SUBMITTED BY WENDY HILTY
Summer in Your Gardens Our gardens, like us, are starting to feel the heat. Plants in full sun may wilt by the end of the day and this is normal. It is not so much our hot days as our warm nights that affect our plants this time of the year. Plants exhale or transpirate water every day and they need a cool catch up time in the evening to retain their moisture. With our nights, they do not get that, so they look a little droopy. Best time to water our lawns and yards? Very early in the morning. I set my irrigation to run at 4:30a.m. If you water when the sun is hot, the water will just evaporate before it soaks in and is taken up by your plants. If you water at night, you run the risk of fungal disease because the ground will be damp all night. Water is too expensive down here to waste. Learn how to run your irrigation system to its greatest advantage and if the forecast is for rain, turn it off!
Be sure to visit the Garden Clubs Butterfly Garden while you are out and about. It is at the corner of Callawassie Drive and South Oak Forest. It will get more and more colorful as the summer progresses.
It is not too late to plant seeds for continuous bloom until December. A great trick from our President, Laurie Staple, is to use take out containers as mini greenhouses to start seeds. The clear top has vents and lets light in. Just poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage, add soil (seed starting mix is best), plant your seeds, and set by a window or on a porch. I grew many sunflowers using this trick earlier in the spring.
It is not too early to write a check for your ‘22 - ’23 Garden Club dues. Dues are $15 for an individual or $25 per family. Our treasurer, Laura Comes, would welcome your check in her mail tube at 14 Wild Magnolia Lane. Make checks payable to “ Callawassie Island Garden Club. ”
Our Facebook page is updated weekly with gardening tips and there is a blog written especially for newcomers to Lowcountry gardening at http://www.comyagardener.com.
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