Never Too Late to Plant

July is here, and the flowering season is slowly getting underway… and you still feel that your home lacks flowers? Don’t despair: it’s never too late to remedy the situation, as the planting season in the North runs from May to October!

Annuals Galore

Annuals have the longest flowering period of all plants… and are still abundantly available. You can buy them in boxes at a good price and still fill your flowerbeds, tubs or window boxes. Or buy ready-made pots: simply hang them from tree branches if you’re using baskets, or place them here and there across your flowerbed if you’re using pots or tubs. And don’t forget to put some on the terrace: there’s nothing more distressing than a wooden or stone terrace without a single flower!

Perennials Too

Many gardeners make the mistake of buying all their perennials in the spring and, quite naturally, choosing the most flowering plants. Except that the result is a flowerbed that blooms abundantly in spring, but little or not at all in summer. If you notice a gap in flowering at home, it’s easy to remedy the problem: go to a nursery to see what’s in bloom, and plant the varieties that appeal to you in your flowerbed. Not only will they bloom this year, but they’ll be back next summer, and the summer after, and the summer after that, solving your problem for good.

Lacking Depth?

It’s not in spring that you notice defects in your landscaping, it’s in summer. And one of the most common defects is the lack of relief. You realize that everything is too even, and that you need a higher backdrop. Why put the problem off until next spring, when you’ve had 10 months to forget about it? Fix the problem now by planting trees, shrubs or evergreens. Or, if there’s a fence or wall, a climbing

plant.

Choose Logically

Remember to check the winter hardiness zone of any plant, to make sure it’s suited to the growing conditions at home (sun, half-shade or shade; rich or poor soil; dry or moist soil, etc.). Choose plants according to their height and diameter. For example, the small cedar you plant today could grow to 15 m (50 feet) one day, unless you prune it annually. It’s much easier to choose plants whose height and diameter match the available space than to have to prune them again and again.

Plant in the Middle of Summer

With potted plants, you can plant in midsummer in exactly the same way as in spring. Dig a hole, remove the pot, center the plant, add mycorrhizae to its roots, fill in and water. That’s all there is to it. Just water a little more often for the first summer, that’s all. There’s no need to bury organic matter: it’s all about the surface. If you feel the soil is not rich enough, plant first and then cover the area with compost. As for bare-root plants, which may be the result of division, it’s true that they find planting in midsummer stressful. It’s best either to delay planting or to keep a close eye on watering after planting. Keep the soil slightly moist at all times, but never soggy. Finally, the last step in any planting is to lay a good layer of organic mulch, such as ramial wood, forest mulch or cocoa husks.

That’s it: plant now for instant results. And who said gardening was complicated?

Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books over the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on July 10, 2005.