Is it any surprise I've been busy searching for a way to feed birds and banish slugs at the same time? Hardly; even though they're just trying to live their little slug lives, I have long been at war with this garden pest (my poor lupins appear to be their favorite restaurant).

I never learn my lesson; every year I lovingly grow plants, admire the first fresh leaves and wait for those beautiful flowers to arrive... only to find that the slugs have beaten me to it. However, I have always had a much softer spot for another garden visitor: birds – they can eat every single one of my strawberries and I will forgive them without question.

My obsession started when my granddad first taught me how to identify common songbirds by their calls. He'd point out a trill or a whistle before I had even spotted the bird itself, and ever since then I've been fascinated by the tiny flashes of color, movement and personality that appear in the garden – particularly when it comes to my birth month bird, obviously. And what the bird that visits my garden most says about me.

So when I discovered there might be a way to combine my two garden passions (aka encouraging more birds while dealing with slugs naturally), you'd best believe I was immediately interested.

How To Feed Birds And Banish Slugs At The Same Time

it sounds too good to be true, right? And yet the idea is surprisingly simple: if you want to feed birds and banish slugs at the same time, al you have to do is take a leftover orange or grapefruit, cut it in half and place the empty halves around the garden.

That's it. Done. Finito! The fruit acts as a small feeding station for visiting birds like orioles , while the cool, damp space beneath the rind can provide a tempting hiding place for slugs.

According to Richard Green, a bird feeding specialist at Kennedy Wild Bird Food & Pet Supplies, the idea works because it brings two parts of the garden ecosystem together.

“Using citrus-fruit traps is a fantastic, natural alternative for pest control in the garden. Cutting an orange or grapefruit in half and placing the halves throughout your garden can serve a dual purpose. Birds are drawn to the fruit, and slugs are attracted to the leftover rinds," he says. "Once the slugs gather, the birds will return to eat them, creating an effective and eco-friendly way to manage pests.”

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Now, I should say that I don't expect a grapefruit half to single-handedly solve every slug problem overnight, but I love the idea behind it. Rather than declaring war on every creature that wanders into my flower beds, this feels like a way to work with nature – giving birds another reason to visit while making my garden slightly less appealing to its tiniest (and hungriest) enemies.

All hail, then, the power of the citrus fruit! I shall be taking care to share my breakfast grapefruit with my feathered friends from now on...

As soon as hummingbirds have done raising their brood, they start growing new feathers so they’re in tip-top shape for their fall migration. So right now, they’re in full plumage preparation, and there’s a simple way you can help hummingbirds get their feathers fully flight-ready, no matter how big or small your garden. You see, hummers need water to clean and preen their feathers, but they have super-short legs so don’t often land in bird baths. Instead, they seek out fountains and waterfalls where they can fly through airborne sprays of water – and that’s where you come in.

Adding a cheap floating solar-powered fountain to your bird bath – or, even better, fashioning a purpose-made hummer splashpark with a container and said garden gadget – will give hummingbirds the sprays of water they’re looking for at this time of year. Making a garden feature with a floating solar fountain is cheap, easy and sounds just as lovely as it looks. And boy, is it fun to watch those speedy hummers scooting though!

In the north, hummers begin their epic fall journey in August; in southern states, September to October is peak travel time – so now is the exact right moment to support hummingbirds in this simple way.

It’s estimated that 8-10% of adult hummingbirds die during the fall migration (the figure is devastatingly high among juveniles making their first journey, with a 60-70% mortality rate), and having plumage in prime shape makes a difference. Clean, preened feathers are essential for insulation and waterproofing as well as efficient flight – and you’ll understand why these are all such critical factors when you consider that many species must fly a non-stop marathon of 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico as part of their migration.

Ready to help? Here’s everything you need to know to make a quick garden fountain this weekend, and help our feathered friends on their way.

How to Make a Fountain For Hummingbirds

It’s quick and easy to make a fountain for hummingbirds, but there are a few critical factors to get right if you want lots of hummers to use their new garden spa facility.

1. Choose the Right Container

Many bird baths aren’t wide enough to house a floating solar-powered fountain – not because the fountain won’t physically fit in the basin, but because the spray falls outside the rim so water quickly empties. If your bird bath has a large diameter, great. If not, there are all sorts of ways to DIY a bird bath on a budget by using upcycled or reclaimed items or cheap vessels such as plant-pot saucers and animal stock feeders, and making your own means you can choose whatever diameter you fancy.

For water to be safe for hummingbirds to land in, it must be incredibly shallow: no more than a ½ inch deep. So, you may want to keep your existing bird bath as is for most of your feathered friends and make an additional hummingbird fountain. Because hummers are very unlikely to land – and if they do, they'll sit on the fountain itself – you can use a bigger, deeper container that holds a far greater volume of water so it won’t need topping up every day. A wider container also means you can use a more powerful floating solar fountain to create a higher, fuller spray of water for hummingbirds to enjoy.

You don’t need to buy an expensive water bowl, as you probably already own a perfectly suitable container. It’s a simple job to seal the drainage hole of an old planter or make a vintage vessel watertight with a marine silicone sealant like this from Amazon. Pots intended for succulents typically don’t have drainage holes, or have a hunt in your local hardware store for a budget utility tub.

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If you are using a deeper container, do fashion a ramp from a piece of wood so any critters who fall into the water can climb out safely, or add a purpose-made wildlife ramp such as this from Amazon.

2. Match the Fountain Power to the Container Size

So you don’t continually lose water over the sides of your bird bath or container, it’s important to match the power of the solar fountain to the size of the vessel it’ll sit in. The amount of energy the solar panels are capable of generating is measured in watts. For a bird bath fountain, a 1W or 1.5W product is plenty powerful enough. In a larger container, a fountain that’s at least 2.5W will power a higher spray and stronger flow of water. Don’t be tempted by a fountain that’s above 5W as these are designed for larger bodies of water.

Choose a product with stabilising arms as these will stop the fountain floating close to the container rim, minimizing water loss. A fountain that comes with plenty of nozzles will allow you to select a spray pattern that falls within the bowl, too. For longevity in a container, it’s also a smart move to look for a fountain with run-dry protection so it automatically shuts down when there’s insufficient water.

If you want to position your hummingbird fountain in partial shade, or want it to operate on cloudy days, you’ll need a product that has a battery. A fountain without a battery will only operate when sunlight is hitting its solar panels; a fountain with a battery will store energy to run in-between times. A battery size of 2000mAh or higher will typically run a fountain for 3-4 hours without sun on a full charge.

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3. Find the Optimum Spot for Your Hummingbird Fountain

Considering the perfect position for your hummingbird fountain will make all the difference to how often it will be used, and how much it will benefit your feathered friends. Placing the fountain within 20 feet of an existing nectar feeder will ensure birds find it quickly. Airborne water naturally cools the air, so think where it might bring you or your plants some benefit, too.

While you need direct sunlight to power the fountain’s solar panels – and sparkling sunlit water droplets and reflections will also attract hummers – if you've chosen a fountain with a battery, then a little shade will lessen evaporation meaning you won’t need to top up as often. A spot that gets around 6 hours of sun a day is the ideal compromise. If it's sheltered, all the better, as wind will also accelerate water loss.

The airspace around the fountain must be fairly clear. While hummers will appreciate perches to preen within 6 feet of the fountain, it’s important it's sited well away from dense shrubs or other cover where cats and other predators could hide. Hanging up hummingbird swings such as these from Walmart is a great solution.

Once you’ve found the perfect spot, put your bird bath or container in place, fill with water, add the floating fountain and wait for the hummers to arrive.

Why a Garden Water Feature Helps Hummingbirds So Much

While hummingbirds get most of the fluid they need from supping nectar, water is vital to the feather-cleaning process. If they have easy access to a suitable water supply, it’s thought hummers bathe around four times a day. With any sticky residue from their diet of flower nectar and sugar water preventing feathers from performing properly, it's no wonder they’re such frequent bathers.

After dampening their feathers, hummingbirds will perch and preen, using their bills to spread natural oils and zip up the feather barbs, an especially important process during their annual molt. At this time of the year, hummingbirds have begun the gradual process of losing and replacing their feathers, and at the moment will be molting their body feathers (the molting process then halts during migration, and wing and tail feathers are replaced once birds have reached their wintering zone).

Landing in water is risky for hummingbirds as their legs typically measure less than half an inch, and completely saturating their feathers can leave them unable to fly and vulnerable to drowning as well as being snatched by predators. So hummers prefer to shower rather than bathe, darting repeatedly through sprays of water. Imagine if everyone with garden bird baths created the right conditions for hummers to clean their plumage: not only would feathers be fully migration-ready, but hummingbirds would save a heap of energy searching out suitable spots for a shower.

How to Make Your Fountain Into a Fab Garden Feature

Your new hummingbird fountain looks fabulous just how it is, right? Well, there are all sorts of easy ways you can upgrade it another notch to be a standout garden feature. Use a solar-powered floating fountain with LEDs to create a water feature to light up summer evenings in the garden. Or how about introducing a second, wider planter beneath to DIY a fountain planter for colorful flowers as well as cascades of water and flurries of feathers? Microponds using solar fountains are a huge trend this year, so you could add serious style to your backyard design while helping hummingbirds.

As quick and clever ideas for garden containers go, making a hummingbird fountain is a sure winner.

What Else to do to Support Hummingbirds Before the Great Migration

• Keep feeders clean and filled with sugar water prepared to the correct concentration. This will fuel not only your resident population of hummers but also birds passing through if you’re on a migratory route. Keep feeders filled for two weeks after you see the last hummingbird.
• Act now to fill your garden with fall nectar. Choose perennial plants that flower well into fall and, if you’re on a budget, there are lots of fast-growing annual plants you can still sow in midsummer that will speed from seed to bloom in as few as 45 days. Adding flowering groundcover to borders is another easy win for a long-lasting nectar buffet, or how about planting a hanging basket of nectarous blooms to feed hummingbirds?
• Use decals, such as these Suncatcher Stickers from Amazon, to prevent window strikes.

Late summer is a transition period in the garden. While many plants are still blooming and thriving, others are setting seed and preparing for the oncoming winter. Selective pruning now can help certain plants by managing unruly growth or even encouraging a second flush of flowers.

As a general rule, August is not the right time for heavy pruning on most plants. Focus on light maintenance cuts, deadheading, and strategic trimming to prepare these plants for winter.

Late Summer Pruning Tips

First, let’s revisit some pruning basics. Individual plants have their own needs, but these general rules will help you safely trim plants in late summer without encouraging too much tender new growth before colder weather arrives.

• Never prune with dull or dirty tools. Clean and sharpen your pruners or shears before you begin, as blunt blades can crush stems and leave ragged wounds, while contaminated tools may spread disease between plants. Bypass pruners are usually the best choice for making clean cuts through live stems. The Felco F6 Bypass Pruning Shears, available on Amazon, were rated the best pruners in our testing. To keep your blades performing well, use a Corona sharpener, also available from Amazon.
• Begin by removing the 3 Ds. That means removing dead, damaged, or diseased growth. These branches and stems can be taken out whenever you notice them, regardless of the season. Remove suckers and badly crossing or rubbing branches where appropriate, but avoid taking out large amounts of healthy growth at this time of year.
• Thinning or heading cuts? For most late-summer pruning, use thinning cuts rather than heavy heading cuts. Thinning involves removing a stem or branch at its point of origin to improve airflow and reduce congestion. Heading back shortens a stem to a bud or side branch, but it can stimulate fresh growth, so use it sparingly as fall approaches.
• Keep cuts light and purposeful. Focus on deadheading, tidying unruly growth, improving airflow, and maintaining the plant’s natural shape. Avoid hard renovation pruning unless the plant specifically benefits from it in late summer, and stop pruning early enough for any new growth to harden before the first frost.

Plants to Prune in August

August is not the time for widespread or heavy pruning, but a selective trim can benefit certain plants. These are some of the best candidates to prune now to control unruly growth, encourage fresh flowers, or prepare them for the season ahead.

1. Lavender

Lavender is a popular herb and small woody shrub prized for its delicate purple flowers, silvery foliage, and intoxicating aroma. It attracts pollinators and thrives in summer heat, tolerating drought conditions once established.

Lightly pruning lavender in August – after the final flush of flowers has faded – is a good way to maintain a tidy shape. In colder regions, do this early enough for any new growth to harden before your first frost date. If flowering continues late into the season, remove only the spent flower stems and wait until spring for shaping.

Otherwise, cut back the leafy green growth by no more than about one-third. Don’t cut into older, leafless woody growth, as it may not resprout.

2. Wisteria

Wisteria is a beautiful vine that blooms abundantly with hanging clusters of lilac-blue flowers. It’s great for covering arbors and pergolas and can also be trained into a small tree form. Due to being an extremely vigorous, fast-growing plant, wisteria requires twice-annual pruning to manage: once in late summer and again in winter.

To prune wisteria in summer, wait until the vine is finished blooming and then trim back the long, whippy shoots produced that year to about five or six leaves from the main branch. This controls its spread and encourages flower-bud formation. Leave selected shoots longer only where they are needed to extend the plant’s framework, and remove suckers at the base. In winter, shorten the same shoots again to two or three buds.

For tall wisteria, rather than balancing on a ladder, try a telescopic pole pruner, like Fiskars' 2-in-1 Extendable Tree Pruner and Pole Saw.

3. Rambling Rose

Rambling roses are climbing shrubs rather than true vines. They produce long, flexible canes that can be trained to grow up and over arbors, fences, walls, and other structures. Most are single bloomers, producing a spectacular flush of abundant blooms in early summer.

Late summer, after flowering, is a good time for routine rambling rose pruning. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased growth first. Then, remove about one in three of the oldest stems at ground level. Trim back the newer green growth a little and tie these canes to the support structure to keep them safe and healthy for next year.

4. Tomatoes

By August, all the hard work you have put into your tomato plants should finally be paying off with ripe fruits you can harvest until early fall. On the other hand, August is when indeterminate tomato plants can start to get a little unruly. Instead of just letting them go, a quick tidying prune now helps prevent disease and may lead to better fruit. Determinate varieties, however, generally should not be topped or heavily pruned because they produce a fixed crop.

To prune tomatoes, start by removing lower leaves that are touching the soil, along with yellow or diseased foliage. Thin dense upper foliage only where necessary to improve airflow, and remove suckers from indeterminate varieties. A thumb knife, like this one from Amazon, makes pruning tomato plants quick and easy.

About five weeks before your area’s expected first frost, remove new flowers, newly set fruit that will not have time to mature, and excessive new growth. Blooms opening later than this are unlikely to produce ripe tomatoes before frost, so removing them allows the plant to concentrate on fruit already developing.

5. Summer-Blooming Perennials

Many summer-blooming perennials look ragged and tired by August. Some declining herbaceous perennials that have finished flowering can be cut back to near ground level, but this treatment is not suitable for every plant. Trim back dead, yellowing, or diseased stems on plants that are still flowering. You can leave some flowers in place to develop seed heads to feed wildlife. Coneflowers and black-eyed Susans are particularly useful for this purpose.

Some of your perennials may flower once more if you trim them back in August. Coreopsis and catmint are good examples. Cut coreopsis back after its first display and shear catmint by about one-third to one-half once it finishes flowering. Deadhead spent flower spikes on perennial salvia and delphinium for a chance of more late-season blooms. With garden phlox, deadheading is more likely to extend the display and prevent unwanted seedlings than to produce a distinct second flush.

6. Herbs

Many leafy herbs benefit from regular harvesting in late summer, but avoid a hard cut on woody or perennial herbs as fall approaches. Oregano, mint, marjoram, and sage can be harvested or lightly trimmed, but remove no more than about one-third of a perennial herb’s growth at one time. This can encourage fresh leaves for a fall harvest without stimulating excessive tender growth before cold weather.

Many culinary herbs have their best flavor just before flowering, and leaf production often declines once they bloom. Deadheading spent flowers can encourage continued leaf production in many leafy herbs, although you may want to leave some flowers for pollinators or seed collection. In general, it’s a good idea to harvest your herbs throughout the growing season, both so you can use them and so that they continue putting out healthy growth.

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What Not to Prune in August

The above plants can benefit from a light to medium trim in August, but some plants should be left alone at this time of year. In particular, avoid pruning most spring-flowering shrubs in August. Many have already formed the buds that will produce next year’s flowers, and pruning now may remove them. Also avoid giving evergreens more than a light trim, as new growth stimulated late in the season may not harden sufficiently before winter.

For plants that benefit from an August trim, use a light hand, work with clean, sharp tools, and focus on shaping, deadheading, and removing damaged growth. Too much pruning can trigger tender new growth that may be damaged by cold weather.

Lovely summer weather is the perfect time for kids to enjoy the outdoors and let their imaginations run wild. I still look back fondly on the days I'd spend in my local park as a kid, making up pretend games with my brothers and seeing how high we could get from the ground on the swing set.

However, it would always be a shame when the play area was covered in bird poop. I used to bring kitchen towels along with me to put onto the seats of the swings to avoid sitting on it, or I'd just play somewhere else and accept defeat.

Attracting birds to your backyard is a worthy endeavor but sometimes they seem to poop in all the worst places! (If they have already done their business, check out our guide to cleaning bird poop). And if you're wondering why that seems to be, you've come to the right place. I talked to Bob Mulvihill from the National Aviary to learn why kids playsets are a magnet for bird poop as well as how it can be prevented. Here's what he had to share.

Why Do Birds Poop on Kids' Playsets?

If a bird needs to poop, they are going to poop anywhere, but there's a particular reason why the likes of kids' playsets end up pooped on more often than open spaces: they offer birds the perfect spot to perch.

As Bob explains: "Birds of all kinds naturally like to perch up off the ground to get a better view of their surroundings, and if there isn’t a rock, tree, bush, or fence post close by, but there is a swing set or scattered lawn toys, they will use those as perches instead."

Even if garden birds aren't perching there specifically to poop, after enjoying their time admiring the view from on top of your kids' playsets they might need to go before flying away.

There are a number of kid-friendly ways to make the likes of swing sets less appealing to perch on. However preventative measures such as bird spikes, which are commonly used in cities to stop pigeons from landing on buildings, are a rather dangerous option.

Child-Friendly Ways to Prevent Birds From Pooping on Playsets

You can't entirely prevent birds from ever being able to poop on your kids' playsets unless you put them away or fully cover them up when they're not in use. However, there are many methods out there to make kids' playsets less appealing to land on, which will significantly decrease the chance of birds perching on them while they do their business.

Bob recommends using a mixture of "plastic owls, reflective strips and wind spinners" to deter birds from the area. Seeing objects that are shiny or moving, as well as birds of prey, will make feathery friends think twice about where they land. You can find mylar reflective ribbon on Amazon. Though Bob also noted it's important to switch up what you're using as over time the bird visiting your yard will get used to the deterrents and ignore them.

Two other options Bob recommended are using bird repellent sprays like the Nature Stop Bird Repellent Spray from Amazon as well as ultrasonic bird repellers like this Solar Ultrasonic Repellent Device from Amazon.

The sprays contain natural essential oils that are harmless to humans but irritating to birds. Meanwhile the ultrasonic repellers emit a frequency of noise that birds don't enjoy hearing that humans won't be able to notice.

How to Clean Bird Poop Off of Your Playsets

It's best to remove any bird poop from your playsets before applying repellents so they can best adhere to the surface.

If the bird poop is still wet you can simply wipe it off using a cloth and a mixture of warm water and soap. But if you're dealing with stubborn dried patches of bird poop, laying a damp cloth on top of it to soften it can be really helpful in making it easier to wipe away.

