Summary: Pacific coast June marks the end of planting until autumn, variety in summer annuals increase interest in the garden. Introduce color harmonies and contrasts with annuals.
One of June’s big garden jobs on the West Coast is the settling in of summer seedlings, remember… drought is just around the corner. In many Pacific Coast climates early June marks the end of planting until autumn. Keep small plants growing by mulching, weeding and watering them. A happy life for the young is as important in the vegetable kingdom as in the animal kingdom.
A mulch can be a material such as peat or pine bark. We know better than to burn leaves, and instead, use these valuable “fertilizer tools” as mulch or in the compost. Pine needles are splendid for mulching tomatoes and chard; leaves raked from under persimmon trees are useful, too. But don’t cuddle your mulch close to eggplants or onions for they manage best without it.
California Summer Annuals
Having a variety of summer annuals increases gardening interest. A mixture may be a bit more work but it is great fun to introduce color harmonies and contrasts with these plants. Take Phlox drummondii, for instance, an annual which is a pronounced success in sunnier parts – pretty much anywhere snapdragons and stocks can be used as summer as well as winter annuals.
Play with the lovely buffs, pinks and purples available in flats; use them against soft greens and try some with petunias. New combinations will occur to you and next year you may want to send away for seeds of more exciting color forms. Seeds of native annuals can be sown in the heavy Fog Belt much later than in the Big Valley, the South or sunnier coastal sections. I have had success with some by sowing seed as late as June and have had the plants bloom all summer.
Iris Planting Plannning
If you have not planned your iris plantings for next year, do so now, for their flowers will soon be gone. A few natives and the bulbous iris are still in bloom. If you must plant iris near trees, remember that iris under evergreens are likely to get root rot. If your soil is very heavy, plant bearded iris in raised beds. Iris douglasiana and Iris hartwegi are good massed on banks. Iris culture has reached such a height that with a wise choice of the many species and varieties on the market you can have iris for many uses, soils and exposures, in almost any color and to bloom almost any month of the year.
Notes on Rock Gardens
Do you grow Pterocephalus parnassi (Scabiosa parnassifolia) from the mountains of Greece? It is in bloom now, a dense mat of sage green foliage on unseen stems with light pink scabinsa-like flowers which almost hide the leaves. It is an enduring plant and a ready grower. Rock garden campanulas are coming into bloom and many are the species listed by Northwest growers of rock plants.
Be sure your collection includes both the white and blue Campanula caespitosa (C. pusilla), as dainty a bellflower as there ever was. Cyananthus, a close relative of campanula, is a low species from the mountains of Asia is one of the best. Its lovely flowers – the bluest of blue alpines – are held upright at the ends of the stems. Different shades of blue are offered. All cyananthus must be given perfect drainage and prefer a little shade.
by R Lester
