I'm going away for a few days, so I'm trying to get in a little garden maintenance before I leave.

First up is staking the lillies. Now that the peonies are finished blooming, I can use the peony cages to give the towering lillies some support. Nothing more disappointing than having a big beautiful lilly stalk hit the ground because the stem can't support the weight of all the blooms. A few of my lillies have gotten so big over the last couple years, that I need to tie them to metal fencing stakes to give them enough support. But it's worth the extra effort when they bloom.

Something else to keep in mind is tying up some of your taller grasses. My zebra grasses are having a great season so far, but their great size is taking its toll on the smaller plants around them. After it rains, the grasses hang over the annuals, blocking out the sun and causing them to wither. So, it's my "magic ball of twine" to the rescue! I can't tell you how much I rely on this gardening rope.

Each year, as I dig out the gardening stuff, I look for the magic ball of twine. The longer it takes to find, the more anxious I get. This year I splurged on some new twine and was thrilled when I found it in the color of green!! (Surprising, the older I get, the odd things that excite me.) But you fellow gardeners know what I mean ... when you find something that works, you stick with it.

Anyway, it doesn't hurt the grass at all to tie it up. My zebra grass along the path gets tied right to the fence. This photo was taken this week. Just look how big it is already!

The zebra grass around the pond just gets twine wrapped around it twice for extra support. I always seem to underestimate how much the grasses will grow, and grow, and grow. When I first put it around the back end of the pond, I made a little foot path between the grasses and the pond edge not only for enjoyment, but so I could get back there for maintenance. Well, the grasses are hanging pretty far over the path, the dogs can still get thru, but, as you can see, tying them up was the only option for the humans.

Moving on, now is also the time to cut back those mums. Actually you should have cut them back at least once by now, and be sure to do it again on or before the 4th of July. That will keep the blooms back until late summer-early fall. Also cut back your daisies, phlox and bee balm. I know it sounds crazy, but cutting them back will encourage them to branch out and ultimately lead to more blooms.

And now that the irises are pretty much done blooming, you can cut all that green foliage back to 6-8 inches if you desire a cleaner look in your flower beds or just to make more room for upcoming flowers. Also, cut back your Columbine, they should be done blooming by now, and it's goodbye to the bleeding hearts till next spring. And yes, I've relented and cut back my daffodil greens. I'm willing to take the chance that they've had enough sun to build up they're blooms for next year.

And make sure you get those tomato cages out on the tomato plants. It's a lot easier to put them on when the plants are small, rather than wait till you actually need them. You can usually find tomato cages at your local nursery or big box garden center (Lowes/Home Depot).

So have a great weekend and enjoy the great weather in your backyard oasis!!

P.S. - This Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. is your final chance to get to the Oley Valley Perennials Open House Sale, 675 Covered Bridge Road, Oley (one mile north of Yellow House). For information check the Garden Gal archives.

I finally got over my Gardener's Block this past weekend and stopped marvelling at my purchases and started actually planting them!
I tried my best to start with the perennials. Afterall, they're the ones that will more or less occupy their spaces for a long time to come.
First off, my order from Breck's. Pictured first is the Little Blue Wonder Sea Holly. It's a smaller, bushier version of the original Blue Sea Holly, which I purchased from Michigan Bulb last year. While not much happened with the larger version last year, they are coming up really well so far this year.
Isn't the bloom interesting? Not only the extreme blue color, but the feathery petals really caught my attention too. Anyway, I thought I'd try the smaller version just to see which one I like better. It got a nice placement by the Lighthouse and is just starting to break the surface right now.
Next up is the Astilbe in Amethyst. I already have 3 Astilbe's in pink, red and white in my shade garden and couldn't resist this lavendar version. I've had great luck with these. The Astilbes provide a really nice follow-up to the Bleeding Hearts when they fade. Yes, another shade-loving plant that actually blooms!

And, finally, the Columbines. Described as "a beautiful plant with graceful flowers that are highly attractive to hummingbirds," Columbines will bloom from spring to early summer in our area. They average 1-3 ft. tall and about 1 ft. wide, do well in partial shade to full sun, and adapt to a variety of soil conditions.
I've never tried these before, but always liked their intricate-looking blooms. So instead of easing into it, I decided to go whole hog and get a bunch! My order consisted of the Giant Blue Barlow and a separate Giant Mix of six assorted Columbines. And if that weren't enough, I bought three more established Columbines at Glick's! One with a pretty pale yellow/pink bloom whose actual name escapes me and 2 William Guinness Columbines (pictured above) that feature a gorgeous dark purple bloom edged with white!
And speaking of hummingbirds -- we had our first tiny winged visitor Sunday afternoon. We spotted him on the patio tending to the unplanted annual Red Salvias! Remember, if you plant it, they will come ... take time to enjoy the wildlife that your garden attracts. Every garden provides an environmental habitat for something!