With a changing climate, pressures on the garden are increasing with episodes of mass inundation of moisture from storms, as well as hot weather coming earlier in the season and bringing sustained periods of drought. To keep your garden looking its best this summer, it’s important to develop a game plan for how you’ll maintain your garden when traveling for vacation, and conserve moisture on hot, dry days.
While you are away: If you will be away for more than a week, then you might want to put out some strategically placed sprinklers with a timer so that the sprinkler comes on every 3-4 days.
Drip irrigation systems with a timer can be installed so that containers and window boxes can get regular waterings.
When in doubt, try to have someone stop by to check on your garden, and help make an assessment as to what needs water in your absence.
Don’t forget the houseplants: Deep watering houseplants before you leave for a vacation should provide them with enough moisture while you are away. For those that consume a lot of moisture, you can sit the plant in a plant saucer and add a little water as a backup.
Leaf compost: These are semi-composted leaves. Leaf compost is often available through municipalities and can include other composted materials as well.
Shredded bark mulch: There are various types of shredded bark, as it is the byproduct of various timber industries. This mulch will often last for most of the growing season but can also quickly dry out.
Composted chips: When an arborist sends branches through a chipper, it creates chips of various lengths and sizes. It is recommended to allow these chips to sit for a year before using them, however, they are especially helpful around the base of trees to help conserve moisture during the summer. If the chips are not properly “aged” then they can “rob” nutrients, especially nitrogen, from the soil.
Leaves: The “Leave the Leaves” movement refers to gathering your fall leaves and using them as a natural mulch in the garden. If the leaves are too large, they can be shredded and then applied to the garden beds. Leaving the leaves is the best type of natural mulch and is also very good for overwintering beneficial insects and pollinators.
Shade Loving Plants: Planting plants in shade or partial shade will create gardens that are much less vulnerable to drying out during periods of drought and heat stress, making it easier to maintain your garden while traveling or while contending with hot, dry conditions.
Additionally, there are many shade-loving native plants, including many selections of the foam flower, Tiarella. ‘Brandywine’ is a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal selection for clumping foliage, spikes of white flowers in the spring and semi-evergreen leaves.
While many of the native aster thrive in full sun, the wood aster, Eurybia divaricata, can tolerate shade and blooms with tiny white flowers in the early fall. ‘Eastern Star’ is an outstanding selection.
There are many native ferns, but the Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides, with upright evergreen fronds, is especially adaptable to rocky and very dry soils.
The genus Epimedium is an early spring flowering perennial that thrives in dry shade. The exquisite flowers appear before the foliage and there are species and cultivars in red, pink, purple, white and orange. This colonizing perennial grows in deep shade and needs minimal amounts of moisture.
The Lenten rose and Christmas rose, as well as other species of Helleborus have evergreen leaves and will start blooming around the end of the year and into March. The cup shaped flowers are one of the best flowering plants for the winter months, but also thrive in dry shade in the summertime.
Many of the plants native to the Midwestern prairies are excellent for hot dry conditions due to their taproots.
The coneflowers: There are many cultivars and selections of coneflowers. The purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea has dozens of cultivars including ‘Magnus’ and ‘Pica Bella.’ Echinacea paradoxa has yellow flowers and the popular pale coneflower, Echinacea pallida has soft pink reflexed flowers. The coneflowers attract a myriad of pollinators and are a great seed source for native finches, sparrows and the American Goldfinch in late summer and fall.
Beebalms: Many species of Monarda can take dry conditions including Monarda punctata and Monarda bradburiana. All the beebalms are deer resistant and excellent pollinator hosts.
Ornamental grasses: There are many prairie natives that are also ornamental grasses including the prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis; littlebluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium; big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii and switchgrass, Panicum virgatum. All are noted for their upright, architectural foliage that often has great fall color and winter interest.
Cactus and succulents: Throughout the United States there are many native cactus and succulents that are extremely tolerant of the heat and drought.
Throughout most parts of the United States there are some very hardy cacti, in particular, Opuntia and Cylindropuntia. Additionally, Adam’s Needle-Yucca is a desert-like plant with very upright and sharp leaves and a towering flower stem with white flowers. Some of these species include Yucca filamentosa, Yucca gloriosa and Yucca brevifolia.
While heat and drought can be a challenge in the garden during summer, keeping your garden thriving and looking its best can be simple if you select the right plants for the right places, and develop watering and maintenance habits that help preserve moisture for longer. When preparing to travel, one of the simplest ways to keep a garden watered and looking great is to set up timed sprinklers, utilize mulch where possible, and tap in a neighbor or friend to help keep up with watering in your absence. With these tips in mind, you can leave for your next vacation or simply enter this summer season feeling confident your garden will continue to thrive.
Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Horticulture at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and leads the utilization of planting and design to promote environmentally sound gardening practices at PHS. Andrew has worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer Garden, and the Scott Arboretum for a tenure of 27 years. He has received the American Public Gardens Association's Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, and the Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He also serves on the Board of Magnolia Society International. Andrew published his first book in 2015, "The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias".
To learn more about The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, please visit PHSOnline.org.
