Even though it's getting hotter, we've had a fair amount of rain, which has helped my garden tremendously.

Going through my pictures from last month, I'm reminded of what a beautiful time of year it is in the Houston area. Almost all of my plants were in bloom. Plants that weren't supposed to bloom until fall, plants that were only supposed to last until April, and plants that weren't supposed to bloom yet. It's an explosion of color.

I've really enjoyed selling my photography. I've gotten good feedback on it and am excited to keep growing my photo library and exploring different formats.

The larger butterflies are starting to come in, mostly Gulf fritillaries and black swallowtails. I had so many baby swallowtails on my dill that I ended up putting up shade cloth to protect the dill from the heat, and hoping to protect the babies from the birds.

Well, guess what? They all disappeared within a few days. I think the spiders and wasps got them! I'll need a different strategy next time.

Wild Things To Do

This month is all about setting your garden up for summer success by establishing systems in place to keep your garden alive through the heat. If you've have native plants in the ground for at least a year or two, their roots should be well established so you won't need to water as much. If you have a vegetable garden, and young plants, you'll need more than the rain can provide.

Every month:

take pictures for documentation of what is blooming
write down in a journal or Google Doc what is doing well and what is not

What to do this time of year:

get your watering systems running, whether it's drip tape, sprinklers, or drip system
purchase 50% shade cloth and t-posts so you're ready
fertilize once a week with liquid fertilizer, once a month for granular
prune back overgrown plants like salvia and gaura (but it's also ok to let them go wild!)
watch and address bugs, they are coming in hot. I've had a recent attach of leaf footed bugs and they aren't backing down.
plan seeds like French breakfast radishes, cantaloupe, watermelon, luffa, okra, garlic chives, Armenian cucumber, yard long beans, sunflower and zinnia
plant eggplant, tomatillo, hot peppers, sweet potatoes, oregano, sage, roselle, hibiscus, marigold, and rudbeckia
start mentally planning what you want in your fall garden
if you really want to get ahead of the game, start tomato and pumpkin seeds for the fall. Make sure to read the packets for the number of days until maturity

Rooted Pick of the Month

Bee balm is my rockstar this month. I have two varieties. One is Lemon Beebalm, which is a Texas native. Don't ask me what the other one is because I lost the tag.

They are in the genus Monarda, and they are all beautiful. Their blooms do not last long, just a few weeks in the spring, but they are so worth it. They were covered in hummingbirds before they migrated, along with bees. Sometimes when the sun is just coming up, they almost glow in the morning light.

The Lemon Beebalm reseeds itself, so every year I have more come up in different places around the yard.

Garden Gossip

I have a sad tale to tell this month.

If you've been watching my Instagram stories, you may have seen a nest of barn swallow babies. There were five in this first brood, and one of them was a runt.

As they grew, I started calling him the Godfeather because he looked so much like a little mobster with four bodyguards.

Well, friends, unfortunately a hit was taken out on him.

The garden mourns the loss of our beloved fledgling Godfeather. May he rest in peace.

Come Grow With Me

It's a light month for classes since it's the beginning of summer. If you need my help, I'm only a text away!

You can sign up for a free Root Check call, where we'll look at your goals for your garden and determine which of my services would best support you on your gardening journey.