In the Garden: hot & steamy

In the Garden

hot & steamy

By ray mikula

A walk through the garden in July in Virginia is usually hot and steamy. It always amazes me how the native plants like coneflower, black eyed Susan, bee balm, gay feather, milkweed, and day lilies can thrive in such hot conditions. The bees and butterflies love all these plants and it's their time to eat, live and

reproduce. I love to watch them as they gather their food with little regard for my presence. I always make sure the butterflies also have some host plants to place their eggs on so their caterpillar offspring have a good food supply. The insects also need water during this time and appreciate a sip from a bird bath. But make sure there is something in the water like a rock that they can climb up on if they mistak-enly fall in. It happens all the time.

I prefer to seek out a bench in the shade and enjoy the blooms there. Each year I line the garden path with caladium. They bring bright shades of color to the garden to contrast with the ferns, coral bells, and hasta. The hydrangeas are blooming now and help light up the forest shade. From my vantage point I can see the tomatoes and peppers and herbs all soaking up the sun's energy.

By now all of your vegetable

gardens are producing and you're enjoying the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you don't have a garden you can find all that same goodness at your local Farmer's Market. I usually frequent the one at Gordon Road and Rt 3. I am there because I participate in the Master Gardeners plant clinics there on Saturdays. I along with other Master Gardeners answer your questions about plants, lawns, trees, pruning, pest control, and any other gardening questions. We are all trained by the extension agent and are sponsored by Virginia Tech University. We have handouts from Virginia Tech on a wide variety of gardening needs. We also bring information sharing talks to the public at our local libraries and on Zoom. To find out topics for the presentations and times you can go to MGACRA.org and click on calendar.

If you want a heavier dose of gardening knowledge you can apply to become a Master Gardener at the the Stafford Extension office. You can contact Lisa Ellis, volunteer coordinator at (540) 658-8000 ext. 1056. Or email her at Lisae22@vt.edu. The next Master Gardener class begins at the beginning of

Sep-tember and goes to the second week of November.

If you don't have your own garden, remember there are wonderful gardens in our area: Cossey Park in Fredericksburg, Cedell Brooks Jr. demonstration garden in King George, Chatham Historical Gardens, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, and Maymont in Richmond. Getting into the garden in the summer can lift your spirit, reconnect you with nature, and help bring you peace of mind.

Till the next time, Happy Gardening.

RayMikula is a Master Gardener.He has several acres of garden space & has been gardening for 62 years. Before retiring Ray was a Earth Science & Astronomy Teacher