You can also add some white vinegar into your cleaning water to sterilize the surface too if you wish. Don't forget to give metal surfaces like swing poles a wipe down with a dry cloth after you're finished cleaning to help prevent the development of rust!

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Deep watering is often treated as the only correct method – and for established plants it usually is. But a handful of situations exist where shallow watering with a light, quick soak of the surface actually does the job better.

Water deeply and less often. Most gardeners learn that rule early. For the plants it was written for, the advice is good. Roots follow water downward where the soil holds its cool through a hot, dry spell. A tomato reaching 12 inches (30 cm) shrugs off the kind of week that flattens something else that's only rooted at 2 inches (5 cm). So the rule holds. But it doesn't hold everywhere all the time.

Learning how to water your garden is partly about knowing which plants can even respond to deep watering. Roots do the answering. One reaching 18 inches (45 cm) down has options a lettuce seedling simply does not, so identical treatment from the hose or watering can lands very differently on the two plants. Watering depth ought to follow the roots rather than a general rule. Here's when shallow watering may be best.

When to Use Shallow Watering

A seed has no roots at all. It has a coat that has to stay damp until it splits, which happens in the top half inch (1 cm) of soil. Not much else about a seedbed matters at this stage in the growth cycle.

Send water 10 inches (25 cm) down and it sails right past that vital seed sprouting zone. Then it sits where nothing can reach it as the surface dries and germination stalls. Light and frequent shallow watering isn't a compromise when it comes to watering seeds – it's the best method.

Shallow-rooted plants also do best with shallow watering. Certain vegetables, like lettuce and spinach, never out roots much below the top few inches (8 cm) of soil, so a deep soak mainly waters dirt they will never reach and wastes resources.

Newly-laid sod is another plant that does well with shallow watering. It sits in the same position until it knits into the existing soil. Transplants want the surface damp for a week or so while the root ball hooks into the ground around it.

How to Shallow Water the Right Way

Gentleness matters more than volume for plants that prefer shallow watering. A hard stream of water creates holes, buries seed, and knocks seedlings flat, so break up the water before it lands.

This watering can with a long neck and fine spray pattern from Amazon turns a stream of water into a gentler shower similar to rainfall. Or an Orbit 33-inch shower hose wand from Home Depot does the same across a garden bed without any kneeling. The target is the top 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of soil. Water shallowly until the soil is damp all the way across and no puddles are standing anywhere.

Morning is the best time to water plants, since the surface dries by afternoon so nothing will remain wet overnight. Expect to go out daily to water in warm weather, sometimes twice a day during a windy stretch because a shallow root zone dries faster in wind.

A thin layer of EZ-Straw seeding mulch from Walmart spread over a seedbed slows down dry-out considerably and takes the pressure off daily watering needs. Check soil moisture with a finger before reaching for the hose out of habit.

Problems With Shallow Watering

There are a few drawbacks to shallow watering, so you should only do it in certain circumstances like I discussed above. One issue is that weed seeds sit right where shallow watering lands. They are the first thing a light daily watering feeds.

Damp foliage also suits fungal spores perfectly as well. In heavy soil, repeated surface-level shallow watering can turn heavy soil into a crust that seedlings then have to fight their way through. Salts build up on top of the soil as the water evaporates. This is a particularly bad problem when watering container plants.

But the biggest issue with shallow watering is the dependency it creates in your plants. Plants root where the water is, so a garden watered lightly forever grows a lightweight root system that can't take a missed day.

You can train plants to need less watering or more watering, though. Stretch out the watering interval once the seeds are up and growing as seedlings. Add volume slowly after that, so the roots go chasing moisture downward instead of waiting on it. Shallow watering is a phase, not a complete lifestyle. Unless they're very shallow-rooted, mature plants need more water than seeds.

When NOT to Shallow Water

Established trees and shrubs get nothing from a surface sprinkle, since their feeder roots are well out under the canopy and several inches down under the surface of the soil.

Fruiting vegetables have the same problem with worse consequences. A tomato or pepper carrying a crop needs steady moisture deep in the soil. The swing between a damp surface and dry root zone can cause blossom end rot by making it more difficult to take up calcium. Lawns past establishment want a deep soak as well.

Anything already stressed by drought needs a real drink rather than a dribble. A light sprinkle in that situation encourages roots to come up looking for water that won't be there tomorrow. Skip shallow watering during hot, windy afternoons when much of what leaves the hose never reaches the soil.

Containers are another exception. They want water until it runs out the drainage holes every time, no matter how shallow-rooted the plant in them happens to be.

I have reached that point in summer where I look around my house and feel like I owe several apologies to my houseplants. The heatwaves have been relentless, the air feels so dry my own thirst levels are at forever at maximum, and somehow the plants I thought I understood have decided this is the year they test my patience.

Yes, every single one of my houseplants is wilting and drooping like made – and even my beloved mold-solving ivy has betrayed me. I know, I know; I never thought I'd say that either. Ivy has always been the plant I could rely on, but lately it has been looking deeply unimpressed with the whole situation, dropping leaves, turning a les-than-fetching brown color, and generally acting as though it would like to speak to my manager.

Thankfully, though, there is one houseplant that well and truly has my corner: my snake plant is standing there looking almost offensively healthy. Quite honestly, it's standing straighter than I am in this horribly hot weather.

All Of My Houseplants Are Dying In The Heat... Except For This One

Yes, you guessed it; my snake plants have become the smug survivors of my indoor garden (just call them the sexy cockroaches of the houseplant world). They don't care that the temperature has climbed or if I succumb to my overheated state and forget about them for a while. And they certainly don't need the constant attention that some of my more dramatic houseplants seem to demand in a heatwave.

Snake plants, also known as Sansevieria or Dracaena trifasciata, have earned their reputation as one of the easiest houseplants around (some even call them unkillable houseplants) for good reason. Primarily because their thick leaves store water and help them cope with dry conditions.

This means that, unlike many tropical houseplants that wilt dramatically when they miss a watering, snake plants are designed to handle periods of neglect. In fact, the biggest mistake many people make with them is being too kind.

Basically, snake plants are some of the best houseplants to tend to during a heatwave because they don't want constant watering or soggy soil. Their roots prefer to dry out between drinks, which makes them ideal for anyone who loves plants but occasionally forgets they exist.

They also tolerate a surprisingly wide range of indoor conditions, from bright indirect light to lower-light corners where many other houseplants struggle. No wonder that, despite long being associated with offices and waiting rooms, they've become one of the trendiest houseplants going.

And you don't just have to stick to the classic yellow-edged 'Laurentii' (even if it's still a favorite), as there are so many more interesting options now. 'Moonshine' has silvery-green leaves that almost look painted; 'Black Coral' has deep green foliage with striking dark tones; 'Bantel's Sensation' has elegant narrow leaves with creamy vertical stripes; and the dramatic Whale Fin snake plant has a single enormous paddle-shaped leaf that looks like something from a designer plant showroom.

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The best part about investing in a pretty new snake plant of your very own? These are exactly the kind of plants that reward you for doing less. After years of trying to keep fussier houseplants from dying in the heat (or throwing a dramatic flop over some other perceived slight), there's something wonderfully satisfying about having a plant that simply gets on with life.

Honestly, while my ivy is currently staging a dramatic protest and several other houseplants are wilting more than I am, my snake plants remain completely unbothered. We could all learn something from them.

When you think of succulents, you might assume they need endless hours of sunshine and warm temperatures all year long to survive. While that is certainly true of some species, there are many that are far tougher than most people realise. In fact, several hardy succulents that love summer heat are equally capable of surviving freezing winters in the backyard.

Take Sempervivum, or houseleeks. They come in countless shapes, colours and forms. They are striking, yes – succulent and a little strange – but they are also remarkably hardy, tolerating winters down to USDA zone 3. So, if you have a gravel garden, rockery or sunny border that needs evergreen interest throughout the year, this resilient plant is one to consider. For a plant with a more dramatic character, look to the prickly pear. Native to much of North America, it has adapted to cope with blistering summer temperatures as well as surprisingly cold, frosty winters down to zone 5, making it one of the toughest succulents for outdoor growing.

If you want colourful, low-maintenance plants that shrug off scorching summers and freezing winters alike, here are six fabulous succulents to try in your yard this year.

1. Lewisia

Lewisia may be small but, when plants burst into flower in spring, it's unforgettable. Masses of jewel-like blooms in shades of pink, peach, orange, yellow and white are produced above neat evergreen succulent rosettes and, while the plant itself only grows to around 1-3 inches tall, each flower can be 3 inches across.

Native to the rocky hillsides and mountains of western North America, Lewisia rediviva has evolved to thrive in places where many other plants would simply give up. Hardy in zones 3 to 8, lewisia is ideal for alpine beds, rockeries, gravel gardens or tucked into the cracks and crevices in the yard. It's a heat-tolerant plant, although gardeners in the hottest southern states may find it benefits from a little afternoon shade. Lewisia 'Rainbow Mix' hardy succulent plants are available from Walmart.

2. Houseleeks

Hardy to around zone 4, houseleeks are native to rocky mountain regions across Europe, where they have adapted to survive blazing sunshine, poor soils and freezing winters. Their botanical name, Sempervivum, literally means 'always alive' in Latin, which tells you much about their resilience. Their common name, hen and chicks, refers to how it spreads, with one central plant (the hen) producing a crowd of offshoots (the chicks).

There are all sorts to choose from: take a look at the wide selection of houseleeks stocked by Plant Addicts for an idea of the vibrant range of colors available. A particular favorite is Chick Charms Gold Crown, available from Plant Addicts and hardy down to zone 3, with striking red leaves tipped in golden yellow.

Whatever variety of these drought-tolerant plants you opt for, be sure to give them a sunny position in gravel gardens, terracotta pots or simply directly into your borders. Sempervivum need free-draining, gritty soil so if needed, add horticultural perlite such as this from Amazon to soil to help prevent waterlogging.

3. Hardy Aloe

Most aloes are remarkably tender and need frost-free conditions to survive. There is, however, one notable exception. Hardy aloe, or Aloiampelos striatula, can cope with temperatures down to around zone 8, making it a realistic option for gardeners across parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas.

Native to the mountains of South Africa, where hot, dry summers are followed by mighty cold winters, this is a succulent that can tolerate extremes. It has attractive striped green stems and, in summer, produces tall spikes of orange-yellow flowers that are a little like those of red hot pokers (Kniphofia).

Hardy aloe plants are available from Heron's Head Nursery. Position in full sun and free-draining soil, and – depending on conditions – it can grow to a height of 6 feet. In particularly cold winters, the foliage may look a little worse for wear, but don't panic – it should produce fresh growth in spring.

4. Yucca

Some of the easiest succulents to grow outdoors are yucca, and they're a popular choice not just because they're so drought tolerant, but on account of their architectural form. Silver-leaved plants are attracting plenty of attention of late: not only do their cool blue-grey tones create calm, contemporary planting schemes, but they are often some of the toughest plants for climate-proofing a yard. Yucca rostrata is hardy down to zone 5 with an architectural crown of spiked silver foliage. Yucca rostrata plants are available from Exotic Cactus Collection via Amazon and, while it's capable of eventually growing to 13 feet, this is an incredibly slow grower.

A better choice for a smaller garden is Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' which boasts golden-yellow variegated foliage and is evergreen down to zone 4. Only reaching 3 feet high with an upright, compact habit, Yucca Color Guard plants are available from Nature Hills.

5. Ice Plant

Ice plants are some of the hardest-working groundcover plants for hot, dry gardens, carpeting the soil with masses of daisy-like flowers for months from early summer through to fall. The fleshy evergreen foliage is almost hidden beneath masses of bright blooms, creating a rather pretty display that bees and butterflies cannot resist. Low growing, this succulent is ideal for edging paths or lining the front of borders.

For maximum flower power, look to more modern ice plant series, bred to bloom particularly abundantly, and Plant Addicts stocks a great selection. Kaleidoscope by Proven Winners is hardy down to zone 5 in vibrant tones from dramatic Pink Radiance to crimson Dancing Embers. Ocean Sunset by Proven Selections is a little less hardy, suitable to zone 6, and has particularly intense colors, especially the Violet variety.

Add hardy ice plants to your borders and they will thrive in full sun and poor, sandy or gravelly soils where many other flowering perennials would struggle. Once established, no supplemental watering is needed.

6. Prickly Pear

Prickly pear, or Opuntia, proves that tough plants can be beautiful too. Hardy down to zone 5, this native cactus naturally grows across the deserts and grasslands of the United States and Mexico, where scorching summer days are often followed by surprisingly cold nights. That ability to cope with extremes makes this one of the best succulents for year-round growing outdoors.

With paddle-shaped evergreen stems, vibrant yellow, orange or pink flowers and colourful fruits, prickly pears bring plenty of architectural interest to sunny borders. It thrives in full sun and poor, sandy soil, needing very little water. Sizes range from 6 inches to 15 feet high and wide, depending on the species, so there's sure to be one that fits your garden perfectly. These purple prickly pear plants from Walmart reach a manageable 1-2 feet at maturity.

One word of warning: the spines and tiny hair-like glochids come with a warning. Position these plants towards the back of a border in large yards rather than beside paths or seating areas, particularly if children or curious pets regularly use the space.

The Secret to Overwintering Succulents

Whichever of these succulents you choose, success is determined by how free-draining the soil is. Succulents dislike sitting in rich, moisture-retentive soil, and excess moisture is a bigger killer than cold. Give your succulent the free-draining conditions it needs and it will cope with far lower temperatures than if planted in a wetter environment.

Mix sand, gravel or coarse grit into the soil and, if your ground is on the soggy side, grow your succulents in containers, raising the pots on risers such as these pot lifters from Amazon. Resist the urge to over water, too: succulents would much rather be too dry than too wet, whether grown in borders, gravel gardens or patio pots.

More Striking Hardy Succulents to Try

To find out more about inspirational gardens and gardening, read The Garden Through Time by Thomas Rutter, available from Amazon. From Persian paradises to New York’s High Line, this volume offers practical ideas and plant selections to help you design a gorgeous, low-maintenance garden.

My worst nightmare is strolling through a field on a hot summer day with no trees in sight. That’s one of the reasons I planted over 200 trees on my property in France. I have sheltered under a tree to block the Basque Country’s famous south wind, to escape the worst of the rain, and to shelter from the blazing summer sun. Shade trees offer real protection from the elements Sited appropriately, they can even help to keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, cutting utility bills.

Beyond energy savings, a shade tree’s cooling canopy can completely alter your backyard's microclimate. Ambient air temperatures beneath a mature shade tree can be 10°F cooler than surrounding sun-baked asphalt or bare turf, creating a far more comfortable, refreshing outdoor space in summer heatwaves. When you plant trees for shade, you get other benefits, too. They filter dust and reduce storm water runoff. They provide color and movement, often with dazzling displays as the seasons shift. They also provide year-round sanctuary for local songbirds and pollinators.

And the best part? You don't have to wait decades to reap these rewards, if you choose rapid-growing, adaptable species. Planting these shade trees will transform your sun-scorched backyard into a cool retreat that offers months of interest and years of protection. Whether it’s lush movement, fiery fall colors, winter bark texture, or sweeping umbrella branches you’re after, these fast-growing shade tree varieties are easy to maintain and even easier to love.

Plant Fast Growing Shade Trees

When planning to buy and plant live trees in summer, go for potted specimens over bare-root stock. Potted trees arrive with root systems encased in moist soil, giving them a great head start. August planting can work well (especially in USDA hardiness zones 5-8), as long as you have checked in with your soil levels and water sensibly. Check moisture levels in the ground before planting. Use a dedicated tool like the Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon to determine soil moisture at the root level. This will help you give your sapling the best hydration.

Soil meters can also help you with other useful checks, such as light, pH and nutrient levels, to form a picture of overall health. You can then make any adjustments needed before your tree goes in the ground (which is the best time). Where soil is compacted, add a little coarse sand or perlite, and a pinch of biochar. This helps with drainage and can encourage healthy root development as the seasons shift into fall and winter.

In August heat, leaves can lose moisture faster than the young tree roots can pull it from dry ground. So make sure you deep-water your new tree. Make a bit of time for a slow soaking 2-3 times a week, in the first few weeks after planting. Additionally, apply a 2-3-inch (5-8 cm) layer of mulch around the base to help with moisture retention. Choose an organic option like Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch on Amazon around the base, keeping it a couple of inches away from the trunk.

Finally, when choosing one of these shade trees, it helps to manage your expectations about growth rates. A fast-growing shade tree generally gains 2-4 feet (60 cm-1.2m) in height per year once fully established, compared to the 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) of slower growers. However, when planting during late summer, consider the tree's immediate priorities. It will not immediately surge up. Instead, it directs its energy into root establishment before winter dormancy, setting the stage for expansive top growth in spring that will keep you cool for many summers to come.

1. Autumn Blaze Maple

This maple is a fast-growing favorite that reaches 40-50 feet (12-15 m). It’s known for its dazzling fall color and a naturally sturdy branch structure that requires little pruning. Autumn Blaze (Acer x freemanii) also has excellent tolerance to drought pollution. Known as one of the fastest-growing shade maples, it adds 3-5 feet (90 cm-1.5 m) per year, forms a dense canopy, and grows up to 4 times faster than a typical red maple. You can buy Autumn Blaze from Fast Growing Trees, and smaller Autumn Blaze Maples from Amazon for a more budget-friendly alternative.

Also known as a Freeman maple, this hybrid combines the intense color of the red maple with the rapid growth and soil adaptability of the silver maple. Plant in well-drained soil and full sun to part shade in zones 3-8. While tolerant of heavy clay, it prefers slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 6-7). To nourish young root systems through their first winter, use a little TPS Nutrients Maple Tree Fertilizer from Amazon to nurture root resilience, and water frequently until established.

2. Heritage River Birch

If you love the dramatic look of birch, but your area is prone to hot summers, this birch variety (Betula nigra 'Heritage') is a gorgeous 4-season specimen. Reaching 40-50 feet (12-15 m) with a 30-40-foot (9-12 m) spread, this multi-stemmed beauty grows rapidly at 2-3 feet per year. It provides a dappled canopy for shade-loving perennials to thrive beneath, and flourishes in zones 4-9 in full sun to partial shade. As well as being fast growing, the Heritage River Birch, available from Fast Growing Trees, is also resistant to diseases like the bronze birch borer.

This shade tree’s defining feature has to be its bark, which peels back in layers of cream, salmon and cinnamon to provide striking winter interest. River birches thrive in moist, acidic soils (pH 6.5 or lower), but they struggle in highly alkaline conditions. For summer planting, keep the soil moist, as drought can cause premature leaf drop. To protect foliage from fungal spots and powdery mildew in humid weather, treat leaves with a little Arber Organic Bio-Fungicide Concentrate, available from Lowe’s.

3. Northern Red Oak

This fast-growing shade tree is a native, and considered a national treasure. It’s also one of the easiest to grow in zones 3-8. While oaks are considered slow growers, the northern red breaks the mold, gaining 2 feet (60 cm) a year. In the right spot, this red oak reaches a massive 60-75 feet (18-23 m) tall, with equally impressive spread. The northern red oak (Quercus rubra) is known for its green lobed leaves, the acorns it produces, and its phenomenal fall foliage. Buy Northern Red Oaks from Fast Growing Trees for year-round character.

