Perennials: Continue staking floppy plants and vines. Apply summer mulches to rose and perennial beds. Continue deadheading to encourage continuous bloom. Continue to spray roses for fungus and remove fallen leaves and debris to prevent the spread of disease organisms. Pinch back chrysanthemums and asters one last time. Fertilize these heavy feeders every two or three weeks until buds form.

Flowers: Cut flowers frequently for indoor bouquets. Deadhead annuals except for impatiens and begonias, which are self-cleaning. Continue fertilizing each month. Use container plants to fill in bare spots in the flower border.

Vegetables and fruits: Control weeds underneath fruit trees and grape vines so that they do not compete for moisture and nutrients. Inspect fruit trees frequently for pests and treat as necessary. Blanch leeks by hilling up soil around them. Inspect corn tassels for ear worm and treat with BT. Corn earworms show up later in the season when the silk forms and are best treated with a few drops of vegetable oil to the silk of each ear.
Water cucumber plants regularly. Cover blueberry bushes with netting. They are ready to harvest when the berry is deep blue.

Trees and shrubs: Continue to prune spring-blooming shrubs until the end of the month. Take softwood cuttings when the new growth begins to harden off. Find propagation directions in a garden manual and follow directions meticulously for best success.

Lawns: Leave nitrogen-rich grass clippings on the lawn. Begin checking for Japanese beetle grubs this month.

Houseplants: Keep houseplants out of strong sunlight.

General: Try using a scanner to record the best blooms and plants in your garden. Place the flowers or other elements (leaves, grass) on the scanner and choose the type of paper and scan away. The image may turn out as an art work, or at least a profile of your garden on that particular day.
Susan Henry