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.