Red oaks prefer full sun and acidic, well-drained soil (pH 5–6.5). Avoid planting in chalky or high-pH soils, which stunt development. You should also never prune between April and October. To ensure steady nutrient delivery, add some Jobes Slow Release Slow Release Fertilizer Spikes from Amazon. As well as affording us shade in summer, this tree’s dense canopy provides food and shelter for birds and native wildlife. It’s long living, famously low maintenance, and a stellar choice.

4. Red Sunset Maple

This fabulous red maple cultivar (Acer rubrum 'Franksred') has a great branching structure and really delivers on color. If you’re after a fast-growing shade option that can bring on the dynamics, this deciduous tree is known for its winter buds, leaf stems and summer fruits, as well as its vibrant fall color. It grows quickly to 50 feet tall (16m) and 40 feet (12 m) wide. While Autumn Blaze is celebrated for raw speed, Red Sunset also brings awesome structural strength. You can buy Red Sunset Maples from Fast Growing Trees for dazzling early fall color and resilience.

Red Sunset thrives in zones 4-8, and grows best in a spot with full sun and moist, acidic, well-drained soil, although it won’t object to wet soil, so it’s a good choice for yards with poor drainage. If planting in August, give this tree deep, regular soakings. To keep the soil acidic and nutrient-rich around the root system, dress the base with Espoma Organic Holly-Tone Fertilizer from Walmart to enhance fall pigmentation.

5. Weeping Willow

I don’t have a weeping willow (Salix babylonica) on my property in France, and my backyard’s just not big enough in San Francisco. But a neighbor in France has a magical specimen, with space beneath its cascading branches for a small table and chairs: what a place to pass a hot afternoon! All willows seem to grow at lightning speed, and this one shoots up by 4-8 feet (1.2-2.4 m) a year. It reaches 40-50 feet (12-15 m) and its sweeping canopy provides exceptional shade in zones 4-9, and dazzling foliage in fall. Buy Weeping Willow Trees by Brighter Blooms from Amazon.

Weeping willows love a site with full sun and moist soil. However, bear in mind that its thirsty root system can spread 3 times wider than the canopy. So don’t plant within 50 feet (15 m) of house foundations, water mains, septic tanks, or paved driveways. Also, because it grows rapidly, its wood is soft and prone to shedding in storms. For summer planting, water daily for the first month and add Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Miracid Plant Food from Amazon to encourage swift root growth.

6. Dawn Redwood

If you’re seeking a unique ornamental tree that combines rapid growth with architectural beauty, the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is compelling. Once thought to be extinct, this living fossil grows at 3+ feet (90 cm) per year, and can reach 70-100 feet (21-30 m) tall with a 25-foot (7.6 m) spread. It has sweeping, needle-like foliage that provides a lush, cool canopy in summer heat. Majestic Dawn Redwoods are available from Fast Growing Trees and offer staggering tonal variety and charming feathery shaping in zones 5-9.

Despite looking like an evergreen conifer, the dawn redwood is deciduous, and in the fall, its feathery needles shift to russet orange and bronze. It is exceptionally hardy, disease-resistant, and tolerant of wet soils and heavy clay. Just avoid planting this feathered giant in exposed hilltop sites or light, sandy soils. For summer planting, add a little GS Plant Foods Liquid Kelp Extract from Walmart to help this tree build heat tolerance. Grow your dawn redwood in full sun to appreciate it as its best.

Shop Shade Tree Care

Once established, these low-maintenance shade trees are easy to sustain and care for, but a little attention in the first few months after planting will keep your tree growing strong for decades. This initial establishment phase is what it’s all about, so treat yourself (and your tree) to some high-quality soil amendments and organic treatments. This handy action pack will help to supercharge growth and give your young saplings the best start. Here’s how to nurture your trees so they develop strong roots, heat resilience, and dramatic canopy growth year after year.

Smart Shade Tree Trio

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Hydrangeas are some of the most popular flowering shrubs to grow. Just drive down any street in summer and their abundant, long-lasting clusters of flowers shout out from the landscape borders.

By August, the summer-flowering hydrangeas are well into their bloom cycle. But to keep those magnificent shrubs looking their best through the grueling August heat, you need to take some steps to ensure they look as good in late summer as they did earlier in the season. Proper late summer hydrangea care rewards you with huge, colorful blooms that fade gracefully into fall and winter.

Maintaining those colorful, round-to-conical-shaped hydrangea blooms and green leaves in August is worth the effort. Performing the proper tasks during high heat periods can help to extend flowering as much as possible and prevent scorching of petals and leaves. Tackle these chores now to beat the August heat.

1. Water Regularly

Hydrangeas are moisture-loving plants and most varieties need 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water a week by rainfall or supplemental watering to keep them happy. During extreme heat or in hot drying winds, they may dry out faster and need more.

You know it is time to water hydrangeas when the soil 1 inch (2.5 cm) below ground is dry. You can measure with a finger, screwdriver, or moisture meter. This moisture meter from Amazon tells you soil pH, too, which is important to know if you want to change your hydrangea bloom color.

Water slowly and deeply with a soaker hose or drip irrigation. Watering by hand may only dampen the surface. You can leave the garden hose running under your plants until the soil is saturated, but it is easy to forget and overwater, which can lead to root rot. Well-draining soil is essential for hydrangeas. Adding compost to the soil aids in moisture retention, fertility, and drainage.

Providing regular moisture can help prevent hydrangeas turning brown and crispy leaf edges from leaf scorch, a disorder caused by water evaporating from leaves faster than it can be supplied from the roots.

2. Apply Mulch

Mulching with 2 to 3 inches (5-7.6 cm) of shredded bark, pine straw, or compost benefits hydrangeas, as well as most plants. It retains moisture, prevents weeds, and regulates soil temperature. Apply mulch about 6 to 8 inches (15.2-20.3 cm) away from the stem to avoid stem rot.

Do not use rock mulches, plastic mulches, or volcano rock as they will heat up the area too much and further add to heat stress. Instead use an organic mulch, like this one from Miracle-Gro.

3. Provide Shade

Most hydrangea species do best with morning sun and afternoon shade. Some types of hydrangeas tolerate more sun, such as panicle hydrangeas, and some take less, such as oakleaf hydrangeas. So read and follow the planting instructions on the plant tag that accompanies the shrubs you buy.

Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are the most sensitive to sun, but thrive in dappled shade or morning sun. If your hydrangeas are getting too much direct sun, you can provide shade for them.

Shade cloths, like this one from Amazon, sheets, or blankets offer cooling shade when draped over supports such as trellises, PVC hoops, metal T-posts, or bamboo stakes. In the fall, consider transplanting your hydrangea bush to a shadier area if it struggles during the heat of summer.

4. Control Pests & Diseases

Monitor weekly for common hydrangea diseases and pests to keep a step ahead of problems. Pests, such as spider mites, like the hot, dry conditions of late summer and can quickly multiply. If you see yellowing leaves, stippling, and fine webbing between stems, take action to stop them.

A strong blast of water should knock them off. If they persist, apply neem oil in the evening to control them. Pick up a bottle of neem oil spray on Amazon or at your local garden center.

Cercospora leaf spot is a common fungal disease that favors hydrangea leaves during wet, humid, and warm conditions. Spots are typically tan with reddish-brown halos. Pick off the affected leaves and discard if it is not widespread.

A fungicide, like this one from Bonide, may stop the disease from spreading, but it can’t cure the disease. If leaf spot is a yearly problem, you can start a fungicide-spraying regimen early to prevent the fungal leaf spots. Watering from below rather than overhead, picking up and discarding leaves in the fall, and improving air circulation also help to avoid the disease.

If you have major problems and your shrubs succumb, consider replanting disease and pest-resistant types of hydrangeas instead.

5. Stop Fertilizing

Fertilizing hydrangeas when temperatures exceed 90°F can burn the roots. Also, fertilizer will push out new growth that may not have time to harden off before winter arrives. Lush new growth also can attract pests.

Hydrangeas do not need a lot of fertilizer, if any, especially if the soil is organically rich. If indicated by a soil test, they can be fertilized with a slow-release, balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 in spring or sidedressed with compost.

6. Avoid Pruning & Deadheading

If your hydrangeas bloom on old wood (the prior year’s growth) such as mophead hydrangeas or oakleaf hydrangeas, do not prune them now. Next year’s flower buds develop in late summer or fall. You can see the buds if you examine the tips of the stems. Pruning hydrangeas now will cut off next year’s blooms. Always prune those two types immediately after flowering, if needed.

Also, pruning in late summer may encourage new growth that will be susceptible to damage in further heat waves or may not be hardened off before winter. An exception to pruning now is damaged or dead wood. Remove those stems at the base of the plant any time you see them.

If you are deadheading hydrangea blooms during the summer, now is a good time to stop so the remaining blooms provide winter interest. The tan or brown dried blooms stay erect during winter and add architectural form to the landscape.

It doesn’t hurt to lightly tidy up the plant, but leave some of the dried flower heads for winter. For a fun Christmas project, you can spray paint the dried blooms in gold or silver.

7. Choose Heat-Tolerant Hydrangeas

If your area experiences high heat for extended periods, choose native hydrangea varieties and cultivars from the U.S. rather than Asia. The oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia) and the smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) are native to the Southeastern US, and are more tolerant of higher temperatures than the mophead (H. macropylla) or mountain hydrangeas (H. serrata).

Most types of hydrangeas do well in part shade, for example, morning sun and afternoon shade. Panicle hydrangeas (H. paniculata) can tolerate the most sun and drier conditions, but they still need constant moisture to perform well.

You can explore tons of stunning hydrangeas for sale online from Wayside Gardens.

Are you looking for an effective, natural, and chemical-free way to protect your plants from pests this summer? If so, you've got to try diatomaceous earth.

It may be a mouthful to say, but it's actually very simple. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a naturally occurring powder made of fossilized microscopic aquatic organisms called diatoms, hence the name. To humans and pets, it feels like a soft, fine dust. But to any non-flying garden pest – cutworms, beetles, ants, slugs, aphids, and more – it acts like a razor field. The sharp particles coat the pest's exoskeleton, absorbing its waxy outer protective layer and causing it to dehydrate, killing it quickly. It's totally natural, and totally effective.

There are a few different diatomaceous earth products on the market, and getting the right one for the job is important if you want it to work. Let's take a look at the main ways you might want to use DE, and the product best suited to each.

The Best Starter Package

If you're new to the world of diatomaceous earth and want to protect your plants easily and effectively, this kit from Harris is where to start. This 10 lb bag is food grade diatomaceous earth, which means you can use it on edibles and around children and pets. It's also OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed, which means it's totally compliant with organic gardening practices. And at 10 pounds, it's going to last you a long, long time.

This kit comes with a bulb applicator, which lets you puff a fine, even layer of dust onto small, hard-to-reach spots like the undersides of leaves and branch nodes, where larvae tend to hide out.

For Precision Jobs

If you're growing in containers, hanging baskets, or window boxes, you don't really need a ten pound bag of diatomaceous earth. And if you're using it near windows or doors, you definitely don't want a big cloud of powder billowing around.

That's why this powder duster is perfect. It holds a small amount of DE, but it delivers it exactly where it needs to be – around container rims, along raised bed perimeters, even up high! It has extendible nozzle attachments that reach up to four feet (1.2 m), earning it its "ground to gutter" slogan.

For Indoor/Outdoor Use

It's true that we're focusing on garden pests, but what if you want to bring your garden indoors? After all, houseplants are just as prone to pests as their outdoor cousins. This diatomaceous earth is formulated, tested, and EPA-registered for both indoor and outdoor use. It's odorless, non-staining, and free of synthetic chemicals, so you can use it indoors without worrying. Whether you have aphids on your plants or ants in your kitchen, there's no need to go and buy a whole new product. This one has you covered inside and out.

For Large-Scale Coverage

If you're dealing with a widespread outbreak in your garden or lawn, or just have a lot of ground to cover, squeeze bottles and bulb applicators aren't going to cut it. This 10 lb bag will get the job done. Made by the folks at diatomaceousearth.com, who certainly seem to know their product. (They actually recommend mixing it into your food, but I'm only here to give gardening advice, so I'm not going to weigh in on that).

If your container garden started out thriving in May but completely gave up by July, you're probably not doing anything wrong with your watering or feeding. Actually, you're doing something wrong before you even get to the garden center.

Instagram influencer @mamakaytie.green puts it bluntly: "Flowers don't fail in pots because you picked the wrong color. They fail because you paired a sun-loving drought survivor with a shade-loving moisture addict and watered somewhere in the middle." To put it simply, the problem isn’t your commitment; it’s the compatibility of your plants.

Why Mixed Containers Work So Well

The appeal of growing multiple flowers in a single pot has taken off for good reason. Cindy Funes, founder of Garden Revelry and a certified professional horticulturist, explains it well: "Mixed flower container plantings are popular because they are space-efficient, creating seasonal impact, and the feeling of a whole garden without requiring a full garden. A thoughtfully planted container with a combination of flowers can feel like a floral arrangement, but one that lasts much longer and changes over the season."

There's also something about the visual effect that a single plant just can't achieve. "When you combine flowers and foliage with different heights, textures, colors, and growth habits, the planting can feel a little more expressive, and your eye moves through it instead of landing on one flat note," Funes says. "It creates a pause – and I think that's what people are craving right now."

The Framework Every Beginner Needs

Before you start grabbing every pretty thing in the plant section, it will be more helpful to start with some structure. McCauley Adams, principal designer and owner of Ramble on Rose Garden Design in Louisville, lives by one rule: "thriller, filler, and spiller – something tall and structural, something full in the middle, and something that creeps over the edges." He's been using it to get client patios Derby Ready this spring with combinations like coral geranium, diamond frost euphorbia, and potato vine, as well as Kimberly Queen fern, blue hydrangea macrophylla, and potato vine and vinca vine.

Funes agrees with the framework as a starting point: "Although it's basic, it is still a wonderful place to start because it naturally creates layers within a planting. From there, keep the color palette simple, select a mix of textures and leaf shapes, and choose plants with a long bloom time."

6 Container Planting Recipes Worth Trying

These easy thriller, filler, spiller recipe combine compatible plants for a balanced, professional-looking display that keeps its color through fall.

1. Geraniums + Petunias + Ivy

"As a beginner, you can't go wrong using geraniums, petunias, and ivy," says Seymen Usta, CEO and landscape designer at Modern Chandelier. Together, they make a well-balanced container combination, with upright geraniums providing height, petunias filling the middle with abundant color, and ivy trailing gracefully over the edges.

Crucially, they also thrive in broadly similar conditions, preferring well-drained soil and regular watering, while the contrasting foliage and flower shapes keep the display looking full and varied.

2. Pansies + Dusty Miller + Lobelia

Seymen also suggests that another classic combination is pansies, dusty miller, and lobelia. Together, they create a beautifully layered container, with pansies providing bold color, dusty miller adding silvery foliage and structure, and lobelia spilling softly over the edges.

All three prefer cooler conditions, making them especially well suited to spring and fall displays.

3. Zinnias + Marigolds + Portulaca

Zinnias, marigolds, and portulaca for full sun and heat make for a great drought-proof trio. "It's the pot you forget to water that still looks good in August!" says @mamakaytie.green.

All three thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, while their varied flower shapes create a cheerful, long-lasting mix. Zinnias provide the height, marigolds give dense color through the middle, and low-growing portulaca softens the edges.

4. Petunias + Calibrachoa + Verbena

Petunias, calibrachoa, and verbena for a trailing hanging basket (like these on Amazon) that covers an entire porch railing. They are ideal for creating a container that looks effortlessly abundant, as their blooms mingle and spill together in a cascade of color. They all flower best in a sunny spot and, with regular feeding and watering, will keep the display going for months.

5. Begonias + Impatiens + Coleus

Begonias, impatiens, and coleus bring plenty of color to containers that receive little direct sun. The flowers of begonias and impatiens brighten shady spots, while coleus adds bold, long-lasting foliage that keeps the display interesting even between blooms.

6. Dahlias + Cannas + Sweet Potato Vine

Dahlias and cannas turn a large container into a bold, tropical-looking focal point, while ornamental sweet potato vine tumbles over the rim to soften all that height. Give the combination a deep pot, rich soil, and full sun, and it will build into an impressive display that lasts throughout summer.

Shop Container Flowers

The Mistake That Kills the Whole Pot

Every expert lands on the same issue. Funes calls it out directly: "One of the most common mistakes I see people making is combining plants with different exposure requirements – mixing sun-loving plants with shade plants, or pairing drought-tolerant with thirsty water-loving plants."

Adams agrees: "The most common mistake I see is a single plant sitting too low with no height or texture contrast." And Usta flags overcrowding: "Too many plants will compete for water, light, and nutrients."

Keeping It Going All Season

Getting the combination right is only half the job. Adams is specific about maintenance: "Keep combinations thriving with consistent moisture, regular deadheading, and a mid-season cutback on aggressive fillers – sweet potato vine especially. Slow-release granular at planting (try this Osmocote Slow-Release plant food on Amazon), liquid feed monthly through summer."

Funes adds that spacing matters more than most people think: "Planting with enough spacing and choosing plants with similar growth rates means plants have room to fill in and no single plant overwhelms another. Reading the plant tag is a great place to start."

Get the roommates right, and the pot will take care of itself. Get them wrong, and you'll be making a second trip to the garden center before August.

Lavender makes any yard feel sun-drenched, softly scented and altogether dreamier – if you choose the best lavender variety for your climate, that is. Pick a lavender that's less than ideal and that billowy purple haze will be short-lived when a bitter winter, a prolonged soggy spell or relentless tropical heat takes its toll. Whether you want a fragrant border, a bee-friendly pot by the back door or armfuls of stems for drying, choosing the right lavender is the difference between a fleeting flourish and a plant that truly earns its place in your garden year after year.

Matching the best lavender variety to your USDA zone is the smartest place to start when growing this garden must-have. From hardy, yard-worthy choices for chilly northern regions to heat-loving types that can cope with the Deep South and beyond, this guide brings together one perfectly-suited lavender for every zone. Because, while those 'suitable for zone X' tags give you a pretty good indication of whether the plant will survive a particular climate, they paint too broad a brushstroke to tell you which varieties will truly thrive.

If you've ever visited a lavender farm, then you'll know how intense lavender color, fragrance and flower density can be – and you can be sure that's down to selecting the exact right variety for the conditions as well as good care.

Besides, there's far more to discover than the familiar purple classics, with white, pink and foliage-led lavender varieties all waiting in the wings. A clear lavender recommendation for every zone, practical lavender growing tips and plenty of planting inspiration will help you pick the perfect lavender for your plot. And with the exact right variety for your climate, you can turn a sunny spot into a richly scented, pollinator-friendly haven full of fragrant lavender blooms, wherever you garden.

Best Lavender for Zones 1-3: Munstead

Enjoying the dreamy scent of lavender in zones 1 to 3 is totally possible through the summer months with Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' if you grow it in a pot in your sunniest garden spot, and move to a bright, cool but frost-free spot through winter. That's an easy task if you pop a plant dolly with lockable wheels such as this indoor/outdoor caddy from Amazon under the pot.

‘Munstead’ is a classic English lavender with soft blue-purple flowers and a lovely culinary fragrance, and is compact enough to love life in a container. Because it blooms relatively early in summer, its flowers set a strong display even where the growing season is short and cool. This is a super variety to dry, too, and its edible flowers have a sweet, mild flavor so you can bring the scent and taste of summer to those long winter months. Munstead lavender plants are available from Burpee.

