Summer is a busy time for the gardener and flower arranger. There are so many blooms out there that are just ripe for the picking and are easy to arrange. Flowers reflect the freshness and warmth of summer and it always nice to have a flower arrangement in the home. Certain flowers only bloom in the summer and it is best to feature them in your summer flower arrangements.

Here is a list of summer flowers that you can use for your flower arrangements:

Sunflower - Representing the brightness of the summer season, sunflowers are considered the primary summer flowers. These big, eye-catching, and vibrant flowers only bloom completely during the summer. They are great for big and elaborate arrangements.

Aster - Aster attracts bright and colorful butterflies in the summer. These flowers come in beautiful shades of white, pink, blue, and purple. According to flower myths and traditions, aster signifies patience, variety, and delicacy.

Sweet Pea - You can add sweet pea to your flower arrangement to give it a nice, sweet scent.

Daisy - This summer flower denotes innocence, gentleness and purity. Sometimes called “the marker of summer”, the daisy is also called the “day’s eye” because it opens up and closes along with the sun. For a simple flower arrangement, simply get an empty milk bottle, fill it with water and put in a handful of these pretty blooms.

Lily - The sensitizing effect of lilies will never fail to lighten your mood or bring a smile to your face so add them in your flower arrangement.

Snapdragons - Snapdragons make beautiful cut flowers. They are great hung from a basket or kept in a tall, slim vase.

Make the best of summer by filling the spaces in your house, garden, and office with these summer blooms. They will not only beautify your room, they can lighten up your mood as well.

Before taking shears in hand, understand what your goals are.  Pruning roses has a multitude of rewards, including healthier plants, stronger growth and flowering, elimination of diseased or damaged canes, and improved overall appearance.  Pruning stimulates growth, leading to robust plants.

Do not be overly concerned about making grave mistakes; even overly hard pruning is more beneficial to the plant than no pruning at all.  There is definitely room for error when pruning, and as you go, you’ll accumulate more and more insight into what roses like and don’t like.

There are three primary seasons for pruning, late fall (early winter), early spring (late winter), and during the growing season.  Each season has a specific goal for which we prune.

Late Fall (Early Winter) Pruning
In general, it is not absolutely necessary to prune in late fall.   The reason to prune during this time period is to protect the plant from winter damage, chiefly due to long canes whipping in the wind and disturbing the root structure.   Further, many gardeners like to tidy up their garden with a bit of light pruning.   Generally, fall pruning is not hard pruning, just taking off some of the taller growth from the preceding season.  Finally, in winters where the temperatures fall below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, do not prune in late fall.

If you choose to prune in late fall, be careful about your timing.  Pruning stimulates growth, and there is very real danger of pruning too early in the fall, stimulating new growth which is hit hard during the next hard frost.  If you choose to prune your roses in fall, make sure that the plants are fully dormant and you are past the time period when extended warm spells could cause the plant to reawaken.  In general, wait until several hard frosts have occurred, and foliage is brown.

 During fall you may notice the canes of your roses turning from green to rusty brown.  This is a natural hardening off as the rose prepares to go dormant for the winter.

How To Plant Flowers and Trees in Pots

There is a large variety of pots is many shapes, sizes and colors to improve the look of your patio. There are, however, some very simple rules to follow when planting flowers or trees in pots to help make your gardening successful. Below are some of these tips.

Make sure the pot is big enough for your plant or tree. It should be large enough to accommodate at least one year of growth.

• Use good soil — packaged potting mix may be the best choice.  It has been sterilized so you won’t be introducing any soil problems or diseases.   

• Do NOT fill the bottom of the pot with gravel or other coarse material.  Surprisingly, this may impede drainage. A simple curving piece of broken pot over the drainage hole will keep your potting mixture from leaking out.

• If the potting mix doesn’t have fertilizer in it, add a little bit.  You will want to lightly fertilize most potted plants — indoors and out–every couple of weeks during the growing season.  Or use a slow-release fertilizer.

• Stir in some polymers to the potting mix.  These granules retain water and release it slowly to the soil.  That can mean you have to water the potted plants less frequently.

• Double-pot to help protect pots exposed to direct summer sun.  The inner pot should be terra cotta to absorb water to cool the pot and to allow the plant roots to breathe.  The outer pot should be large enough to allow you to put insulation between the two pots to further help control heat.  For insulation, use sphagnum moss, coarse mulch, wood chips or crumpled newspaper.

• Move planted pots into shade on hot days.

Keep in mind that as the weather heats up, you may still have to water your potted plants two or more times a day. 

Below is a list to help you keep your summer garden looking beautiful all season long. It’s not too late to add more flowers to your garden if you have the time. Using the tips below will help to keep you garden beautiful and under control throughout the summer.

1. Beware of insects such as aphids or white flies that become rampant as our plants grow larger and have less circulation between them. Remember to spray both upper and lower leaves with neem or pyola oil on a seven to 10 day cycle to keep these critters from destroying your plants. Also, order some beneficial insects such as ladybugs to help keep these insects under control. You can often find ladybugs at a specialty garden store.
2. Prune back your rose bushes after the first bloom. You can either dead head the spent blooms or do a major cutting back to keep them tame and under control.  Cut back all weak and dead wood as well. Lastly, clean up all spent leaves – especially if they suffered from black spot. Plus, if black spot is a problem, use this homemade formula: Mix one tablespoon of baking soda and a 1/4 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent in one gallon of water.
3. Continue to pinch back all late summer and fall perennials to keep them bushy and healthy and to stagger blooming times.
4. Finish pruning all spring blooming bushes such as azaleas, rhododendrons, lilacs by mid-summer so that they can begin their new growth for next spring.
5. It is still not too late to plant summer blooming bulbs like dahlias or cannas. It’s also not too late to plant quick-blooming summer seeds such as sunflowers or nasturtiums.

Stylish seating is just a stone’s throw away.

Trying to figure out how to make an attractive seat for two in the yard without breaking the bank? Take a second look at that slab of rock laying around in the backyard. The idea originated with landscape designer, Michael Glassman while he was shopping for stone at a rock yard. Glassman used stone to make loose-stacked stone benches and tables.Stone is more durable than wood and other materials garden furniture is usually made of. Stone benches and tables are virtually maintenance free. Plus, the ones you construct using separate pieces of stone can often cost less than most pre-made wood, iron or concrete benches at the garden center.