July In The Poconos 2021

It's been a long time since I last posted to my blog. Life has a way of sometimes taking you down a different path. Things eventually work out ... and you go on from there. So, here I am back in my garden! My Happy Place!

This Summer here in the Poconos has been the wettest Summer I can recall in years. And my plants haven't been very happy about it. It's been a slow go ... to say the least.

My Heavenly Blue Morning Glories & Moonflowers are just barely climbing up the trellises. Cool temperatures and too much rain have made them sulk. Normally by mid-July they would happily be sprawling all over the trellises.

This is my little back corner garden off my back deck. My Hollyhocks in the back left corner look stunted and unhappy. I have a few Asiatic Lillies next to the small sunflower plant on the left that aren't very happy. The Catnip plant in the front on the right side is doing OK, but should be larger by now. That's a Little Miss Kim in the right hand corner ... she was transplanted to that spot last Fall, so I really didn't expect her to do much this year anyway. Maybe next year ....

This is my Front Deck Garden. Not too bad. My Astilbes are doing OK ... also have some Tall Purple & White Garden Phlox in the back center that are growing pretty normally. I actually pruned them back a few weeks ago. I find by doing that, the plants are somewhat shorter but produce more flowers in the later part of the Summer.  The Hydrangea in the front center (Strawberries & Cream) I bought a few weeks ago from one of the local supermarkets. I loved the colors! I have a feeling it's not Winter hardy in my zone (5A), but who cares! I thought it was pretty!

Now on the other hand ... Gotta love the Wildlife! Any Season ... any Time. You never know what kind of animal or bird might come visiting. 

                                           Happy Gardening!

                                     

Some Gardening Tips For Early Spring

It's early spring here in the Pocono Mountains. Finally, the temperatures are slowly rising and the days are getting longer. Yet, some snow cover still remains on the ground and it's still too soon to pull back the mulch or dig in the wet, cold soil. Don't be discouraged. Here are a few things you can do during the early days of April.

Be nice to your houseplants. Start feeding your indoor plants with a fertilizer solution at half the recommended strength.

Get out those gardening tools and get them in shape for the season. Sharpen your pruners and shears. Give your rakes and shovels the once over. Find any rough spots on any wood handles? Give them a sanding and then give them a fresh coat of polyurethane.

Did you clean-up your empty flower pots and containers in the fall? If not, get started now. You'll be glad you did!

Start your yard clean-up.  Start picking up fallen twigs, branches and other debris and discard them. Rake up dead leaves and grass and put them in a compost pile.

By the end of April, or beginning of May, the ruby-throated hummingbirds will be back. Get your feeders ready!

Just one last tip. Don't let that little bit of white that's still on the ground get you down. Take heart. If you look closely, you just might find a blooming clump of pretty little snowdrops nestled snugly in that melting snow. Spring is in the air!