• Perennial outside in zones 4-9
• Full sun
• Flowers June-July
• Grows 18" high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 4: Phenomenal

Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal’ is a newer hybrid that’s a hardier, more adaptable lavender, coping better than most with cold winters down to around -20°F, summer heat and a little humidity. In fact, it's often touted as the toughest lavender, ever, so it's easily the best lavender variety for zone 4. While it laughs in the face of heat or cold, it does need good drainage so plant it in the sunniest, driest place you have – think raised beds, a gravel garden or beside a warm south-facing wall.

Its height and resilience makes Phenomenal lavender a fabulous choice for an informal hedge either side of a path, but it's equally good in a big pot near a bench for maximum fragrance appreciation. Its long purple flower stems are also excellent for cutting, drying and stuffing into homemade lavender bags. Phenomenal lavender plants are stocked by Burpee.

• Perennial in zones 4-9
• Full sun
• Flowers June-July
• Grows to 3' high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 5: Exceptional

Another hybrid cross between English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and spike or Portuguese lavender (Lavandula latifolia), Lavanadula x intermedia Exceptional brings a softer, more unexpected colour palette to zone 5. Its clean white flowers glow against narrow silvery foliage, especially in evening light, and it feels wonderfully fresh mixed with pale pink roses, white cosmos or blue salvia. Use Exceptional to light up the front edge of a sunny border or pop it in a plain terracotta pot for chic simplicity.

Exceptional lavender plants are available from Plant Addicts and this robust, resilient variety will thrive in zone 5, combining excellent cold hardiness to around -20°F with a remarkably long flowering season, provided the soil drains quickly.

• Zones 5-9
• Full sun
• Flowers June-August
• Grows to 28" high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 6: Big Time Blue

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Big Time Blue’ is a fairly compact lavender with impressively large, deep violet-blue flower spikes. It’s an excellent choice for zone 6 because winters are cold enough to satisfy English lavender’s preference for a winter rest, while summers are warm enough to produce its beautifully plump flower spikes.

Its neat cushions of sweetly scented blooms will fill your yard with color and buzzing bees all summer long, making it especially well-suited for edging a paved courtyard, lining a walkway, or adding structure to a narrow border where larger lavenders would feel too bulky. Big Time Blue lavender plants are available from Plant Addicts.

• Zones 5-9
• Full sun
• Flowers June-August
• Grows 28" high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 7: Provence

A cross between English lavender and spike or Portuguese lavender, Lavanadula x intermedia 'Provence' is a tall lavender with long flower wands, a strong fragrance and a wonderfully relaxed French-country look. It will produce exceptionally long flower stems and abundant blooms when given extended summer heat, making it the perfect choice for zone 7. Just give it plenty of room to stretch out and show off, rather than squeezing it into a tiny border, as it will flourish!

Provence lavender plants are stocked by Nature Hills and should be planted in a sun-drenched spot and allowed to become a slightly unruly billow of delicious perfume. Take advantage of this plant's slightly wilful nature and use it for softening the edge of a sunny driveway or creating a heavenly drift to meander through. The stems dry brilliantly for everlasting bunches and wreaths, too.

• Zones 5-9
• Full sun
• Flowers June-August
• Grows to 18" high and 24" wide

Best Lavender for Zone 8: Goodwin Creek Grey

‘Goodwin Creek Grey’ is the foliage-lover’s lavender that's expecially valuable in zone 8 because it tolerates heat, humidity and mild winters better than most English lavenders. Even summer temperatures that regularly reach 90°F won't phase this reliable bloomer! Its large, toothed, silvery-grey evergreen leaves add great texture even when the flowers take a break. And that's not often, as Lavandula x ginginsii 'Goodwin Creek Grey' is a hybrid cross that's sterile – which means it doesn't set seed so flowers for months and months. And the dark violet-blue spikes are just wonderful!

This variety has a slightly wilder, coastal-Mediterranean feel than a formal English lavender and it’s a great feature plant, especially in a large container or as a sculptural accent in a gravelly border, jostling among ornamental grasses, agaves and drought-loving salvias. Goodwin Creek Grey lavender plants are available to buy from the Winter Greenhouse Store via Amazon.

• Zones 9-11
• Full sun
• Flowers May-October
• Grows to 12" high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 9: Sensational!

A cross between sweetly fragrant English lavender and Portuguese lavender which has a sharper, fresher scent, Lavandula x intermedia Sensational! has a perfume that's perfect for a hot day. This is a sturdy lavender with large dark-purple flowers that won’t flop at the first sight of rain or wind, and is particularly happy in zone 9 where warm summers encourage generous reblooming from May to September. This hybrid's improved tolerance of heat and humidity gives it an edge over fussier English types, too.

Hardy to about 0°F, the real strength of Sensational! is its sturdy flower spikes that hold up exceptionally well during hot summers, often continuing to bloom through prolonged periods of heat that cause other lavenders to fade. For this reason, it makes a superb backbone in a pollinator border or a striking focal point in a large container. Sensational! lavender plants are available from Plant Addicts.

• Zones 5-9
• Full sun
• Flowers May-September
• Grows to 24" high and 36" wide

Best Lavender for Zone 10: The Princess

Just as its name promises, Lavandula stoechas The Princess is gloriously theatrical, with bright pink flower heads and showy pink bracts that dance above the foliage. It’s ideal for zone 10 where, in frost-free or nearly frost-free climates, it will flower for months on end, often from spring through to fall.

The Princess lavender plants are available to buy at Lowe's, and this diva deserves a starring role that allows its dramatic Spanish character to shine through a long, warm season. Use it in a statement pot by a pool, at the center of a sunny courtyard, or mixed with white gaura and silver foliage for a gloriously elegant combo.

• Zones 8-11
• Full sun
• Flowers March-November
• Grows to 30" high and wide

Best Lavender for Zone 11-13: French

Rain and humidity are challenges for growing lavender in a tropical climate, but it's perfectly possible if you know which type to choose. So, if you're wondering which lavender to plant in zone 11, 12 or 13, look no further than French lavender (Lavandula dentata). For fragrance as well as looks, this warm-climate charmer with finely toothed leaves is a clear winner. Adapted to subtropical and Mediterranean climates with very mild winters, it will bloom almost continuously throughout the year, including during periods of intense heat.

French lavender plants are stocked by Plants Express and, while they're recommended for zones 8-11, you can stretch this by giving plants great air circulation to guard against fungal disease, and protection from heavy rain. Though it's a sun-lover, it's a smart idea to position it so it's shaded from intense midday sun, too. It hates to have soggy roots so plant in a tall pot filled with a fast-draining potting soil, placed on risers, then stand the container beside your outdoor sofa because you'll love this lavender's heady scent.

• Zones 8-11
• Full sun
• Flowers March-November
• Grows to 24" high and 54" wide

Lavender Secrets to Success in Any Zone

Lavender is one of the most ravishing purple flowers of all time and is super-easy to grow, providing you stick to these growing tips.

• Choose a location with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day.
• Well-draining, gritty soil is a must. Improve heavier soils with coarse grit and plant on a slight mound rather than in a dip and, if your ground tends to stay wet, consider planting in a raised bed, on a slope or in a container.
• In a pot, a suitably fast-draining soil is easily achieved by mixing a few handfuls of a succulent soil mix such as Jacks Gritty Mix from Amazon with any all-purpose potting soil. Raising the pot on risers such as these pot lifters from Amazon, too, is a must.
• Giving lavender plants a gravel mulch helps drainage, airflow and suppresses weeds, in pots as well as the ground.
• Avoid rich compost and heavy feeding as overly fertile soil encourages soft, floppy growth and fewer flowers.
• Water new plants regularly and deeply for their first season but let the soil dry between waterings. Once established, lavender is drought-tolerant, though you'll still need to water occasionally in extended dry spells, and more often in containers.
• Prevent fungal problems, especially in humid climates, by giving plants enough space to allow good airflow.
• Prune lavender immediately after flowering, and trim into shape in early spring, but never cut into old, leafless wood.

Here’s a typical scenario. You worked hard to create a beautiful outdoor space to enjoy in the summer. You set up an area to enjoy the evening in the garden only to hear a buzzing in your ear. Next, you’re slapping your neck, your arm, and running inside to avoid the mosquitoes that are plaguing your yard and garden.

Mosquitoes can absolutely ruin your outdoor peace. Not only are they a nuisance, but they are also a health risk, carrying diseases that can harm both humans and pets. Successful backyard mosquito control includes several key elements, including proper plant choice.

You might not have realized it, but there are some types of plants that actually attract mosquitoes. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to make your outdoor space less welcoming, even if you already grow some of these plants. Here are a few of the most common culprits that could be harboring mosquitoes in your yard and what to do if you grow them.

1. Bromeliads

Bromeliads are colorful air plants that lend a tropical feel to the garden. They can grow outdoors year-round in warm climates or as houseplants that you move outside in summer in cooler climates.

Either way, if you have them in your garden, these delightful plants create cups of standing water, which is how they survive without soil. But the water, unfortunately, can become an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. They look for still water like this to lay eggs, which can hatch in a matter of days.

There is a solution, though. Add a little oil or dish soap to the standing water to break the surface tension, so mosquitoes can’t land on it.

2. Dense Ground Covers

Ground cover plants play a very useful role in the garden, creating lawns of green where grass won’t grow or where you don’t care to mow. Many ground covers do their job well, creating dense mats of low-growing plants: pachysandra, spurge, deadnettle, and sweet woodruff, just to name a few.

But these ground covers create an ideal environment for mosquitoes who love shade, cool temperatures, and moisture. You might even get standing water under these plants that helps skeeters breed.

To manage mosquitoes in these areas, trim the plants with a string trimmer to improve airflow – here's a list of our experts' top tested trimmer tools – and inspect regularly for standing water that should be drained. Rake out any leaf litter that gets trapped under the plants, as mosquitoes love this kind of environment, too.

3. Bamboo

Bamboo can be a fun plant to grow. It’s easy, forgiving, and grows very quickly to create privacy borders and living fences. But your bamboo plants might be harboring a secret: standing water in the hollow stems that attracts mosquitoes and protects their eggs and larvae. Additionally, bamboo grows quite densely in moist conditions that mosquitoes love.

Thin out crowded bamboo canes to reduce localized moisture and improve airflow. Keep the area around the canes clear, too, by weeding and raking up fallen debris.

Remove damaged canes regularly, as these are more likely to contain standing water. When you trim canes, cut them at an angle to help water drain out. Use a sharp, clean pair of loppers, like these ones from Fiskars, to make easy cuts.

4. Hostas

Hostas are extremely popular bedding plants for several reasons. They’re easy to grow, thrive even in the deepest shade, and come in a variety of sizes and shades of green. But the issue, when it comes to mosquitoes, is that these beloved plants create the perfect environment for unwanted pests under their broad, overlapping leaves.

Although mass plantings of hostas look nice, you can minimize the ideal mosquito conditions by spacing them out. Allow for a little airflow between each plant. Also, be sure to regularly rake out debris from under the leaves.

5. Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses have become very popular in landscaping because they are generally easy to grow, offer a unique texture and look, and offer visual interest year-round. Unfortunately, when grown close together, these grasses can attract and harbor mosquitoes.

The dense growth of closely packed grasses creates areas of shade, stagnant areas, and moisture that mosquitoes love. Also, the dense grass makes it more difficult for natural predators of mosquitoes, like birds or dragonflies, to find and eat the pests.

Avoid planting ornamental grasses too close together and thin out those you already have. Trim away dead growth as it develops – a handheld hedge trimmer like this one from Amazon makes it easy – and divide mature clumps every few years. It also helps to plant ornamental grasses in areas where a breeze naturally passes through them.

6. Overgrown Shrubs

Any shrub can become a haven for mosquitoes if it becomes overgrown. Some types of shrubs are especially likely to create dense cover that provides these pests with the moisture and cool temperatures they love: boxwoods, hollies, viburnums, for instance.

The easy fix is to keep your shrubs trimmed. Prune them every year to open the canopy. Remove interior branches to reduce density. Clean up the area under shrubs to remove mosquito-harboring debris.

While certain plants tend to be very attractive to mosquitoes, you don’t have to avoid them altogether. Typically, it’s more the environment than the plant itself that causes the issue, so you can take steps to enjoy these plants while eliminating pests. Trim regularly, space plants adequately, check for and remove standing water, and you can naturally get rid of mosquitoes in your yard.

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Fun fact about me: I am always on the hunt for fast-growing flowers that can add some serious color to my garden before the fall rolls around. Especially at this time of year.

Why? Well, because every single time August rolls around, I start noticing the gaps. The spring annuals have lost their sparkle, all but the longest-blooming perennials are beginning to fade, and suddenly the garden feels like it's quietly winding down long before I'm ready to say goodbye to summer.

For too many years, I assumed I'd missed my chance. Once August arrived, I thought it was too late to plant anything new and I'd simply have to wait until next spring. Thankfully, that's one of those gardening myths that's wonderfully easy to prove wrong, as August can be one of the smartest times to add fast-growing flowers to the mix.

7 Fast-Growing Flowers You Can Still Plant In August

If you want to plant fast-growing flowers this month so that you have oodles of color over the autumn, you're in luck! Warm summer soil helps roots establish quickly, which means many annuals race into bloom before the first frost; in fact, gardeners in warmer USDA zones can often enjoy flowers well into October or even November.

There is a knack to it, of course, and it's this: choose the plants that don't mind getting a late start. The ones that grow astonishingly quickly from seed (or even the ones best planted as young nursery plants for an almost instant splash of color).

Before you fill your cart, though, it's worth checking your USDA hardiness zone and average first frost date. Gardeners in Zones 8–10 have a much longer planting window than those in Zones 3–5, but every region still has options for extending the season.

With that in mind, then...

1. Calendula

If I could only sow one fast-growing flower in August, calendula would be near the top of my list (especially so now that scientists have been raving about its unexpected superpowers of late).

Its cheerful orange and yellow blooms often appear in as little as six to eight weeks, making it perfect for late-season color. Better still, calendula actually prefers the cooler weather that arrives as summer fades, so it often performs better in fall than it does during the hottest weeks of July.

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

2. Sweet Alyssum

Want fast-growing flowers that spell big, bold, beautiful color for fall? Never underestimate this little plant.

Sweet alyssum quickly forms soft cushions covered in tiny, honey-scented flowers that pollinators absolutely adore. Garden centers often stock young plants throughout late summer, making it one of the easiest ways to refresh containers and borders.

In warmer parts of the country, it can continue blooming right up until winter. Bag yourself some Sweet Alyssum Flower Seeds from Walmart, then, and get sowing.

3. Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are one of those fast-growing flowers that seem to grow with astonishing enthusiasm, with their rounded leaves and jewel-colored blooms quickly scrambling through containers, raised beds, and vegetable gardens.

Both the leaves and flowers are edible, which is no small boon in this day and age. And, from seed, many varieties bloom within six to eight weeks. Give the Sweethearts Mix Nasturtium Seeds from Burpee a go.

4. Violas

Most people think of violas as spring flowers, but I actually love planting these fast-growing flowers toward the end of summer.

As temperatures begin cooling, they burst into flower and often continue long after many summer annuals have given up. In milder climates, they may even flower through winter. That being said, though, I suggest you plant nursery-grown starts in August for the quickest display; something like the Halo Golden Yellow Hardy Violet Perennial from Walmart should do the trick.

5. Zinnias

If your first frost is still several weeks away, zinnias are absolutely worth squeezing in.

These cheerful annuals love warm soil, which means August-planted nursery starts settle in quickly and can keep flowering until frost. In warmer USDA zones, you can also sow fast-maturing dwarf varieties directly from seed, though gardeners in cooler regions will usually get the best results by starting with established plants.

One of my favorite things about zinnias is that the more you cut them for bouquets, the more flowers they seem to produce. They're also magnets for butterflies, making them one of the easiest ways to add both color and pollinator activity to a late-summer garden.

Pick yourself up a pot of zinnias from Walmart, then, and get cracking!

6. Lantana

If your summer garden is looking tired, lantana is one of the fastest ways to bring it back to life.

This heat-loving flower seems to become happier as temperatures climb, producing clusters of tiny blooms in fiery shades of orange, pink, yellow, purple and white. While other plants start struggling in late summer heat, lantana keeps flowering – often right through the first frost.

It's especially valuable for gardeners in warmer USDA zones, where it can grow as a perennial and continue returning year after year. In colder regions, treat it as a colorful annual and enjoy its long final burst of flowers. A Lantana Rose Live Starter Plant from Walmart should do the trick nicely.

7. Marigolds

If there's one flower that refuses to admit summer is ending, it's the not-so-humble marigold.

Garden centers are usually still well stocked with marigolds in August, making them an easy way to refresh tired containers, borders, or vegetable gardens. Once planted, they'll happily keep pumping out cheerful yellow, orange, and deep red blooms until the first hard frost with very little fuss.

I also love that marigolds earn their keep. They're excellent companion plants in edible gardens, attracting pollinators while adding bold color exactly when many summer flowers are beginning to slow down.

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Now, it's important to remember that the beauty of late-summer planting is that there isn't one perfect flower for every garden. Your USDA zone, first frost date and growing conditions all make a difference.

If you're gardening somewhere with a long, hot growing season, don't overlook heat-loving favorites like angelonia, pentas, celosia and salvia. These flowers can handle the toughest weeks of summer and continue bringing color when many other plants start to fade.

In cooler climates, the smartest approach is often choosing fast-growing annuals or picking up established nursery plants rather than starting everything from seed. Marigolds, petunias, snapdragons and violas can all give you that fresh burst of color without needing months to establish.

Not to get all Ryan Gosling in The Notebook about it, but it wasn't over. And honestly? Neither is the gardening season.

It can be tempting to create a perfect garden, with every square inch tended and cultivated. Not only is this level of perfectionism difficult to achieve, but it’s also not great for your native wildlife. If you can think of a part of your yard that is currently a little weather-worn and dry, it’s hardly surprising now that early flowering annuals are starting to die back. So what if I were to tell you that you can do your bit for Mother Nature simply by leaving a patch of that soil bare and empty?

The elements you need to create a wildlife garden don’t have to be complicated, and they don’t have to detract from the aesthetics of your outdoor space. They can be as simple as one or two bare patches that easily blend into cultivated areas. You might be surprised at how much this small concession can help native bees, butterflies, and birds thrive in landscapes that are often unfriendly and sterile for wildlife.

With midsummer still baking hot in many places, our backyard creatures face a grueling daily battle for survival. Scorching sun and drying water sources create challenging conditions. Any gestures of help you can give your wildlife matter, but one of the most powerful gestures you can offer is simply leaving a small patch of raw dirt untouched. Find out why exposed soil is vital for native bees, butterflies, and birds this summer.

How to Create the Best Patch

You don't need fancy landscaping or expensive soil amendments to prep your spare wildlife patch. In fact, keeping it simple is the best way of giving key species what they have relied on for hundreds of years. Native ground-nesting pollinators prefer unimproved, natural soil over rich, heavily composted potting mixes. A dedicated patch just 2 feet by 2 feet (60 cm square) is all you need to make a huge impact. Whether sandy, loamy, or clay-heavy, this soil is fine, as long as it isn’t compacted by heavy foot traffic or treated with synthetic fertilizers.

While you don’t need to do much to treat the soil itself, it’s worth making sure you have some native plants next to your patch of earth. Grouping sun-loving perennials like purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, or monarda nearby ensures that emerging pollinators have a source of energy inches from their front door. You can buy black-eyed Susan from Fast Growing Trees as pre-potted arrivals, plus American Beauties Native Purple Coneflower from Plant Addicts to support your patch. These vibrant perennials will create a nectar-rich perimeter around your bare earth.

