How to fix that Summer Burnout in your Perennial Garden.

Member

By GreenGardenChic
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (17 Ratings)

Disgusting!

Yuck! Every year my garden goes from a beautiful spring display to the flattened out, yellowing and gray foliage of spent perennials. Let me show you how I get over that late-Spring/early-Summer garden lull. How I clean-up and get some new life into my bed that adds needed color all the way through fall.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Hand pruners.
Weeding tool, if desired.
Compost.
Organic, slow-release, all-purpose fertilizer.
A few fresh annuals (zinnias, dahlias, petunias, snapdragons, and impatiens will bloom profusely summer to fall).

Step 1

Those need to go.

First you're going to have to cut back the early-Spring bloomers. Things like poppies, delphiniums, and foxglove are finished for the season and the flowers and foliage can be cut to the ground (delph's might even re-bloom).
Step 2

Then the grooming: That sea of grey leftovers from forget-me-not's can be torn out. It's already spread next year’s seeds so it can go. I had to remove some Carex that browned out and was never coming back to beauty. It's going to be nice compost.

Plants like hardy geraniums that have spent flower buds just hanging on, will never look good again this season, unless you groom away the dead so the plant will re-bloom.

This would also be a good time to remove all of the old bulb foliage (tulips, daffs, alliums...). The leaves should be good and brown by now so they can go too.
Step 3

Baby Foxglove.

Weed, weed, weed, save the little seedling for next years plants, and weed. Clean out all of the grass, dandelions, maple seedlings, and a host of other unwanted thugs. Hopefully you're starting to see some clear patches of soil.

I always let some of my plants go to seed, so I'm careful about weeding around them and not just mistaking them for a weed and pulling them out all together.
Step 4

Organic fertilizer with my homemade compost.

Now is a good time sprinkle around the fertilizer. Your remaining perennials and the plants that are going summer dormant will appreciate the extra food.

I like to top-dress over the fertilizer with some fresh compost. I try not to cover up the seedlings, but I want to mulch the remaining plants and protect them through the dry hot days that are coming.
Step 5

Nurseries are stocked.

Take a step back to note your bare spots. You might even have some areas that will be bare soon, I have rhubarb that takes a giant amount of space in my perennial bed, but it's about to be picked clean. I'll need to save some of those annuals for that spot, even though it's looking pretty lush at the moment.

The local nurseries are still packed full of good annuals and they've begun making the move to things that will bloom late into fall. Many garden centers are having early summer plant sales. You might call ahead to find out.
Step 6

Much better (I don't really take care of grass).

While planting the annuals I add even more compost to the planting hole. It really helps get a jump on the flowers.

Water everything in really well. I've designed all of my gardens to be drought tolerant. That doesn't mean the plants are "drought loving it," it means that those plants can survive if the heat really hits or we have a water shortage and have to cut back on the H20.

2 things to remember: #1. All New Plants need regular water to get established root systems so they can be drought tolerant. Otherwise the dry soil around the root sucks away the struggling plants moisture and you will be responsible for the death of that plant (not the nursery, not the gardener, not your dog... YOU). #2. If you want that lush, magazine cover look to your perennial beds, you have to provide regular water. What you don't have to do for a drought tolerant garden is water everyday, but try to water before the plants wilt and then give them a good deep soaking. Even sedums wilt, but they bloom a thousand times better with regular water.