Getting Your Garden Ready
for the Summer Season
By Rich Sherman of Myrtle Creek Nursery

It’s a great time to plant new plants. The sun is getting higher and hotter, so it’s warm enough to plant your tomatoes, peppers, and summer annuals like petunias and marigolds. Below are some other things you can do in the May sunshine.

Roses:  Roses usually bloom the heaviest in April. You can keep them blooming by cutting off the spent flowers as soon as possible. When you cut them, don’t just cut off the flower, cut them down the stem, just below an outward facing set of leaflets. Use a rose fertilizer also, and your roses should bloom for you every six weeks or so.

Vegetables: Now’s the time to plant your veggie garden! You can find a good selection of seeds and starter plants in the nursery. Look for beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and don’t forget the herbs!

Annuals: Summer annuals can be planted as soon as your spring flowers fade. Be careful this time of year to make sure that you know how much of that summer sun the area you want to plant is getting. Your begonia will thank you for not planting him in the sun.

Irrigation: Check your sprinkler system to make sure there are no clogs or breaks, so your plants can survive the summer.

Rich Sherman is from Myrtle Creek Nursery. A true garden lover’s destination located in Fallbrook, California, Myrtle Creek Nursery features scenic pathways wandering through blooming gardens, waterfalls and fountains. Their farmhouse and grounds are packed with antiques, statuary, architectural salvage, gifts, and their own brand of jams and preserves. For more about Myrtle Creek Nursery, click here.