3 Reasons Wildlife Needs Bare Earth

Even though many natural habitats are shrinking, our yards can be vital corridors of life for resident bees, butterflies, and birds. Leaving exposed earth is one of the easiest, most rewarding ways to sustain sensitive species during the brutal heat and extremes of summer. Here are 3 ways a simple patch of dirt can serve and protect your local ecosystem.

1. Helping Ground-Nesting Bees

When we think of bees, we tend to picture honeybees in hives. But most bees, including most native bees in your yard, are not communal and don’t live in hives. Iridescent green sweat bees, mining bees, digger bees, and cellophane bees live mostly solitary lives. The females dig tunnels in the soil to create chambers that hold pollen, nectar, and eggs. These burrows are essential for their life cycles.

Dense turf, mulching, weed barriers, and landscape fabric all stop native pollinators from building burrows. If you have covered every inch of your yard with barriers, these solitary pollinators will struggle to find shelter and will be less likely to visit your flowering plants. So keep that dusty patch of soil free. After heavy rains and heat, you might see a crust on the soil surface. Just scratch across the top few inches gently with a cultivator or hand rake, to help mining and sweat bees to dig their chambers.

To give them an extra boost, add a hydration station. Pretty Bee & Butterfly Drinking Flower from Uncommon Goods lends delicate color to your patch, while providing extra service to thirsty bees. Alternatively, fill a shallow water dish with a little water and some Natural River Rocks from Amazon. These are flat and gently textured to help pollinators drink safely.

2. Helping Butterflies with Puddling

It’s not just native bees that need patches of soil. Butterflies also benefit from little spots of bare soil in your yard. They use small, muddy spots for a behavior called puddling. If you’ve seen a flutter of swallowtails, red-spotted purples or monarchs in a patch of driveway dirt, you’ve witnessed puddling. This damp soil is being used to extract minerals and salts. Males are reliant on this practice to extract sodium and minerals, which they pass along to females during mating to help with eggs.

You can create puddling spots naturally by letting your patch of earth collect water after a rain, or after you’ve watered your beds or the lawn. To make a simple mineral station, find a 6-inch (15 cm) terracotta saucer, like the Pennington Terracotta Saucer Tray from Lowe's. Lay this level with the soil, fill it with a little earth and a splash of water, and keep it moist to create a puddling pool for swallowtails and monarchs.

If you like, you can sprinkle a tiny pinch of unrefined sea salt, wood ash or compost over this damp dirt. Keep this mud patch lightly moist throughout July and August. As summer winds down, migrating monarchs will rely on these quick mineral pitstops to fuel their long journeys south. They will also appreciate any late season nectar-rich blooms you can provide, like coneflowers and monarda. You can buy Sugar Buzz Grape Gumball Monarda from Plant Addicts. In late summer, butterflies also use nearby bare patches to bask in the sun and warm their wing muscles.

3. Helping Songbirds with Dust Baths

Many of your local birds also rely on areas of dirt. Sparrows, wrens, robins, towhees, and others use bare dirt patches for dust baths to remove parasites and clean their feathers. Watching a cheeky wren, junco, robin or sparrow fluffing fine, dry soil into its feathers is one of the most enjoyable sights in a wildlife-friendly garden. And all you need is a little bit of soil that is soft and powdery to attract birds to dust-bathe.

When birds are shedding and regrowing flight feathers, access to this powdery soil gives them great comfort. During summer, birds struggle with mite infestations that can compromise flying. Dust-bathing helps them absorb excess feather oil in humid weather, and it can trap cool air. Birds also ingest tiny bits of sand and fine gravel. These particles stay in their gizzard to help them crush hard seeds and beetle shells.

You can support your patch by making sure it is near a bird bath. Keep the bird bath filled with fresh water, and replace it regularly. It’s also a great idea to add a solar fountain or a water wiggler, like the Solar Water Wiggler from Walmart. Moving water attracts many more birds than standing water. One of the most efficient solar fountain add-ons is the Mademax Solar Powered Bird Bath Fountain Upgrade, available from Amazon. These little extras all help to create a safe, quiet retreat.

Where to Place Bare Patches

It’s beneficial to have these bare areas a little out of sight. Tuck them into back corners of the yard, or near the edges of flower beds. A bare patch in the middle of a turf lawn won’t be much help to wildlife, and it won’t look nice. Any old random patch of uncovered soil will help your local wildlife, but to help the animals while honoring the aesthetics of your yard, there are a few simple ground rules (so to speak).

Pick a sunny spot, so your bees, butterflies and birds can absorb heat and warm themselves. Aim for a south or east-facing spot that catches early morning sun rays. Ground bees need that initial solar warmth to warm up their flight muscles on cool summer mornings. Make sure it’s a quiet area that’s relatively undisturbed by people and pets. Also, make sure it is well-drained, and not completely soggy (allowing for a spot that you want to keep moist for puddling pollinators).

Avoid steep slopes, where summer thunderstorms might wash away loose soil or drown bee burrows. Tuck bare patches along gentle borders, under the lee of a shed, or beneath low-hanging native shrubs like serviceberry or arrowwood to give small birds quick cover if they spy a predator. You can buy Proven Winners Blue Muffin Arrowwood Viburnum from Nature Hills for extra canopy protection above your hard-working patch of soil.

Maintaining Your Patch

Yes, you can leave these spaces alone, but you’ll help wildlife more by maintaining them just a little. Check moisture levels regularly. Ideally, your bare patch needs to have a puddling area and a spot that always stays dry for dust baths and burrowing. Place a few small stones in the areas that puddle to help wildlife with access. Don’t let soil in dry areas get too compacted. When needed, give the soil a little raking to keep it loose. If you’re after a good soil aerator, the Fiskars Hand Cultivator from Amazon is great for gently breaking up soil for ground bees and birds.

Avoid using pesticides near these areas, or you’ll risk inadvertently killing your native guests. Ground-nesting bees spend up to 11 months underground in these burrows, making them exceptionally vulnerable to chemical runoff. Plant ornamental grasses or wildflowers to hide some of the bare dirt from view, while also supporting wildlife with cover and food sources. You can also edge the soil patch with stones or logs, like Amosfun Log Edging from Walmart. This gives your tiny wildlife habitat some natural looking definition, while offering daytime shade for beneficial toads.

Make sure you maintain that dual-texture in your wildlife-friendly patch. Keep one half loose, powdery, and sun-baked for dusting birds and mining bees. Meanwhile, keep lightly dampening the other half for puddling butterflies, frogs, and local toads, which will shelter under your edge logs during the day and feast on pests by night.

Shop Summer Wildlife Care

Round off your wildlife-friendly patch of earth with a few thoughtful wildlife treats. This handpicked summer bundle is tailored to nurturing a safe, comforting retreat for ground-nesting bees, fluttering butterflies, and dust-bathing songbirds. The perfect accompaniment for your bare soil habitat, these little upgrades will keep your wild visitors happy, hydrated, and nourished all season long.

Wildlife Trio

Making a little space for local wildlife doesn’t have to be a big chore, or mean that you leave things messy and untended. So, the next time you're tempted to fill that spot with one more bloom, consider leaving just one sunny area alone. That seemingly empty space could soon be one of the busiest and most important spots in your yard.

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Forget the classics; did you know you have a forbidden birth month flower?

Every year, without fail, I find myself looking up birth month flowers. I know perfectly well what mine is by now, but somehow I still end up reading every list I come across, nodding along as though I've uncovered a profound new truth about my personality. Then, before I know it, I'm halfway down another rabbit hole of birth month trees, birth month birds, birth month animals, birth month bugs – honestly, if someone can assign me a symbolic creature or plant based on the month I was born, I'm interested.

It's not just me, of course; we all like seeing ourselves reflected in nature. We like to believe there's a flower that captures our best qualities, a tree that shares our quiet strengths, or a bird that somehow understands us on a soul-deep level. Whether it's scientific or not hardly matters. It's comforting, it gives us another excuse to learn about the natural world, and it's fun... especially if you use it to lean into your dark side!

All 12 Forbidden Birth Month Flowers

That's right; lately I've found myself wondering about our shadow sides instead. Not the parts of ourselves we'd necessarily change, but the qualities that make us a little more mysterious, complicated, stubborn, passionate, or quietly rebellious. Every personality has one, right? So if every month has a traditional birth flower celebrating sweetness, hope, or friendship, surely there's a darker botanical counterpart waiting in the wings.

Enter stage left, then, the forbidden birth month flowers.

Some of these plants are poisonous. Some were prized by herbalists before becoming tangled up in folklore. Others have long been associated with witches, spirits, ancient myths, or whispered superstitions simply because they were unusual or misunderstood. Either way, I think we ca all agree that every last one of us deserves a flower with a little mystery...

January – Hellebore

If you were born in January, I can't imagine a better forbidden birth month flower than the hellebore.

While the rest of the garden is still asleep, hellebores are already flowering through frost and snow, earning nicknames like the Christmas Rose and Lenten Rose. They look impossibly delicate, but every part of the plant is poisonous if ingested. And, just like January babies everywhere, they survive difficult seasons not through noise or force, but through determination and staying power.

Go for something like the Frostkiss® Vibey Velvet™ Lenten Rose from Nature Hills if you want to grow your forbidden birth month flower at home!

February – Foxglove

Tall, elegant and almost impossibly beautiful, foxgloves have inspired fairy folklore for centuries. Legend claimed the tubular flowers were gloves for fairies or tiny lanterns lighting woodland paths.

The reality is rather darker; foxglove contains compounds that have transformed modern heart medicine, but the plant itself is highly toxic if eaten. So, what does that tell us about February babies? Why, that creativity is powerful – and so are you. Never underestimate imagination.

If you're going to do it, do it like Wham! would want and do it right. I love the Dalmatian Purple Foxglove from Walmart for its vivid purple blooms, if you're wondering.

March – Monkshood

March personalities are often thoughtful before they're outspoken, which makes sense, when you consider that their forbidden birth month flower is monkshood.

Its rich violet-blue flowers are among the prettiest in any perennial border, yet it's one of the most poisonous ornamental plants in the world. Also known as wolfsbane, it's been linked to myths involving witches, wolves and ancient hunters for centuries.

Buy yourself a pollinator-friendly monkshood from Walmart and watch your garden become a buzzing hotspot for bees and butterflies galore!

April – Bloodroot

I know, I know; at first glance, bloodroot looks wonderfully innocent, but don't let this forbidden birth month flower fool you.

The native beauty opens brilliant white blooms in early spring before disappearing back into the woodland. But snap the root, and a dramatic crimson sap appears almost instantly – the feature that inspired its unforgettable name and centuries of traditional use.

It hammers home the credo, then, of every April baby: never mistake gentleness for weakness. Pick up a pack of Bloodroot Native Wildflower Seeds from Everwilde, then, stat!

May – Lily Of The Valley

May is reliable, warm, and sociable – exactly the sort of personality people tend to underestimate. So, yes, naturally their forbidden birth month flower is much the same.

The tiny white bells of lily of the valley smell heavenly and look so beautifully innocent... but every part of the plant is highly poisonous.

There's a lesson in that, I guess; the kindest people are often stronger than anyone realizes. Bag yourself a Lily of the Valley Bare Roots Plant from CZ Grains, then, and channel that spectacular resilience in your own yard!

June – Belladonna

Few plants have a reputation quite like deadly nightshade. For centuries, belladonna was woven into stories of witches, cosmetics, medicine, and poison. Its glossy black berries and purple flowers have fascinated people for generations.

It makes sense, then, that it is the forbidden birth month flower for June. Because romantic, open-minded, and endlessly curious, June personalities are often drawn to mystery.

Belladonna reminds us that fascination and danger sometimes grow side by side – and that charm is a force all of its own. You can buy Belladonna Seeds from Walmart, but... be careful. Poisonous, remember?

July – Angel's Trumpet

Some flowers whisper, but angel's trumpet... well, the clue's in the name, folks! Those enormous trumpet-shaped blooms hang from the branches like chandeliers, releasing their sweet fragrance as dusk falls. And yes, every part of it is highly poisonous.

If any forbidden birth month flower belongs to July, I think it's this one. Bold, magnetic and impossible to ignore, it mirrors the warmth and confidence so often associated with midsummer personalities. Channel that and buy yourself an Angels Trumpet from Walmart, stat!

August – Oleander

If I had to crown one flower the survivor of the garden, it would be oleander.

It thrives where many plants give up, shrugging off relentless sunshine, poor soil and weeks of dry weather while continuing to flower as though nothing has happened. In warmer parts of the US, it's the shrub that keeps looking immaculate long after everything else has started to wilt... and that resilience? A trademark of August babes.

Its beauty comes with a warning, though. Oleander is one of the most toxic ornamental plants you can grow, a reminder that strength and softness can exist side by side. Pick up a Petite Red Oleander from Walmart, then, stat!

September – Autumn Crocus

There's something wonderfully confident about a flower that refuses to bloom until everyone else is packing up for the season, right?

Autumn crocus waits patiently while summer takes centre stage, only unfurling its elegant goblet-shaped flowers as the days begin to cool. It's a forbidden birth month flower which effortlessly proves that arriving late doesn't mean missing your moment – sometimes it's exactly what makes you unforgettable.

Beneath that graceful exterior lies a darker secret. The plant contains colchicine, making it one of the most poisonous flowering plants in cultivation. If you're willing to be careful, though, you can bag Saffron Crocus Corms from Amazon easily enough!

October – Castor Bean

If ever there were a forbidden birth month flower that proved beauty can be deceptive, it's castor bean. Gardeners grow it for its enormous burgundy leaves and striking scarlet seed pods, which give borders an almost tropical feel by late summer. Hidden inside those spectacular seed capsules, however, are some of the most toxic seeds found in any ornamental plant.

For analytical October personalities like yours truly, it feels like the perfect match. Thoughtful, composed and quietly unforgettable, it reminds us that appearances rarely tell the whole story. You can buy castor bean seeds at Walmart if you want to honor your floral shadow!

November – Crown Imperial

Few flowers command attention quite like crown imperial. Its fiery orange or golden bells hang beneath a spiky tuft of leaves, giving it a regal silhouette unlike anything else in the spring garden. For centuries, it's been surrounded by folklore, with one legend claiming the flowers bowed their heads in sorrow after witnessing Christ's arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane... and they've never looked skyward since.

Beneath all that grandeur lies a more mysterious side. The bulbs are poisonous if eaten, and the plant has a famously musky scent that many believe helps deter moles and rodents. Still, for determined November personalities, it feels like the perfect forbidden flower: proud, resilient and quietly unforgettable.

Try these Yellow Imperial Crown Flower Seeds from Amazon for a twist on the classic.

December – Moonflower

While most flowers close up as daylight fades, the moonflower is only just waking up.

As evening falls, this forbidden birth month flower's enormous white blooms slowly unfurl, glowing against the darkness and filling the air with fragrance before closing again with the morning sun. Catching one open almost feels like stumbling across a secret, and that fleeting beauty is exactly why I love it!

For optimistic, adventurous December personalities, moonflower is a reminder that some of life's most magical moments happen after everyone else has stopped looking. If you want your garden's brightest moments to happen after the sun has set, buy yourself some moonflower bush seeds from Walmart.

The more I researched these forbidden birth month flowers, the more I found myself wanting to grow them all. Traditional birth blooms celebrate the qualities we proudly wear on the surface. These celebrate something quieter – resilience, curiosity, independence, determination and the wonderfully complicated parts of ourselves that don't fit neatly into a greeting card.

Of course, many of these plants are genuinely toxic and should always be grown with care, especially around children and pets. But admired from a respectful distance? Why, then they remind us that the most captivating flowers are often the ones with the richest stories to tell.

And, sure, they add a little spookiness to the equation, too. What could be better?

We rely on trees to provide us with shade. But who chills down the trees when a heatwave strikes?

I planted over 200 native trees on my hillside in French Basque Country in order to give me shade in the summer and protect my house from strong winter winds. Planting trees has also filled my yard with morning birdsong all year round. So when the canicule (French for heatwave) arrived in late June, with record temperatures never before seen in France, I wanted to do the right thing for the oaks, beeches, and chestnut trees in the landscape.

Here’s a shortlist of the 5 steps I took.

1. Water Low, Long and Slow

If you are anything like me, you’re tempted to rush outside early every morning and offer your trees a drink. After all, they haven’t been watered since the prior morning, so they must be thirsty. But shallow, daily watering actually does them more harm than good.

The best way to water trees in summer is deep but infrequently at the root zone, extending it out to the drip line. Get out there early in the morning - it’s the best time of the day to irrigate since the water has sunk into the soil well before the sun is hot enough to evaporate it. Using soaker hoses makes the process easier.

Slow, deep watering at ground level is the way to get the top 12 inches (30cm) of soil moist, since that’s where most of the feeder roots are located. Do this once a week. It’s not a short process. Depending on the size of the tree, it can take between 30 minutes and several hours. A great way to get water to the lower roots is to invest in a root irrigator, like this one from Amazon. Remember, the heat doesn’t actually kill many trees; it’s a combination of heat and drought. Watering can save your trees, so don’t skip it.

2. Mulch Like Your Life Depended on It

Mulch is not just for city flower beds. Layering an organic product on the soil – wood chips or shredded bark works well for trees – protects the soil and “locks in” moisture. It also serves to regulate the soil temperature, keeping the roots cooler in the heat of summer. Use a thick layer, 2-4 inches (5-10cm) of mulch, spread to the drip line.

You’ll want to keep the mulch some 4 inches (10cm) away from the trunk of the tree. Overmulching is a serious problem, and when mulch piles against the trunk, it can cause rot. Keep the mulch flat across the base of the tree and don’t let it form a volcano shape around the tree. You can get dye-free mulch from Lowe's.

3. Avoid Stressing the Trees

Extreme heat stresses a tree, so one of your jobs is to make sure you don’t stress it any further. What might stress a tree? Fertilizer is one stresser, and that’s true even if you use an organic product instead of chemicals. Especially avoid fertilizers with high or rapid release nitrogen. That’s because all fertilizer - especially nitrogen-heavy fertilizer - encourages the tree to grow, grow, grow, at a time when it doesn’t have the resources (especially water) to do so.

Don’t start doing major pruning while the summer sun is beating down. Trees have to “recover” from pruning, and during a heatwave, they need all their energy to survive. If they have to use energy to heal wounds, it means they have less at the end of the day. Is there an exception? Yes there is. If a branch has broken and represents a safety concern to you or to the tree, prune it off without further debate.

4. Where There’s No Shade, Create Shade

My trees in France and not exotic specimens, but tough native trees, species that have lived on the lower slopes of the Pyranees for time out of mind. So adult trees know how to survive without shade if they get sufficient water. However, young trees are more delicate and may have a harder time.

If you have young trees or anything exotic that is delicate, consider creating temporary shade with shade cloth, which you can get from Amazon. Trees need at least three years to develop a sizable root system, so any tree you brought into the landscape within the last three years may need help. Use breathable shade cloth over a temporary frame to reduce their direct sun exposure. For young trees, consider twice a week deep watering given their smaller, more vulnerable root systems.

5. Watch for Pests and Diseases

In times of intense heat, your trees are not at their strongest. This means that they are more vulnerable to common tree insects and diseases. While a healthy tree can often shake off an attack, a tree weakened by heat and drought will have more trouble.

It’s up to you to monitor your landscape trees while they are baking under summer heat. Early detection is the key to saving an infested tree. Look for unusual holes in the bark, sawdust-like material on the ground near the trunk, insect activity on the trunk or leaves, running sap, or even fungal growth. Use gentle, organic treatments like Neem oil from Amazon to help the tree fight off issues.

