Adding to your Garden in July

I've been waiting until the plant sales in July to purchase more geraniums. The place I buy them starts charging $1 each and the plants are healthy and full. I never buy more than a couple of them in May because the $3-4 cost is too high but when they drop to $1 I go all out. Yesterday I bought 12 of them.

Geraniums are marvelous plants. They grow fuller and more gorgeous as the season progresses and all they need is the occasional deadheading. By July we always have a few bare spots in our garden where something failed to thrive or was removed so there's always a spot for new plants. I had a huge spot in my front garden where I'd removed a pesty daisy which was taking over the whole darned garden. I planted about 6 of the geraniums there and they'll add a nice patch of color to the spot. I scattered the rest in the backyard.

Before I leave for Florida at the end of October I'll dig them up, remove the soil, and put them in a clear garbage bag with some water soaked paper towels. Most of them will easily survive the drive to Florida and I'll have a terrific start to my Florida garden for the winter.

Some people remove geraniums from their garden in the fall and store them in the basement until spring but I've never had good luck doing that. They either wither away or take so long to recover in the spring that they don't even start to flower until well into the summer.

I'm now wondering if I should bring some of them home from Florida when I return in April. It's a thought, anyway.

July is also a good time to purchase those odd plants you've never tried before. What sold for $2-3 is usually marked down to 50 cents and well worth a try. You never know when you'll find one you'll be willing to pay full price for next May. I just bought something called "monkey's paw" which looks similar to a sturdier "million bells" and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Gardening is always a work in progress... adding, taking away, trimming, and enjoying it's development. I can't imagine living in a sterile environment without even a house plant and I've always thought that anyone who does must be one miserable soul. Gardening is a state of communion with the wonders of nature and a reminder of how beautiful our world can be.