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City Gardening GODDESS JUNO HERALDS A BUSY MONTH
FOR BOTH BRIDES & GARDENERS Also new plants, new companies,
new pesticide legislation along with our regular monthly horticultural happenings, garden web and gardening news from recent
weeks
This Month’s Special Feature: A
GARDEN OF LOVE This month gains its name from
the Roman deity Juno. Goddess of young people, and marriage, the latter explains
why joyful June is pre-eminently a month for weddings. In years of yore, the
proceeding month of May was shunned as unlucky to be married in as it is named
after Roman goddess Maia, wife of Vulcan and patroness of old people, hence the
opposite of Juno. Statisticians now refute this their cheerful way by assuring
that those marrying in May have exactly the same divorce rate, as do June
brides. If June is a busy month for
brides, it is still more so for gardeners who are rarely to be divorced from
their hobby. First for those dedicated to doom and gloom, hence perceived risks
from West Nile virus (WNV), add guppies to your ornamental pool to eat any
adventuresome mosquito larvae. Empty birdbaths every day or so, clean with
dilute bleach to reduce the risk of spreading disease to feathered chums and
refill. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and
yard-long beans can be safely planted out the first week of June. The secret to
growing all these except the beans is rich loam, copious compost, adequate
fertilizer and a steady supply of moisture. Beans, as well as peas, are legumes.
These have evolved the neat trick of setting up symbiotic relationships with
certain bountiful bacteria who “fix” nitrogen into nitrates for the beans
benefit. Fertilize these is the vegetable equivalent of a junk food diet. They
end up all leaf, few or no pods – definite has-beens. Many home vegetable gardens are
limited by space available. Utilize every square foot (30 square centimeters for
metric fans) by growing tomatoes, beans and cucumbers up sturdy stakes.
Discarded hockey sticks, broom handles and those from politicians’ campaign
signs are far to flimsy and pessimistically short. Eight-foot-long,
two-inch-by-two-inch stakes hammered in a foot or more are called for. And
forget those plastic-coated wire twisty abominations when it comes to ties. Old
panty hose is soft, rot-proof and thus recyclable. At this point, bachelors are
on their own. If growing beets, be aware they
hate heat around the roots. Mulch generously with compost, last years’
shredded leaves or straw. Note that latter: straw: Never, ever, use hay as it is
liable to be filled with weed seeds. If these have been popping up like
politicians over the past few weeks, up and at ‘em now, before they do the
same, forming seeds and making a bad situation even worse. If getting down on
hands and knees lacks appeal, check out the nifty new as well as more classic
hoes at www.rittenhouse.ca. June is also a pruning month.
Early on, take in hand new cedars, junipers, spruce and yews by lightly sheering
them. The aim is to remove about half the new growth made this spring. The
timing here is critical. It cannot be left until later. The fresh, soft growth
will respond to such pruning by throwing out side shoots, making for a nice
dense bush. This is the secret behind those magnificent nursery specimens. It
also explains why older, neglected evergreens display all the charm of a bunch
of bottlebrushes. Pines, many supposed experts advise, may be “pinched” in a
similar manner. Ignoring the temptation to refer to pinching as a method of
Italian pruning, it should be noted that pins ooze gum in copious quantities.
Avoid a sticky mess by using scissors or hand pruners, cleaning up afterwards
with kerosene or rubbing alcohol. Deciduous spring flowering shrubs
such as forsythia come in for pruning this month. Lilacs and rhododendrons must
be deadheaded shortly after the blooms drop if they are to reliably flower again
next season. Look for the two fat buds immediately below the green seedpod that
has formed. Using thumb and forefinger, or scissors if preferred, snap off the
seedpod just above this pair of buds. Early in the day is a good time for this,
when the plants are still turgid. Roses will also require similar
deadheading as the blooms fade. When the entire stalk has ceased to flower, cut
it hard back, down to about two or three leaves from the base. This will prove
the old pruning adage: The harder you prune, the more growth you create. No
doubt though aphids have arrived on the scene. The easiest way to control these
revolting pests is to run the fingers up the stems and over the flower buds,
squishing as you go. As they expire, the aphids release a scent, which warns off
others of their ilk. Ugh! Ugh? Perhaps then it is not for all of us. So if you
must resort to sprays, one of the most reliable is insecticidal soap. Use this,
as with all such, at dusk when the good guys, lady beetles and the like are said
to be inactive.
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