Tree Care Essentials

Adding a bird bath to a border is a huge trend this year, and no wonder. Pair the beauty of blooms with the joy of splashing birds and you have the very best pool party any garden could wish for! What’s more, this is a quick and easy DIY garden project for a summer evening or weekend, and making a bird bath yourself means it can be achieved on a budget, so as border ideas go, it's a winner.

As a gardening editor, I’m lucky enough to visit lots of gardens and flower shows and I’ve seen an incredible increase in container ponds of all sorts this year, from make-it-yourself microponds to wonderfully innovative DIY water features using cheap floating solar fountains. But the idea I’ve loved most of all is in-border bird baths. Siting a bird bath in a border is a beautiful way to quickly turn a bed from lackluster to lovely, but this project isn't only for your benefit, as many bird species are seed eaters. You're probably already growing flowering plants with seeds that birds love to eat so adding a border bird bath will pair water with food.

I’ve been snapping photos of examples I’ve spotted so I can create a bird bath in my own garden, where charms of goldfinches regularly descend to feast on scabious seedheads. From pretty kitchen basins raised up on reclaimed brick pillars to gravel-lined pools sunk into the soil, I’ve gathered a ton of inspiration. And, as there’s no telling how long this summer’s heatwave is going to last for, I figured your garden friends as well as mine might appreciate their very own bespoke backyard spa.

Which is the best bird bath design for you will depend not just on your garden style but how frequently cats and other predators use your backyard. The higher the threat, the higher you need to raise the birdbath from the ground, and the clearer the airspace around it should be. Do consider the other wildlife in your garden, too, as a few well-placed rocks can open water access to all sorts of pollinators and other beneficial insects. Here are the 10 best ideas I saw to DIY a border bird bath.

1. Upcycle a Garbage Can Lid

We all have an old metal trash can sitting at the back of the garage, right? Use its lid, upside down in a border, to create a bird bath as has been done here, with a line of pebbles to give insects that fall in safe passage out of the water. I'm loving these wooden-peg plant labels, too!

If you’re one of the very few homeowners without a tired trash can stashed years ago, then why not drill some holes in the base of this well-priced galvanised steel Garden Garbage Can from Ace Hardware? That'll transform the body into a sleek modern planter and hey presto, you have yourself a spare lid to make a bird bath.

2. Make a Water Bowl Safe With Pebbles

If you already have a water bowl or feature in your garden, you can make it a safe depth for birds to use by adding pebbles or gravel. The maximum safe depth for any birdbath is four inches, though varying depths, particularly shallower areas around the rim, mean small birds such as goldfinches and sparrows can use it as well.

This idea can work for water features of any scale, from bijou bowls to expansive pools like this showstopper – imagine that full of a boisterous group of splashing starlings!

3. Repurpose a Reclaimed Item

Pebbles also allow you to adjust the depth of reclaimed items to make them safe to use as bird baths, and using aged materials is a stylish match for more relaxed, cottage-garden-style yards. This old metal trough uses larger pebbles in the base bath but a finer gravel in the upper pool to make it suitable for insects as well as smaller birds.

Do you have an old item that could be repurposed? If not, find your nearest reclamation yard through the Salvo architectural salvage directory and go hunt for one. Small holes or areas of damage are easily made watertight with a marine sealant such as this from Amazon.

4. Raise a Kitchen Basin on Bricks or Blocks

I’ll wager you’ve got a heap of pretty bowls you hardly ever use sitting in a kitchen cupboard – so why not use one to create a unique border birdbath? This shallow ceramic bowl that’s been raised on a stack of alternating pairs of bricks would be perfect for a cottage garden. For a sleeker vibe in a more modern garden, how about a marble bowl on a stone plinth?

As quick and clever DIY ideas for containers go, this DIY bird bath rewards minimal effort with maximum style.

5. Use Bricks to Sink a Spiral Bird Bath Into a Border

This has to be my favorite idea of all. Though the result is super-stylish, this spiral gravel bird bath is simple to replicate using a section of pond liner, bricks or block pavers, and pea gravel. Simply dig a sloping-edge hole and line with the aquaculture material, being sure to spread it well beyond the pool rim, then landscape with blocks and gravel. For longevity, it would be a smart move to lay a couple of inches of sand, such as this All-Purpose Sand from Home Depot, between the soil and the liner, too.

I love how this pool has been integrated into the border with a line of angled bricks leading into the planting. The sloping gravel means it’s safe for insects as well as birds to use.

6. Make a Naturalistic Gravel Scrape Pool

This wildlife pool sits in a gravel border of Carex grass and hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium), with rounded pebbles creating a naturalistic look as well as giving safe bathing for all sizes of birds. To stop mosquitoes from breeding, a small fountain has been used to keep the water moving, and it’s easy to do the same using a floating solar-powered fountain.

You can make a gravel scrape pool for your garden birds in the same way as the spiral birdbath above, by digging a depression and lining it with sand and pool liner material. Take a tip from this lovely example, though, and extend the pool further than you plan the surface area of the water to be. Filling in part of the shallow pool completely with pebbles allows you to add aquatic plants such as this pretty corkscrew rush (Juncus effusus ‘Spiralis’) (bottom right of this image) as part of your border.

7. Sink a Shallow Container

For a quicker DIY sunken bird bath, you can dig out a depression in a border and use a shallow container to hold the water, rather than a pond liner. Any vessel can be used as long as it’s watertight and winter-proof, as you can make the water depth shallower and create sloping sides using gravel or pebbles. Here, rocks in the center and cut logs around the perimeter have been added to create landing perches for flying insects as well as birds.

The wider the container, the better. Not only will it need topping up less often but there will be room to add a floating solar fountain to keep the water moving, making it unsuitable for mosquitoes to breed. A layer of sand such as this All-Purpose Sand from Home Depot between the container and soil will make it easier to do final fine-tuning with a spirit level as well as improve longevity.

8. Upturn a Plant Stand to Hold a Pot Saucer

This genius idea uses a trio of ceramic plant saucers in an upturned plant stand. The top pool is a birdbath while the lower two are half-filled with gravel as well as water to provide drinking spots for bees, butterflies and ground beetles. Just don't use unsealed terracotta plant saucers as the clay is porous.

9. Create a Mud-Pillar Bird Bath

Here’s an interesting idea to try if you live in a dry zone with clay-rich soil – a pillar bird bath created from a mix of earth and chopped up straw. It takes inspiration from the traditional house-building material of ‘daub’, a mix of an aggregate such as sand or soil, a binder such as clay, and reinforcement like straw, hay or animal hair. As long as the daub gets a full week of dry weather to cure, it’s surprisingly resilient in occasional rain, though is unlikely to last more than a summer without a coat of limewash.

Fashion some sort of a mold using a container or plywood boards. Mix clay-rich soil with any fully dried, chopped-up plant stems (crush first if they're hollow) and just enough water to combine, and pack the mixture into the mold. Such a fun garden project, especially if you have children!

10. Relocate a Pedestal Bird Bath

Of course, the easiest way to create your very own in-border avian plash-park is to simply move an existing pedestal bird bath into a flower bed. This bath is especially attractive to feathered friends as it’s tall enough for the water to sit just above the flowers, and a flat rock has been placed in the centre to make an easy landing pad.

There are plenty of other wins in this quick garden project for you as well as the birds. Whether or not yours is a wildlife garden, attracting birds to your plot with a border bird bath is a smart choice because, as well as snacking on flower seedheads, many bird species readily feast on slugs and snails. Add pebbles so insects can drink safely from your bird bath and you'll also welcome an army of smaller pest-control experts. Add some stylish homes for your garden wildlife to shelter all these critters, and your yard will be a haven for beneficial backyard critters that help to keep pests at bay.

Whether you have a large backyard patio or a small, postage stamp-sized balcony, there is nothing better than filling outdoor spaces with potted plants. Indeed, container displays are one of the easiest ways to transform any outdoor yard.

The trouble is, many patio seating areas are positioned in sunny spots where you can enjoy the sunshine with a refreshing drink and chat with family and friends. But when temperatures climb and humidity lingers, many popular bedding plants grown in pots in sunny positions can begin to wilt, stop flowering, or simply give up altogether.

Fortunately, there are plenty of patio plants that thrive in such conditions. The key is choosing species that evolved in tropical or Mediterranean climates where hot, sticky summers are simply part of the environment. A little heat and humidity in July and August won't worry these plants too much.

Whatever you grow, remember that even the toughest heat-tolerant container plants need a little help every now and then. Water deeply rather than little and often, feed regularly during the growing season to encourage extra blooms, and always use a quality, free-draining potting mix so roots never sit in water.

With the right care, these humidity and heat-loving patio plants will reward you with spectacular displays from early summer right through to the first frosts. Here are five of my favorites that I have grown in my time as a gardener.

Heat-Loving Patio Plants

While all of these patio plants enjoy sunshine, always match them to your growing conditions. If your yard is especially hot and dry, lantana and bougainvillea are hard to beat, while mandevilla and hibiscus will appreciate regular watering during prolonged dry spells.

Whatever you choose, though, good drainage is essential for these plants. So, always buy pots with drainage holes (or drill them yourself), and combine a little sand, grit or gravel in the mix to help. With the right care, these five heat-loving low-maintenance patio plants will keep your containers looking colorful and healthy all summer long.

1. Lantana

With clusters of fiery orange, yellow, pink and red flowers, lantana will bloom almost continuously through summer. It thrives in heat, humidity, and even periods of drought once established.

Hardy in USDA growing zones 9 to 11, it is typically grown as an annual in cooler regions, although you can overwinter container plants indoors or in a frost-free greenhouse from November through March.

Try these live lantana plants, available via Amazon, planting them in pots filled with good quality, free-draining soil. Or, if yellow borders are more your thing, try the 'New Gold' variety of Lantana, available now to order from Fast Growing Trees.

One word of caution: lantana is considered invasive in some frost-free parts of the US, including Hawaii, Florida, and parts of Texas, where it can spread into natural habitats. It is also toxic to pets and livestock if ingested, so always check with your local government office before planting and keep pots away from curious dogs or cats.

In summer, I would also suggest using an organic bloom-booster feed, high in phosphorus, or potash, which will help to encourage flowering for as long as possible. Something like this Dr. Earth fertilizer, available from Walmart, should do the job.

2. Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea will always remind me of holidays in Italy where brilliant cascades of hot pink and magenta spill over whitewashed walls and terracotta pots in the summer sunshine. It looks wonderfully exotic, but it is also one of the toughest patio plants you can grow, thriving in heat, humidity and full sun where many other flowering plants struggle.

Hardy in USDA zones 9 to 11, bougainvillea is best grown in containers in cooler regions, allowing you to move plants indoors or into a frost-free greenhouse before winter arrives. Given plenty of warmth and sunshine, don't be surprised if it puts on 3 to 6 feet of growth in a single season.

The 'La Jolla' bougainvillea variety, available via Walmart, is a particularly striking variety, producing vivid fuchsia bracts that create a spectacular display all summer long.

Plant it in a pot filled with free-draining potting mix and resist the temptation to overwater. Bougainvillea actually flowers best when allowed to dry slightly between thorough soakings, so a bit of neglect is no bad thing. To keep blooms coming, feed weekly from mid-spring through to early fall

3. Mandevilla

Rocktrumpets, or mandevilla, are native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, stretching from the southern United States through Mexico and into Central America. As you might imagine, these are plants that positively thrive in high heat and sticky humidity, making them one of the best choices for a summer patio.

Given the right conditions, this vigorous climber can easily produce 10 feet of growth in a single season, although newer compact varieties are perfect for smaller patios and balconies.

Live mandevilla plants are available to buy from the Fast Growing Trees store, just be sure to water well on delivery and position in a bright, sunny location on your patio. While they enjoy consistently moist soil during the growing season, avoid letting containers become waterlogged.

In cooler regions, simply move pots indoors before temperatures begin to dip in September or October. Kept somewhere bright and frost-free, the evergreen foliage will carry on looking good until it is time to return the plant outdoors the following spring (typically around April).

4. Hibiscus

With enormous blooms in shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and white, hibiscus shrubs are hard to beat, particularly as they seem to flower all the more enthusiastically during long spells of heat and humidity.

Most tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) are native to Asia and are hardy in US zones 9 to 11, although they thrive in pots elsewhere, allowing you to move them indoors before the first frosts arrive.

For a North American option, Hibiscus coccineus, also called swamp hibiscus or rose mallow, is native to the southeastern US including Texas. It features striking, bright red, firework-like flowers. It thrives in warm but wet, swampy areas down to zone 6.

Position containers somewhere warm and sunny, watering deeply whenever the top inch of soil begins to dry, but never allowing roots to sit in soggy compost (unless you are growing the swamp hibiscus!).

During the growing season, feed plants every week or two with a fertilizer high in potash to encourage as many blooms as possible. Remove spent flowers by deadheading as they fade and, with a little care, your hibiscus will keep producing spectacular tropical color right through to fall.

Walmart has a range of attractive hibiscus varieties, including some beautiful bicolored options.

5. Geraniums

No list of heat-loving patio plants would be complete without zonal pelargoniums. Often called geraniums, these classic summer flowers have been brightening pots, window boxes, and patios for centuries – and for good reason.

Native to South Africa, they are perfectly adapted to hot, sunny conditions, producing masses of flowers in shades of pink, red, salmon, orange and white throughout the summer months.

Pink and red live pelargonium plants can be ordered via Amazon and planted at any point through the summer. Position in a sunny spot on the patio (they will also cope with part-sun/part-shade), water, and feed regularly for the best results. Removing faded flower heads will also encourage fresh flowers well into October.

Shop Patio Garden Essentials

To find out more about inspirational gardens and gardening, read The Garden Through Time by Thomas Rutter, available from Amazon. From Persian paradises to New York’s High Line, this volume offers practical ideas and plant selections to help you design a gorgeous, low-maintenance garden. Telling the story of 45 gardens found worldwide, it is an essential read (or gift) for gardeners looking for timeless inspiration.

The peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) has a reputation for being unkillable, which does it a slight disservice. It survives neglect. Looking lush and pushing out those white spathes is a different bar, and July is when the gap between surviving and thriving shows. Warm air and faster growth pull more from the plant than the quieter months do.

None of it is complicated. Good peace lily care in summer comes down to reading what the plant is already telling you and adjusting before a droop turns into a brown edge. The five tasks here cover the stretch through the hottest part of the season, and none of them takes long.

5 Peace Lily Tasks Worth Doing in July

A peace lily is expressive, which makes it forgiving. The leaves sag when it's thirsty, so it tells on itself before harm sets in. Give it a good drink with a watering can like this one from Amazon, and it perks right back up again. That feedback is what keeps the summer routine manageable.

1. Water More Often, but Read the Soil First

Heat drives thirst, and a peace lily that coasted on a weekly drink in spring may want water every few days once July settles in. The dramatic wilt is the giveaway, but chasing that peace lily droop on a rigid schedule overcorrects into soggy roots. The soil is the better guide. When the top inch (2.5cm) feels dry, it's time; when it's still damp, wait.

Watering a peace lily with rainwater or filtered water is better than hard tap, since the browning leaf tips so many owners fight often trace back to fluoride and chlorine building up. Letting tap water stand overnight helps a little. The plant drinks fast in the heat, so a pot left to dry out completely collapses hard and takes a couple of days to recover, if it recovers all the way. Humidity is the half of watering that summer strips away, since air conditioning pulls moisture out of a room. A peace lily raised on tropical damp responds with brown, papery leaf tips, and watering more never fixes that one. The answer is putting moisture back in the air – group it with other plants, set the pot on a pebble tray like this one from Amazon, or run a small humidifier nearby.

2. Feed Lightly for Those White Spathes

July sits in the middle of active growth, and a hungry peace lily puts out leaves at the expense of flowers. A balanced houseplant fertilizer keeps both going, and a gentle 1-1-1 liquid houseplant food from Amazon suits a plant this sensitive to salt buildup. Feeding once a month through summer is plenty.

More is not better here. Over-fertilized peace lilies show it fast. The leaf tips crisp up brown, and a white crust of mineral salt starts creeping across the soil. Flush the pot through with plain water if that shows up, then skip the next feeding. Plenty of people mistake a plant with all leaves and no blooms as hungry, when usually it's the opposite.

3. Get the Light and Placement Right

Peace lilies pass as shade plants. Indoors that mostly holds, so summer sun through a south window can scorch them in a way low winter light doesn’t. Watch for pale washed-out patches, or bleached blotches where a leaf has taken too much direct sun. Bright indirect light a step back from the glass keeps the color rich without burning.

The flip side is true too. A peace lily parked in a genuinely dark corner stays alive but rarely blooms, since it needs decent light to bother producing spathes at all. Somewhere it casts a soft shadow is about right. Keep it clear of air-conditioning vents while you're adjusting placement, because that cold dry draft browns leaf edges as surely as too much sun does. Giving the pot a quarter turn each time you water keeps growth even, since a peace lily leans toward its light source over a few weeks and grows lopsided otherwise.

4. Groom the Leaves and Deadhead Spent Blooms

Dust is a quiet problem on a broad-leaved plant. A film across those big leaves blocks light and slows the plant down, so wipe each one with a damp cloth every couple of weeks to keep them working and glossy. Spent flowers matter as well – once a white spathe fades to green and then browns, cut the whole stalk to the base with a clean pair of Fiskars micro-tip pruning snips from Walmart so the plant redirects that energy into new growth.

Older leaves yellow off on their own schedule, and those get trimmed at the base as they go. The wiping does double duty, putting your eyes on the leaf undersides where spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and mealybugs settle in before anyone spots them. Both love the summer heat. Catch a handful early and you can often skip the infestation entirely.

5. Check Whether It's Ready for a Bigger Pot

Summer growth can tip a peace lily into being root-bound. A few things give it away. Water runs straight through instead of soaking in, roots poke out the drainage holes, and the plant wilts again almost as soon as it's watered. A rootbound peace lily blooms poorly and dries out constantly, undoing the other four tasks.

When repotting a peace lily, go up just one pot size – too large a container holds excess water and invites root rot, which peace lilies are prone to. These fun 8-inch pots from Amazon suit a plant stepping up from a 6-inch nursery pot. That said, these things flower best a little snug in the pot, so if none of those signs are showing, leave it where it is and look again in fall. Do these five through the summer and your peace lily rewards you with that deep green flush and a steady run of white spathes, right when the rest of the garden is wilting in the heat.

Peace Lily Essentials

Colors are so intrinsically linked to your gardening choices, you might not always realize you’ve got carried away until you see some of the results. Then one day, you’ll be sitting on the front patio and it will hit you: yikes. Maybe all those dozens of colors competing for attention in your flower beds and borders are a little bit much?

Maybe what started as the odd crayon-bright variety has become multi-toned chaos. But if it feels like your plants are clashing rather than cooperating, don’t panic. You needn’t settle for visual friction. A little mindful color selection will instantly help you achieve a calmer ambiance. And rethinking the way you approach front yard landscaping doesn't mean adhering to cold rules. Winning curb appeal just means simplifying your color pairings and combinations.

This sort of discipline might sound like it sucks a little of the fun out of growing flowers, but it’s quite the opposite. Limiting your palette can be freeing in terms of how you combine specific plants, textures, shapes, and sizes – and all with visual balance in mind. Find out how the 2-color trick can help you tame your yard and create high impact visuals that everyone will want to stop and admire.

