The Veranda Linda Stewart Hertz, Staff Writer (July 31, 2003)
Summer Descent
“Descent: A downward slope. A passage or stairway leading down.” Random House Dictionary
“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.” Thomas Jefferson

Each year as the month of August nears, I always feel a certain relief. This means we are coming up over the hill with our summer heat. We are peaked out and starting the downhill climb headed to late summer. While going through my faxes of plant availabilities this morning, I noticed some growers will have vegetables in a few weeks. This also is a sign of late summer. The flowers they list are summer flowers that will take our heat and tolerate our humidity. The afternoon showers have been wonderful. However, when rain comes in late afternoon with the temperatures so hot, much of it evaporates right back up. So we still hand water anyway when necessary. At this time of year, it’s very important for plants to have space and air movement. Plants, whether in pots or planted in the garden can get fungus so quickly in high heat and humidity. At the nursery we are constantly moving plants apart and grooming, not only for fungus that may crop up, but to check for insects as well. The whitefly is one insect that is constantly causing havoc in the garden at this time of year. They seem to move in overnight. Gardenias and Crape Myrtles seem to be the most vulnerable to these insects each summer. If you notice a black soot on a leaf of a plant, this is a good indication whiteflies have been there. This is the residue they leave behind. You can wash down the bush or tree with soap and water, but generally I feel this is a lot of work with small results. The plant sometimes just looks bad the rest of the season. Come winter it will shed and new clean growth will appear next spring. To get rid of these pests I recommend a very light, summer weight insecticidal oil (fine oil). This can be used year round and can also be used to combat other small insects like aphids, spider mites, leafminers, mealybugs, etc. Be careful not to spray if it’s over 80°. Early morning or evening is the best time to spray. The oil only kills the infant whiteflies, not the adults. To get rid of the adults you need to hang whitefly traps or sticky flypaper. Within days you’ll be amazed at how many adults you capture. There are other more potent sprays to kill the adults, but I do not recommend spraying these chemicals in this heat. The other chemicals also may cause burning and damage to your plants as well as killing beneficial and desirable critters (like butterflies).
For anyone putting in new flowers there are still lots to choose from. For bedding flowers (mostly annuals) there are Coleus, Torenia (Summer Pansies), Zinnias, Begonias, Impatiens, etc. For perennials there are many more. Salvia, Butterfly Bush, Heather, Penta, Lantana, Rudbeckia, and Cone Flower all like the sun. Shade perennials include; Hosta, Impatiens(reseed), Caladiums, Astilbe and Stobilanthes (Persian Shield). The Hosta and Astilbe have flower spikes, while the Caladium and Strobilanthes are beautifully leafed plants that add a lot of color to the garden. At home this week, I have switched out flowers in planters. The spring Daisies finally gave up. I refilled these planters with Summer Pansies. They’ll bloom the rest of the summer and take me into fall Garden Mum season. I also set out a few more Cleome. These are flowers we remember from our grandmother’s gardens. These are also referred to as ‘Spider Plants’ because of the fine stamens that shoot off the petals. Cleomes get up to three feet tall and bloom in the hottest conditions. They constantly put seedpods out beneath the flower spike. I love flowers that reseed in the same season. Summer Pansies do the same.
As we come over our peak this summer, God has blessed us with rain and many sunny days. To a nursery woman, these are both wonderful for this business I do. I pick rainy days to repot. I finally split my large Petticoat Fern last week. We got six hanging baskets out of it. I shared one with a fern collector, who in return brought me a Walking Maidenhair Fern. I had a tiny slip of one years ago and did not have success with it. This time I will. I’m much more schooled on this fern this time around. As I sit on the porch this evening, it’s raining. A nice, gentle rain. A hummingbird is having supper on a flower just off to my left. As I watch him feasting, I’m delighted he chose my garden for supper tonight. This is one dinner guest I don’t mind coming back again and again. When the rain subsides, I’ll feel the need, as I always do, to plant just a few more flowers.

We’ll Talk Again,
L. Stewart Hertz