What Your Summer Flowerbeds Desperately Need From You

Introduction

Summer is the time of year when I get the most questions about my garden. People often ask me what they should plant, how to plant it and how to care for it. But there’s one question that comes up over and over again: Why don’t my plants grow like yours? That’s a great question! And one I know a lot about because I’ve been growing flowers for 25 years now—I started out as a teenager helping my parents with our vegetable garden, but it wasn’t long before I was planting some flowers here and there too. So here’s what your summer flowerbeds need from you:

Trim.

Trim

Your plants are going to need a trim every few weeks. This is important for two reasons: first, it keeps them healthy and looking good; second, it makes sure they don’t overtake your entire yard. Plants grow in all different shapes and sizes, so there’s no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to pruning them. Trimming is an art form—just ask the professionals who work at your local garden center! They’ll be happy to show you how they do it (and maybe even give you some tips).

Cut back on watering.

  • Make sure you’re watering at the right time. If it’s summer, wait until the plants’ soil is completely dry before watering again. Do not water early in the day if you want to avoid evaporation (which happens when water is exposed to hot temperatures).
  • Don’t overdo it. After you’ve waited for your soil to dry out, hold off on watering again until it’s been about two weeks since your last session. This helps avoid overwatering and promotes healthy roots instead of weak ones that can’t take care of themselves properly.
  • Check for leaks! If there are any leaks in your irrigation system or sprinkler heads—whether they’re old or new—they’ll waste gallons upon gallons of water every year without fail and will eventually rot out all of your plants from root up! You should check these things regularly while weeding around them every week so that clogs can be cleared away quickly before they cause too much damage; otherwise, those green velvet poufs will end up looking like dead shrooms in no time flat (or maybe even sooner than that).

Add mulch.

No matter what you’re growing, mulch is a great way to keep weeds away and help with soil moisture. Not only does it look nice, but mulch also helps to keep the soil cool and moist in summer heat.

It’s important to use the right type of material for your particular plants:

  • If you have tomatoes or other warm-season plants that need regular water, then add organic material such as leaves or straw that will decompose over time. This will help retain moisture in the soil which makes it easier for roots to grow deeper into cooler soil where they can access more nutrients and water from deep down below.

Prune.

Pruning is one of the most useful and important things you can do to keep your plants healthy. Pruning will help improve the overall shape of your plant, help remove dead or damaged branches, encourage new growth and blooms, and make it easier for you to care for your garden.

Pruning also helps get rid of:

  • Dead or diseased stems
  • Plants that have grown too tall or wide (which may be dangerous in some cases)

Move your plants around.

When you move your plants around, they’ll get the amount of sun and water that they need to thrive. It’s also important to keep in mind that some plants may need more attention than others. For example, if you have a sunflower seedling growing in the shade of a tall tree, it could be suffering from lack of light and nutrients due to its shaded location. Instead of letting this poor plant die under the tree (and turning into mulch), consider moving it closer to where it will receive more sunlight.

You can do this by digging up the entire plant with its roots attached and replanting it in an area where there is more direct sunlight. Moving your garden around will help ensure that all of your plants are getting what they require for healthy growth and development!

Divide the perennials.

You should divide your perennials every spring and fall, or at least every other year. That’s because they will eventually grow into clumps so large that they can’t support their own weight, and they’ll be more susceptible to disease and insects. Plus, the more compact your plants are, the less time it takes for them to flower.

Perennials need full sun—at least eight hours a day or more—so make sure your garden provides it before you plant them in any spot. Most perennials like well-drained soil; some require partial shade as well as at least six hours of sunlight per day (check with your local nursery before purchasing something).

You can buy perennials from a nursery or grow them from seed yourself; if you choose this method, make sure you get started early enough so that blooms will appear by late summer or early fall (although there are some exceptions). If possible, space out flowers about two feet apart from one another so that each plant has plenty of room for growth but still looks attractive together in groups.

Deadhead what needs deadheading.

Deadheading is the process of removing spent flowers from your plants to encourage more blooms. Deadheading not only encourages your plant to continue flowering for you, but it can also help prevent disease and keep a tidy garden.

To deadhead: look for flowers that are yellowing or browning and remove them from the plant by holding them at their base, rotating them back until they snap off (you may need to use some force). If you’re having trouble finding where these old flowers are hiding, look for buds as an indication—these smaller buds will soon become new blooms!

You can also deadhead for aesthetic reasons; if you want your flower bunches looking fresh, give them a haircut before they go bad! The same concept applies here—grab those buds, rotate ’em back like someone’s trying to steal your purse on the subway platform—but instead of snapping at their base like they’re taking candy from a baby (or something), gently pull each bud off in its entirety.

When done correctly, this will leave behind two things: newly budding branches and no evidence whatsoever that anything was ever there except maybe some tiny stubs where once were large blossoms swaying in happy rhythm with their neighbors sharing that same branch together beneath summer suns long gone away now yet still very much missed when winter weather comes knocking every single year around this time too soon enough just like clockwork without fail always without fail without fail always without fail always without fail always without fail

Turn the soil a bit.

When you turn the soil, you’re mixing in compost and other nutrients. This can be done by hand or with a rotary tiller. (You’ll want to wear gloves for this.)

Turning the soil too much can cause water to drain from it, which will kill your plants. If you’re turning a small area of soil and it’s been raining recently, wait for that rainwater to soak in before turning again. Otherwise, just do a little bit at a time—no more than about four inches at once—and only when the ground is dry enough that your feet won’t sink into it when walking around on top of it!

Also remember that if it’s too wet outside (or even if there have been several rainy days), wait until after some dryer weather has passed before doing any major work outdoors so as not  to risk damaging any fragile roots systems underneath those moist top layers!

It’s not enough to just plant flowerbeds, you have to care for them throughout the year!

It’s not enough to just plant flowerbeds, you have to care for them throughout the year! You have to keep them healthy and beautiful. You have to trim them and keep them watered. You have to prune them and divide them. And yes, even though it sounds crazy, sometimes you need to move your plants around.

And of course, don’t forget about deadheading! That’s when you trim off any spent flowers so they don’t go all gross or attract pests like aphids or spiders or something else that might crawl on your nice pretty flowers. And if you don’t do this regularly, your plants will stop blooming altogether… which means no more pretty flowers in your garden!

Then there’s turning over the soil—also called tilling; this breaks up clumps of dirt into smaller pieces and aerates it so oxygen can get down deep where roots need it most–that way each plant has access ing nutrients for growth (and also helps prevent weeds from growing).

Conclusion

If you want to keep your flowerbeds looking great all year long, you need to be willing to do some work. It’s not enough to just plant them, after all! You need to trim them and prune them, divide the perennials when they get too crowded (or not at all if they don’t), turn over the soil once in a while, and deadhead what needs deadheading. Sure, it might seem like a lot of work—but don’t worry! We can help with that too if you ever feel overwhelmed by caring for your garden plants correctly. Just contact us; we know how important it is that they look their best at all times so that nobody has anything bad

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