Why Color Chaos Kills Curb Appeal

In color theory, pairing too many saturated warm and cool shades creates intense visual friction. When hot-pink magenta petunias, fiery orange marigolds, electric blue lobelia, and bright yellow zinnias are all squeezed into a single bed, their competing light waves bounce around chaotically. Under bright summer sunlight, this overload turns into visual noise. This jarring static makes a front yard look cluttered and messy rather than intentional. It can even make a yard look smaller.

When every bloom screams for attention, it’s hard to distinguish and appreciate their individual beauty. Collectively, it can feel like a jumble. Situated by a colored wall or front yard fence, the problems magnify, and none of this is great news for curb appeal. Instead of drawing the eye toward your entryway or porchway, an overactive color palette creates visual stops and starts. The overall effect can feel disjointed, dragging down curb allure instead of framing your property with purpose.

This doesn’t mean there is no place for a riot of blooms. Whimsical cottage gardens, meadow plantings and backyard pollinator patches can handle a colorful free-for-all, because their informal boundaries soften the impact. But landscaping for curb appeal relies on something else. This is where you need instant, clean legibility from the street, and where less can be so much more. Introducing simple curb color rules isn't about stifling expression. It’s just about giving plants room to breathe, so your front yard looks effortlessly put together. Here’s how it can work for you…

The 2-Color Trick (And Why It Works)

The two-color trick isn’t about stripping joy from your garden or banning your favorite blooms. But if your front yard feels messy rather than magical, capping your plant palette at 2 dominant hues works like a reset button. Forget the confetti mix seed pack that will create a lively mishmash of all the colors of the rainbow. Instead, select 2 colors that can play well off each other. A duo-toned front border will instantly upclass the yard, creating cohesiveness and a high-end, elegant look.

When you limit your palette with these color rules, your brain stops trying to reconcile competing color signals. The eyes shift their focus to subtle details, like variations in plant height, leaf shapes, and contrasting textures. By curbing the rainbow, you allow anchor plants, hardscaping features like brick walkways, and porch details to stand out rather than compete with your flower beds. Whether framing a tight bed beside a door or running a long border down a driveway, choosing a couple of harmonizing or opposing colors brings immediate structural focus, balance and harmony.

You don’t need to rely on just flowers to make this trick work. High-impact foliage can offer long-lasting contrast with less maintenance. For instance, planting a burgundy foliage plant alongside a lime-tinted companion creates a high-contrast border that holds its color all season without looking cluttered. Try rich burgundy Tiny Wine Ninebark from Nature Hills, and add Proven Winners Limelight Hydrangea Shrubs from Fast Growing Trees to offset those deeper wine tones.

3 Ways to Make it Work

Limiting yourself to two shades has a calming effect on the entire front yard. Instead of overwhelming passers-by with bouncing colors, a duo-tone approach focuses the attention on plant heights, leaf textures, and bloom shapes. So if you need to calm the visual turmoil and bring the harmony back, the trick is to find a simple color partnership that works for your space and aesthetic. Here are 3 smart color matches you can try. Treat these as flexible templates you can adapt according to your plant desires and your yard, to help you frame your space in style with minimal fuss.

1. Monochromatic Shift

Choosing two shades from the same color family, like a cool lilac paired with a rich violet, is the ultimate shortcut to a sophisticated yard. A monochromatic palette relies on tonal gradients to create depth across beds, borders, and containers. My favorite is monochromatic green. This approach allows you to focus on foliage plants, using a single, dominant base color while incorporating shades a bit lighter or darker. So you could pair white, off-white and silvery shades. This could blend tall Aruncus dioicus, white peonies, and trailing alyssum, backed by silver foliage.

The key to making this palette work is to vary plant shapes and heights. For a purple scheme, plant tall, dark spikes of Caradonna salvia (S. nemorosa) and airy purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis) at the back of a border. In the middle, try 'Walker's Low' catmint or drifts of Hidcote lavender. Add Supertunia Royal Velvet petunias or the lush folds of Plum Pudding heuchera at the front (or in porch pots) to tie the look together.

If you prefer a sunnier tone, try gold and chartreuse. Use medium-sized shrubs like Gold Mound spirea and variegated Emerald 'n' Gold euonymus toward the center of your bed. Surround them with butter-yellow Moonbeam coreopsis and Lime Marmalade coral bells. To soften hard driveway edges or stone steps, let golden Japanese Forest Grass and cascading creeping Jenny spill onto the paving. You can get both Lime Marmalade and Plum Pudding Coral Bells from Plant Addicts, along with a broad range of heuchera colors.

2. Clean White + Hero Color

For a crisp and sophisticated front border, use the classic aesthetic of white with another color (green works well if you aren’t sure). This is a clean, timeless look that looks cool and chic while brightening up shady corners. You might start with a snowy carpet of fragrant sweet alyssum, backed by iceberg rose varieties and white foxgloves. Fill in the corners with creamy hostas or silver ragwort.

Pairing crisp, light-reflecting white flowers, shrubs and even white flowering trees with a single, high-voltage hero color gives instant front yard curb appeal. White can act as a natural spotlight, bouncing ambient light into shaded entryways, softening dark masonry, and making fence lines pop from the street. However, using white alone can sometimes feel sterile or washed out in midday sun. The trick is layering subtle tonal variations of white, ranging from cool, apple-green whites to classic creams and soft silvers, alongside one intense accent color.

For a high-contrast “peaches and cream” scheme, try a lush Limelight panicle hydrangea or Foxy White foxgloves at the back of your border. In front, plant Tangerine Dream coneflowers (Echinacea) or compact Profusion Orange zinnias. Interweave some soft, velvety Silver Dust Dusty Miller, available from Amazon, along the edge. Then let bright white sweet alyssum spill out over walkway pavers. For a shady corner, opt for fluffy Vision in White astilbe to bring the look together.

Or, if you prefer a rich magenta-and-cream palette, frame your porch or gateway with white floribunda roses and wispy wand flowers (Gaura lindheimeri). In the middle, set punchy PowWow Wild Berry coneflowers with silvery artemisia. Pick up Perennial Farms’ PowWow Wild Berry Coneflowers from Amazon. Finish with magenta calibrachoa cascading out of front door urns. Just bear in mind that white petals and pale silver leaves show heat-browning and water spots faster than darker foliage, so select tough, self-cleaning varieties for summer planting.

3. Bold Designer Opposites

Is there room for bright colors anywhere in the 2-color universe? Absolutely! You can make this work with our color trick, as long as the eye only sees these bright shades. Backed by foliage greens, the result is upscale and elegant, which is a winning combination for curb appeal. If you want your front yard to command attention from down the block, just look to opposite sides of the color wheel.

Complementary color pairings create high-contrast energy, because our eyes process opposing wavelengths simultaneously, making both appear more saturated than they would on their own. For a look that gives balance but also feels deliberate, establish one of the pair as the dominant color across three-quarters of your bed, then sprinkle the remaining area with pops of its visual opposite.

Try one of these pairings that work in any border layout or size:

• Royal Violet & Gold: For a high-contrast classic, weave deep purple salvia or dark lavender spires with Goldsturm Rudbeckia, available from Plant Addicts, finishing with trailing Superbells Yellow calibrachoa. For an easygoing shrub, try a brilliant yellow weigela like Golden Jackpot (Weigela florida 'MonRigney').
• True Blue & Copper Orange: Another option that looks smashing is true blue and copper orange or hot coral. Offset soft nepeta 'Cat's Pajamas' or bright agapanthus with Totally Tangerine geum. You can get Hirt’s Gardens’ Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta from Walmart. Or try blue lobelia as a low-growing element, backed by coral bells, with true blue delphinium towering in the background.
• Magenta & Chartreuse: For a modern designer vibe, pair the punchy pink petals of Magnus coneflowers with the electrifying foliage of Lime Marmalade heuchera or Sambucus Lemony Lace by Proven Winners, available from Nature Hills.

Golden Rules for 2-Color Planting

Limiting the palette does raise the stakes in terms of layouts. You can’t just plant your colors willy-nilly. It’s important to plant with an eye to design, rather than just scattering seeds as you may have done in the past. This isn’t hard, though, and it’s fun to experiment. These easy rules ensure your 2-color theme feels intentional:

1. Master 60-30-10: This designer approach suggests that one color should be the primary, and over half of the bed should reflect that. The second shade takes a third of the space, while the remaining 10% is a varying texture or hue of the two primary colors. So if you had 60% green foliage, you could give 30% to sweeps of purple Walker's Low Catmint, from Nature Hills, with a 10% accent of fiery crocosmia.
2. Weave in Drifts not Blocks: Avoid static grids or rigid blocks of one species that make borders feel stiff and unnatural. Instead, use sweeping, intermingled plantings. Try feathering silver artemisia with spires of salvia, interwoven with purple coneflowers. Soften the boundaries with some purpletop vervain. You can get Perennial Farm Verbena Bonariensis from Amazon as live plants.
3. High-Contrast Textures: Color catches the eye from across the lawn, but tactile leaf forms keep it fascinating up close. Mix ferny foliage with rounded leaves, and contrast massive, powdery Halcyon hosta leaves with pops of curling wine-soaked coleus. You can buy CZ Grain Blue Halcyon Hostas from Walmart as live plants. Thoughtful diversity is key to make the most of your curb-friendly color palette.

Shop Summer Curb Heroes

Putting together a high-impact, two-color border is a lot simpler once you can hook your schemes around a clear, tidy planting plan. By focusing on a few well-chosen perennial anchors, you can set the foundation for stunning monochromatic, clean white, or bold designer contrast schemes that thrive season after season. Selected with popular color purple in mind, the following options bring instant wow factor.

Purple-Friendly Picks

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Can you use flour to deter garden pests? That's the question everyone's asking at the moment, thanks to some pretty bold claims on social media.

Honestly, every week it feels like the online masses find a new kitchen staple that's apparently destined to become the next miracle gardening hack. I've seen cinnamon, banana peels, coffee grounds and baking soda all have their moment in the spotlight. Now, though, it's the turn of plain old flour.

Video after video has shown gardeners dusting it over their plants, with some even sprinkling it across flower beds, claiming it keeps pests away without using chemicals. All of which sounds... well, highly unlikely. Then again, stranger garden hacks have turned out to contain at least a tiny grain of truth.

So naturally, I did what I always do when the internet starts making bold gardening claims. I turned to my husband, who just so happens to be an RHS-trained professional gardener with over two decades of experience under his toolbelt.

Can You Use Flour To Deter Garden Pests?

My moment of curiosity happened halfway through an episode of Taskmaster (you know how it is), which meant I paused the TV, asked whether I should start throwing flour around the garden, and was met with the sort of long sigh that suggested I had committed a cardinal sin by interrupting Greg Davies.

Once my husband had accepted that the episode wasn't restarting until he'd answered my question, though, he admitted the internet wasn't completely wrong.

"There's a grain of truth to it," he told me. "But it's one of those hacks that's been stretched so far online that people think it's a miracle cure, when really it only has a very limited use."

According to my husband, plain all-purpose flour can sometimes help against small, soft-bodied pests like aphids, cabbage loppers, and some mites.

"The flour isn't poisoning anything," he explained. "It's purely mechanical. When tiny insects feed on leaves coated with flour, the starch mixes with moisture from their mouthparts and digestive system, creating a sticky paste that makes feeding much more difficult."

Eyes flickering between me and the paused television, he rolled his eyes as he realized I needed more. "It's a similar idea to using food-grade diatomaceous earth as a physical barrier rather than a chemical pesticide," he added.

The important word there? Sometimes.

"It's only really effective as a very light dusting in dry weather," he said. "As soon as it gets damp, most of the benefits disappear."

And this is where his enthusiasm disappeared completely, as my husband pointed out that flour is (whether we'd happily chow down on it ourselves or not) food. "If you're scattering it around your garden, don't be surprised if mice, rats or other hungry visitors decide you've laid out a free buffet," he warned

Warming to his theme of 'don't you dare use flour to deter garden pests in our yard, Kayleigh', he moved onto the not-so-little issue of the weather.

"If flour gets wet, it it turns into glue," he said. "You end up with this sticky paste coating the leaves, trapping moisture against the plant. And that's exactly the sort of environment fungal diseases love."

My husband also pointed out that flour washes away surprisingly quickly, which means you'd need to keep reapplying it after rain or even heavy dew.

"And if you get a bit overenthusiastic," he added, "you can end up coating the leaves so heavily that you're blocking sunlight and making it harder for the plant to photosynthesize. That's hardly helping, is it?"

So if you can't use flour to deter garden pests, what should you use instead? Well, his answer came without hesitation: food-grade diatomaceous earth.

"It works on the same basic principle, as it's a physical barrier rather than a poison, but it doesn't become a sticky mess or invite rodents into the garden," he said promisingly.

Shop Essentials for Deterring Garden Pests:

For gardeners dealing with aphids, he also recommends starting with the gentlest solutions first, such as a strong jet of water, encouraging beneficial insects like ladybugs, or simply tolerating small numbers of pests where possible.

As is so often the case with gardening hacks, the viral version isn't completely made up, but it usually leaves out the important part. In this case, flour can have a small (albeit temporary effect) on certain pests under very specific conditions, but it's far from the miracle cure social media sometimes makes it out to be

Personally, I think I'll save the flour for baking... and let my husband get back to Taskmaster in peace.

Boundary fences are an afterthought in most gardens, but integrating these backdrops into your yard design will upgrade the whole space. Fences come in all shapes, sizes and materials but all can be commandeered to help bring style and color to your garden.

Whether you opt for a decorative panel or painting the fence a dark color to show off bold border planting, or turn bare sections into textural treats with vining plants or natural screening, fence-scaping is a DIY project you can achieve yourself in a weekend. Some ideas enable you to use your fence as an extra planting area, too – a real bonus if your plot is compact.

Your boundaries serve a practical function, making your home safe and secure as well as screening you from neighbours. But once you have those essentials covered, there are all sorts of ways you can use your garden fences to improve your landscape design. And, as you'll see, you don't have to spend a fortune to get a stunning result. Here are 10 of the latest DIY fence ideas to inspire you.

1. Clad With Stylish Bamboo

Choose sturdy bamboo cladding to give a dull garden fence a natural and eco-friendly upgrade. This affordable option is quickly achieved by attaching rolled fenced panels such as this one from Wayfair to existing fence panels using cable ties or wire, making this an easy DIY garden project.

This natural bamboo fence has hollow stems that provide vital habitat for pollinators in your garden. If you love the idea of attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, design the planting around them too, choosing pollinator magnet plants such as foxgloves, salvia and yarrow. Go one step further and add a bug house to give wildlife a home and max up your green credentials.

2. Create a Focal Point With Colored Panels

Elevate your yard by slotting in decorative colored fence panels to define a seating area and add an elegant designer touch. This is an easy way to bring outdoor living vibes to your garden, giving it a more interior-led feel to match whatever style and aesthetic you want to create. It's also a budget-friendly option for upgrading standard fences into more of a feature.

DIY this idea yourself by using sections of pressure-treated plywood suitable for exterior use such as this Pine Ply from Lowe's. Priming the wood first will give you a smoother finish and richer colors, then apply two coats of an exterior paint. Take a look at the range of Glidden Fundamentals Exterior Paint at Walmart for an inspiring range of colors from Blue Oasis to Turning Oakleaf and Pepperberry Pink. There's also a range of exterior Glidden paints with primer if you want to skip that step.

Installed by pre-drilling them then fixing to the fence with screws, using a spirit level to check they're straight. A versatile option, it's easy to change the color when you want a different look, too.

3. Install Decorative Panels for Instant Results

You can buy decorative panels in so many different patterns, colors and sizes, it's easy to find a design that suits your garden style perfectly. There are tall, narrow panels and circular designs as well as the standard rectangles, so you can get creative.

Panels can be fixed to an existing boundary if it's strong enough, or how about using a panel to replace a short section of the fence? It's also possible to inset a smaller panel into a fence, as has been done here. Punctuating a long fence with several equally-spaced panels is a smart way to add rhythm and regularity to a garden.

Using the same design of decorative panel in different ways around your yard as well as fixing one to your fence brings a cohesive, prefessional look, too. Some panels are stronger than others so do check, but some are robust enough to be used between pergola struts to cast shapely shadows, or laid into gravel as a textured feature.

Decorative Fence Panels

4. Hang a Mirror to Make A Small Garden Look Bigger

If you're looking for small garden ideas, another trick designers often use is hanging a mirror on the fence. This will reflect your plants and make it seem like there are more of them, and is surely the easiest of DIY designer tricks to make a small garden look bigger. Outdoor mirrors help to bounce light around to create the illusion of space.

In this design a mirror is hung on a fence in a shady corner of the garden. It adds light and depth to brighten and open up the garden, adding the illusion that another space lies beyond. Find a round garden mirror design like this at Amazon. Most come with strong adhesive pads and are easy to fix to a clean surface, but it's smart to back that up with exterior glue.

5. Create Fence Shelves and Start a Curated Collection

A big trend at the moment is the idea of a curated garden. This means making more considered choices where plants, materials, and accessories are concerned. The aim is to achieve a cohesive look where everything fits together in a harmonious design that's entirely unique to you.

Integrating shelves into garden fence ideas is a great way of tapping into this trend, allowing you to add a unique customised finish with, for example, a collection of small potted plants similar to the look achieved with a plant theater. Or perhaps your DIY garden shelves could house your collection of rocks and other natural treasures?

It's an easy weekend DIY project, too. Attach sturdy outdoor brackets directly into fence supports, using exterior-grade deck screws, then secure pre-cut treated shelf boards.

6. Run A Raised Bed Along a Fence

The strip of ground in front of a fence often ends up as an underused space where nothing grows. But it's easy to add either an integral raised garden bed or a freestanding one right in front that allows you to maximise the space by adding a layer of planting to beautify the boundary.

Raised garden beds along fences add a visually appealing and structural element to your garden. Use a similar material for the raised bed as the fence, and the pairing will serve as a modern focal point. While it's smart to follow the recommended spacing guidelines for any plant variety to ensure there is enough room for growth to give your design longevity, it's okay to plant more densely in a raised bed as you can easily control moisture and nutrient levels.

7. Use Trellis to Add Texture

There are no rules to say trellis must be used solely to support plants and, as you can see from this small garden, it's an effective way to add an accent in its own right. Choose expandable trellis made from willow such as this Latticed Willow Trellis from Lowe's and you can use hand pruners to cut it into creative shapes.

Defining a space by fixing trellis to fence is quick and affordable, too.

8. Let Light in With Contemporary Slats

If you're gardening in a small space like a courtyard or patio garden it's important to let in as much light as possible. This is where airy wooden slat fencing comes into play, which is one of the biggest garden trends for 2026.

Characterized by neat horizontal planks that allow light to filter through, wooden slatting allows you to create a crisp, modern aesthetic while simultaneously softening the look of boundaries. This design is elegant and minimalist with the fence offering clean lines as a backdrop to the restrained planting.

There's no need to replace your entire fence, but switch out a couple of sections with modern horizontal slat panels such as these Nature's Composites Panels from Lowe's.If you're on a budget and handy at DIY, then you can cheat the look by removing a section of existing fencing and fixing treated roofing batons at intervals to fenceposts.

9. Cloak a Bare Fence With Climbing Plants

One of the easiest and most pleasing ways to turn a fence into a feature is by covering it with climbing plants. Choose the right varieties and they will grow vigorously to disguise fence panels with beautiful-looking flowers and foliage.

