By Jenny Mandt, Owner, Garden Coaching Solutions

As this strangest year keeps plodding along, our gardens beginning to wane a bit in this mid-summer heat. Vegetables and flowers may be yielding a bumper crop, but your garden may not look as picture perfect as you imagined it to be. Plants are maturing, setting their fruit and seed, or even looking a bit worn. Foliage may begin to yellow; flowers start to slow down and sometimes plants just die. If your garden has any of these symptoms, here are a few perk up tips to keep it looking great the rest of the summer.

1. Adding fresh mulch along the edge of all your flower beds is a great way to spruce up your garden, especially after you have gotten the weeds out. Grab a bag or two and put an inch of fresh mulch around. You’ll be amazed at how great. this looks and it will keep the moisture in as well.

2. Speaking of weeds, now is a good time to get them out before they spread their seeds. This will reduce your weed problem next year.

3. Deadheading (removing spent flowers) can make the garden look a whole lot better. Some flowers might even rebloom later in the season and plants are stimulated to put on new growth. Perennials, annuals and even roses benefit from this.

4. Replacing dead, dying, or underperforming plants will add a new pop of color to that drab area in your garden bed or spruce up an outdoor pot. Pansies, violas, and some petunias planted earlier in the summer are looking leggy and weak. For just a few dollars you can pick out some flowering annuals to put in those spots that really need it. Zinnias, Coleus, Impatiens and Plumbago are great late summer bloomers to give you a few ideas. Getting to a garden nursery now can be a great time to get plants that have done well in your garden or you have seen done well in other peoples’ gardens at a discounted price. You will also have known by this this point what did well in your garden and what didn’t. Give yourself permission to take out what didn’t work. This will make way for something you would love to see in that spot!

5. Check for pests and disease on all your plants! The quicker you see pests and disease on your plants, the faster you can do something about it, and the pest or disease can be reduced. At this point in the summer, most plants have put in most of their growth and look a bit bedraggled. Not to fear though as removing the bad looking foliage and raking around the base of plants will help keep the pests and disease at bay. I’ll tell you my secret to help you figure out what critter or disease might be bothering your plant – WSU Extension Hortsense website - hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Home/HortsenseHome.aspx. This website covers every plant, tree, and shrub from ornamentals to vegetables to lawn and turf. Their approach, which I just love, is to treat the pest or shrub by all organic means first.

6. Plant a second crop of vegetable seeds that will germinate quickly in this weather. They will need a shade cover and to be kept cool. Mesclun, arugula, swiss chard, spinach and kale can all be seeded in the garden now. Fresh greens in September and October can be a wonderful treat.

With these improvements, your garden may not look perfect but there is plenty to celebrate. Try to savor all the successes and failures you have had and from which you have learned. If your garden is not at all that you expected, you can support our local growers and farmers by buying produce and flowers at a Farmers Market. Or you can call me (206) 915-0585, and I can help you with some ideas on what might improve your garden through the fall and winter month.

I’ve always felt that the garden brings me peace and calm. We need all the calm we can get right now.

Check out my Facebook page for lots of plant suggestions at gardencoachjenny or articles on my website to give you ideas on all sorts of gardening topics https://www.gardencoachingsolutions.com. Happy Gardening!