By MIDJUNE, the garden typically runs out of color: The bulbs that flowered in early spring have faded, summer heat has arrived, and the ground is drying up. We see empty spots and think: Ugh, it’s all over! That is why the gap in between is so discouraging, when even gardener starts to lose heart.
By plotting out exactly when things will happen in your garden; by making a flower chart, this dead zone need not be quiet at all. Above is my breakdown of blooms per season (each flower filling in where the last left off). Suddenly that crazy section of brown dirt becomes a bouquet in progress, moment by moment.
How to Keep Your Garden Colorful All Year
It’s tempting to get carried away with spring because of its beauty. Nature do much of the work for us. Quickly, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths all poke their heads up into cool ground. If you planted in fall and waited till the snow melted, it’s almost like magic.
But those bulbs don’t last long; the book points out that lilies of the valley and peonies is spring staples instead, offering a richer textural addition to what might otherwise be just a momentary flash of color from bulbs. Plus: Most gardeners stop at tulips. But learn how to fill the void between tulip time and rest of summer, and more, below.
When it’s hot, the garden must be tough, zinnias and sunflowers dominate, since neither falter in full sun. According to data, zinnias is also speedy: roughly sixty to seventy-five days from seed to bloom, which means that sowing can continue right through summer solstice and still yield an end-of-season crop of flowers. Lavender has a strong scent that covers the smell of wet ground, adds a silvery-gray color to the heat, and needs nothing but light. Perfect for July.
A season-by-season guide, rather than just spring-bulb shopping, also come in handy when time arrives to transition into fall (and planning does pay off then). With a guide, you can plan to add some chrysanthemums or asters or even some pansies that holds up well past that first frost, when all else has died in the heat.
The chart’s comparison section will help you get an idea of which things is tall (like roses, which get several feet high) versus low (like marigolds). Then you won’t cover up your best show with their foliage.
This also explains why the backbone of the system are perennials: Hostas, coneflowers and daylilies come back year after year. And stronger each season. They are also chart classics; perennials provides the structure when the annuals die off. Less mindless digging means less mental burden in the form of gardening, so you’ll get to enjoy it more.
The last part of the puzzle is understanding the life cycle: perennials come back year after year, biennials take two seasons, and annuals are a one-shot deal. The bulbs, too, has a dormant storage organ they need just the right conditions for, which alters how we approach them. If you know they need to rest, you’re not going to dig up a tuber of dahlia and expect it to grow right away in winter. Again, you are working with, not against, plant’s nature.
There is always a reason for everything in the garden. For instance, the first snowdrops in January are not just an act of gardening lunacy. They are signal that things will soon be starting all over again and a reminder of where it all begins.
Gardening is more than just digging in dirt; it involves timing, texture, and patience.