local
plantings. Some might be neighborhood flower beds and vegetable patches
or those in parks and botanical gardens.
Here is what we found
in New Hampshire and Maine - great looking gardens. One stop had to be
the All-America Selections plantings at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. This garden appeared to have more than 100 beds maintained by
the city and local university. It is a great place to see the plants of
the past and future. Of particular interest were the black-eyed Susans,
cone flowers, cleome, marigolds, zinnias and more. It gave insight to
what we could grow during the fall through winter months.
Many
towns had there own flower displays and so did local businesses. The
petunias were in full bloom just like we grow them during the winter
months. The one bed pictured was street-side at the entrance to a local
motel in Ogunquit, Maine. Many plantings from Asiatic lilies, roses,
coneflowers and more were on display.
Local vegetable gardens
were in full production. Just 45 or so days earlier these plantings were
only getting started. But the gardens have grown rapidly as one resident
pointed out, `the days have been warm'. He was harvesting beans plus
clippings of basil. Squash, tomatoes, corn and more were on the way. The
one garden pictured in Wells, Maine had put old carpet to good use. The
lengths were turned over with the backing exposed to use as mulch. Not a
single weed was in sight but the squash looked great.
It is hard
to believe there is so much difference between Florida and northern
gardens at this time of the year. Their plantings are in their prime and
we are just planning for new plantings. Don't forget the late
summer-fall gardening season starts in mid August. I have been getting
lots of emails about declining summer tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and
more. Let them go and get ready for nine months of great gardening that
starts in about 30 days. In mid August you can start plantings of
tomatoes, peppers, corn, cucumbers, eggplant and squash for fall
harvest.
Will your garden site be ready? Now is the time to
remove the old plants and weeds, till the soil and work in needed
amendments.