From fragrant climbing roses, scented honeysuckle and perfumed jasmine flowers to tropical trumpet vine and heavenly wisteria, there's a world of choice out there. When you're wondering what climber to grow on a fence, start by looking at fast-growing vines that won't scramble out of control. Clematis is always a great choice if you like flamboyant flowers, and there's a clematis vine to suit every spot.

Before making your choice take into account the aspect of your yard, and opt for either sun-loving or shade-loving plants accordingly. Next, check the plant's water and fertilizing requirements. Then be sure to offer something for them to cling to such as wires or trellis, to make their transformation of your fence even easier.

Pretty Climbing Plants For Fences

10. Paint a Black Backdrop for Dramatic Planting

The black paint trend is a big look for fence ideas right now, and one of the most dramatic garden ideas you can achieve in a weekend. Timber or metal fencing stained in shades of deep charcoal to jet black deliver a modern aesthetic that acts as a dramatic backdrop to visually enhance planting. With clever lighting and the use of accent plants that landscape designers love, you can really turn your fence into a feature.

A favorite among garden designers for offering dramatic impact and a high-end finish, black fences instantly make a garden feel more considered. It's an easy look to copy too. Choose an outdoor fence paint such as Fence Pro in Black from Lowe's that will deal with even the harshest weather conditions for a long-lasting look.

Pick up the black look elsewhere, too, with other details such as plant stands, pots and planters, and garden furniture or accessories.

Can you ever have too many flowers in your garden? It's hard to believe, but the answer may be yes. “Too many” in this context just means more than you wanted. Although self-seeding flowers may seem like a godsend the first few years, you may get tired of seeing the same darn blossoms filling your landscape year after year – especially in parts of the garden where you don't want them. Once established, they can be hard to get rid of.

Self-seeding plants do the work for you. You plant them once and then they reseed themselves and provide new blooms every year. But they often come back in even greater numbers and ultimately become hard to control or remove. You can prevent this issue by avoiding the flowers that self-seed most prolifically.

Here are five flowers that fit into that category. Be sure you love them before you plant them – because they’ll keep coming back for quite a while!

Self-Seeding Flowers You May Regret

Take a close look at this list of self-seeding flowers. If you love them and are certain you will love them forever, go ahead and plant them. Otherwise, find another flower to plant that doesn’t self-seed so freely.

1. California Poppy

This is a hard one for me to warn others about because I am totally in love with these vibrant orange and yellow papery blooms. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is California’s state flower and it takes my breath away to see fields and fields of these flowers in bloom.

Poppies look delicate, but they are in fact tough as nails. They bloom profusely in poor, dry soil, and when they die, they form long seed pods that scatter the tiny seeds everywhere. Their deep taproots allow them to survive even in periods of drought, but the same taproots also make the poppies hard to eradicate once established.

2. Sweet Alyssum

You may be familiar with this popular low-growing annual, with its sweet honey-like fragrance and tiny white, pink, or purple flowers. Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) creates a colorful carpet of small blooms to blanket your garden or landscape. They move from seed to flower in less than two months.

Alyssum’s finest moments occur in cooler weather – it blooms best in spring and fall. In the fall, this annual’s tiny seeds explode across the entire garden bed, sometimes falling into cracks and pathways as well. It is a highly prolific self-seeder that pops up relentlessly year after year.

3. Forget-Me-Not

Forget-me-nots (Myosotis spp.) are yet another plant that can be termed prolific self-seeders. These beautiful shade-loving flowers will create a magnificent low-growing cloud of blue flowers with yellow or white eyes in April and May. The blooms are small with five lobes and appear in dense clusters in springtime.

But forget-me-nots are more resilient than their delicate appearance may suggest. Once established, these lovely flowers look to their future. They drop innumerable dark seeds in late summer.

Their sticky seeds can travel on clothing or pets to reseed in new locations. They often drop enough seeds to reseed the original patch as well. Their valiant self-seeding efforts can create an unyielding carpet of blue in your landscape.

4. Columbine

Most of the tough self-seeding plants featured in this article look frilly and romantic at first glance. But few can equal the lyrical beauty of the ethereal and enchanting columbine (Aquilegia spp.) when it blooms from April through June.

This breathtakingly beautiful flower offers small bell-shaped blossoms with five petals nestled within five long backward-extending spurs. The petals can be red, pink, lavender, blue, yellow or white – or a combination of these shades. They have lacy, blue-green foliage that is also attractive.

But columbines bear seeds once they have flowered. As the seed pods dry out, they scatter their seeds freely. The tiny seeds can fall to the ground near the plant, but can also travel on the wind. They are quick to sprout whether they fall in full sun, dappled sun, or deep shade.

5. Johnny Jump-Up

Johnny jump-up (Viola tricolor) is a little, tricolor flower that makes people smile. The flower “faces” are cheerful shades of purple, yellow and white, and they appear on compact plants. These are also cool-weather plants, blooming best in the weather of spring and fall rather than summer.

Is Johnny jump-up a re-seeder? And how! It reseeds so freely that one small planting can carpet a bed with returning color for years. It can actually reseed and grow in virtually any location, so look for the flowers not just in garden beds, but along pathways, in gravel driveways, and even between stepping stones.

Shop Plant Control Must-Haves

Pothos is prized for its long vines and lush foliage, as well as its low-maintenance needs. Even newbies to growing houseplants can easily keep a pothos alive. That said, a little care here and there will ensure it thrives for years, help it to reach impressive dimensions, and keep it looking lush and vibrant while doing so. July is the heart of the growing season, a time when your pothos is growing faster than ever – so why not take advantage of the growth phase to tweak key elements of appearance and health?

July pothos care is really quite simple, but these little tasks make a huge difference. During peak summer, indoor light levels and ambient temperatures align to trigger rapid cell division in tropical vines. However, without a few deliberate tweaks, that sudden burst of energy can result in sparse, leggy growth or scorched foliage. If your indoor pal is looking a little tired or, conversely, is shooting off long, naked runners, then now is your prime window of opportunity to get on top of things.

Taking just 15 minutes this month to finetune your plant’s appearance and quality of living will set the stage for lush, dense growth over the next few months, and also give your pothos the foundation it needs to thrive year after year. Here’s how to give your gorgeous twining vine an easy-peasy July glow-up.

Quick Pothos Tasks in July

These simple tasks all work together to encourage longer vines, fuller growth, and healthier leaves. Your pothos will be well-positioned to thrive throughout the rest of summer and continue producing lush greenery well into fall. But before jumping into your pothos care routine, it helps to assess where your plant lives and how your local environment might be influencing its indoor climate.

Perhaps you live in a hot, dry climate (like USDA hardiness zones 9-11), where air conditioning constantly strips the indoor air of humidity? Or maybe you are growing your pothos in a cooler, humid region (zones 5-7), where windows are left open to invite summer breezes. Either way, your pothos will react to its surroundings. Container-bound vining plants also rely heavily on conditions within the pot.

Setting aside just 20-30 minutes for prep work pays huge dividends. Check for early signs of common summer pests, like spider mites or mealybugs, which thrive in dry indoor conditions, and tackle early issues with a diluted neem oil spray. Next, test the density and moisture level of your soil mix. Compacted, nutrient-depleted soil cannot support the vine expansion typical of summer growth. Keeping a moisture monitor like the XLUX Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon on hand takes the guesswork out of root-zone checks, so you can be sure existing moisture levels are healthy.

If your soil has degraded or lost its airy texture, grab a bag of high-drainage substrate like Miracle-Gro Potting Mix for Tropicals from The Home Depot. It’s a good idea to topdress your houseplant potting soil before tackling these care steps. This will help to refresh the pot without suffocating delicate roots, and will balance drainage before you start on these key pothos tasks for July.

1. Water Your Pothos Regularly

Pothos is very forgiving, but it grows best with consistently moist soil. Water is especially important in July, when growth is rapid and indoor air tends to be dry. The best way to water is to give the potting soil a good soaking infrequently. Let the water run out of the drainage holes. When the top inch or two (5 cm) is dry, water again. While your pothos likes moist soil, it doesn’t like soggy roots, so empty the saucer under the container after watering, or raise the plant on risers or pot toes, like these sweet Tortoise Decorative Pot Toes for Planters, available from Walmart.

Highly variegated cultivars like N'Joy or Manjula have less chlorophyll and slightly slower transpiration rates than solid green or Jade pothos. This makes them more sensitive to overwatering. Conversely, fast-growing Golden or Blue Cebu will drink rapidly during heatwaves. If you neglect deep watering, you risk root desiccation, which leads to yellowing lower leaves and premature leaf drop along the main vines.

For controlled hydration that won't wash away surface soil, a narrow-spout watering vessel like the Vatenkrasse Ivory and Gold Watering Can from Ikea ensures even delivery directly to the root zone. You can expect to see perked-up, turgid leaves within 12-24 hours of a deep soak.

2. Protect from Bright Light

This is an easy plant to grow indoors: indirect light, dappled light, and filtered light all work well. Indeed, it is often too much sunlight that can cause issues. Direct afternoon rays passing through window glass act like a magnifying glass, causing irreversible foliar sunburn. Variegated varieties like Snow Queen or Marble Queen are especially vulnerable, because their white sectors lack protective pigments.

If the July sun is too intense in your plant’s usual spot, move it for a while. Remove it from very bright windows, place it outside under a patio, or move it to an east or north-facing window. Too much direct sunlight can scorch leaves, ultimately killing them. Definitely don’t shock the plant by moving it straight from a dim interior room to an unshaded outdoor patio. Intense UV light can bleach leaves pretty quickly.

To maintain high humidity without harsh sun exposure, especially if keeping your plant near a bright bathroom window, consider softening direct rays with a decorative window film like the Rabbitgoo Frosted Window Privacy Film from Amazon. If shifting your plant away from natural windows leaves it in too dark a corner, use a gentle, full-spectrum light source, like the Maystar Full Spectrum 2000W Dual Switch Grow Lamp from Walmart. Adjusting light exposure yields noticeable results within a week, preventing further leaf loss and encouraging rich color development.

3. Feed Lightly

Pothos plants don’t always need to be fertilized. Again, they are forgiving plants. They can grow well in rich and poor soil. If you never fertilized it, the plant would survive. That said, a little light feeding while it’s putting out new growth will keep it healthy and vigorous. Use a balanced houseplant fertilizer about once a month in the summer. For gentle, consistent nourishment, use a balanced liquid formula like Back to the Roots Organic Indoor Plant Food from Amazon.

These plants don’t need a lot of extra nutrients, so use the fertilizer at half strength. Ensure the root system is pre-dampened to prevent chemical burn. Water the pot thoroughly along with the fertilizer to reduce the risk of scorching the roots. To boost root vigor and enhance natural leaf sheen, you can also add a tiny splash of a seaweed tonic, such as Neptune’s Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer from Walmart. Within 2-3 weeks of a gentle July feed, you should see glossier unfurling leaves.

Supplying a light, balanced diet now ensures that new leaves open at their full potential size, with rich pigmentation and thick, durable cuticles. Skipping fertilizer entirely during active summer growth may not be the end of the world, but it often leads to small, pale leaves and thin, fragile stems. Just don’t go too far the other way with heavy formulas. These can cause salt buildup and brown leaf tips.

4. Prune and Propagate for Denser Growth

Pothos is very good at putting out long, trailing vines. In the wild, the vines can grow as long as 70 feet (21 meters). If you are seeing long, stringy vines, you can trim your pothos in July to encourage growth to branch out. Try pruning the longest vine to a point just above a leaf node. This will stimulate the vine to split, giving denser, bushier growth. To ensure clean cuts, use precision cutters like Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips from Amazon and sterilize before and after. Don't remove more than 25-30% of the total plant foliage in one session, as this can shock the root system.

As a bonus, you can take select cuttings to create a new plant. You can either pot up your cuttings or place them in a glass or jar of water. Select healthy cuttings with 2-3 nodes for propagation. Root your fresh summer cuttings in style, using a tabletop propagation setup like the Mkono Plant Propagation Station from Amazon, or the Arlmont & Co Plant Terrarium with Wooden Stand from Wayfair for a modern yet organic twist. Cuttings placed in water will begin throwing out white water roots within 10 to 14 days during July's warm window.

5. Give New Growth Something to Climb

Most pothos plants grow vines that trail from pots and baskets. In their natural habitat, pothos vines will climb. Provide a vertical support, and you’ll be rewarded with larger leaves than if they trail. Since pothos puts out new growth in July, this is a great time to tackle this simple task. Try a small trellis that you can sink into the soil of the pot or secure to the outside of the container. One pretty trellis frame that slides into the pot is the WellSign Honeycomb Potted Plant Trellis from Amazon.

Another option is to use a moss pole. You can also make your own moss pole, or you can get one ready made. For a natural option, try Lanney Moss Poles for Plants from Walmart. Secure your trailing vines gently along the pole or trellis, using soft, adjustable ties like Velcro One-Wrap Garden Ties from Lowe’s. Within 3-4 weeks of securing aerial roots to a moist support, you will observe new leaves emerging that are much larger than their trailing counterparts.

In their native tropical environments, pothos are epiphytic climbers. When aerial roots contact a sturdy, moist surface, the plant signals its mature phase, producing larger leaves with structural integrity. Leaving vines to hang downward keeps the foliage in a juvenile state, where leaves remain small and uniform. Providing vertical climbing real estate in July takes full advantage of aerial root development. Keep moss poles slightly damp to encourage aerial roots to latch on firmly.

Shop Pothos Care Essentials

Maintaining a lush, vibrant pothos is a simple joy if done quickly at regular moments. If you need a few gentle organic boosters to help you get these tasks done well, this trio can help. Take a little time to help your vines thrive, and you’ll encourage fuller growth and glossier leaves.

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Show of hands: who likes mosquitoes? If you raised your hand, I don't know how to help you. If, like me, you're always on the lookout for a new way to get them far away from you and your backyard, you'll want to read this.

There's a lot of buzz (get it?) recently around coffee and its possible mosquito-repelling properties. But where does it all come from? And is there any actual science behind it? Let's take a dive into this unusual method of backyard mosquito control.

How to Repel Mosquitos with Coffee

If you do some digging around the internet, you'll quickly find that the best way to repel mosquitos with coffee is to burn the spent grounds. (I've noticed coffee companies are especially eager to tell you this, so read into that what you will).

Here are the steps:

1. After brewing, spread grounds into a thin layer on a sheet of aluminum foil.
2. Leave the foil in the sun for a day to allow the grounds to dry out completely. (Make sure it's out of the wind!)
3. Scoop a few spoonfuls of dry grounds into a fireproof bowl. You can get one on Amazon, or just make a simple one out of foil.
4. Place the bowl near where you'll be spending time, preferably upwind.
5. Using a match or lighter, light the grounds in the center of the saucer.
6. Allow the grounds to smolder, sit back, and enjoy your mosquito-free outdoor space.

Does This Actually Work?

It's not at all hard to do this routine. The question is, does it do anything? In a word... maybe.

There has been some research to support the use of coffee grounds to repel mosquitoes, but it's a little dubious. According to this study published in 2015, water with a high concentration of coffee in it does deter female mosquitoes from laying eggs. Here's what the study has to say:

"Oviposition responses were extremely low when ovicups holding highly concentrated extract (HCE) of coffee were the only oviposition sites... Larval eclosion occurred at lower rates among eggs that matured in a coffee environment, especially among those that were maintained on HCE-moistened substrates."

In other words, female mosquitoes will actively avoid laying eggs in water containing coffee, and eggs that are laid in coffee are less likely to hatch. That seems promising, doesn't it? It is promising... if you want to cut down on overall mosquito populations. Unfortunately, it won't do anything to drive away the ones that already live in your yard.

If you do want to take a bite out of future mosquito generations, there are much more effective ways to do it than leaving out cups of coffee all over the garden. The best thing you can do is buy a pack of mosquito dunks for less than $10 on Amazon. Mosquito dunks work on a similar but fundamentally different principle to the coffee extract used in the study above. They're made with the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTi), which targets mosquito larvae and kills them before they get a chance to take off and buzz in your ear.

To get the most out of your mosquito dunks, use them to make a mosquito bucket of doom.

Should You Burn Coffee Grounds to Repel Mosquitoes?

So what about burning coffee grounds? Does it do anything at all? It might, but the truth is it's going to have just about as much effect as burning anything else. Smoke masks human odors, and it makes the air harder to breathe, so mosquitoes (and pretty much all bugs) steer clear of it. To that end, it's more about the smell you like the most. If you love the smell of burning coffee in the morning, then have at it! Otherwise, maybe stick to the citronella candles.

Other Forms of Mosquito Control

You don’t need to compromise on good looks to grow a low-maintenance garden that practically looks after itself. Make some smart choices and you’ll enjoy more flowers and a tidier garden while simultaneously cutting time spent on chores. Sound too good to be true? It’s not, I promise, because this is how I’ve been gardening for the past decade.

It’s not that I’m a lazy gardener – though it is true that I like to spend just as many hours relaxing in my paradise of petals as I do maintaining it. I simply don’t subscribe to the gardening norm that you must invest months of work to be rewarded with a few weeks of flowers. No – I take advantage of horticultural short-cuts that are rooted in science to get more glorious blooms in return for less hard graft.

These are the four garden secrets behind my lovely but seriously low-maintenance backyard. Try one, try two, or try all four so you can put your feet up and enjoy your blooming backyard more often. Cheers!

1. Embrace Groundcover

If you don’t grow groundcover plants in your borders then you’re missing a trick. Using easy-grow groundcover plants that thrive on neglect won’t create any more work but will save you a heap of time. Not only does groundcover do a great job of suppressing weeds once it’s established, but it acts as a living mulch to lock moisture in the ground, meaning you don’t have to water as often either.

If you’re up for shearing off faded blooms or doing a quick prune now and then, then you can use groundcover that flowers for months on end to bring a whole new layer of blooms to your borders. There’s even a brand new groundcover hydrangea, if you really want to show off!

My go-to groundcover is creeping phlox as it’s polite enough to skirt around bigger plants yet persistent enough to effectively smother weeds, and its fragrance is as delightful as the flowers. I also grow Sedum ‘Angelina’ in my roadside bed, because while I always want this part of the garden to be presentable, I don’t want to out there in my raggedy garden shorts, keeping it that way. And honestly, I haven’t watered this green dream of a plant for over two years now, and it couldn’t be happier.

Adding groundcover to your garden needn’t be expensive, either. Because of their naturally spreading nature, most groundcover plants can be regularly dug up and divided to make new plants. Or if you’re really on a budget, choose groundcover that can be grown from seed in spring.

2. Discover Sterile Plants That Don’t Need Deadheading

Most plants grow flowers to be pollinated by insects so they form seeds and have a few shots at species survival the following year if they’re annual, or attempt to expand their kingdom if they’re perennial. Once they’ve set seed, these plants will slow down or even stop flowering completely – which is why we deadhead. Remove fading blooms forces the plant into having another go at making seed, so it produces fresh sets of petals.

Some hybrid plants don’t do this though. When two different plant species are crossed by breeders, the cells can’t always combine properly to form seeds in the new hybrid. The hormone signal that usually shouts ‘stop flowering now’ when seed sets never gets sent, and the plant keeps on blooming. And blooming. And blooming!

Some modern lantana cultivars such as ‘Lemon Drop', ‘Miss Huff’ and ‘New Gold’ are sterile, as are Angelonia (Summer Snapdragons). I grow heaps of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ whose violet blooms tumble through other perennials, and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ for swathes of flowers on high, wiry stems (it's good to know that this has recently been reclassified as Oenothera, if you’re struggling to find it online). Lavender ‘Grosso’ is another of my sterile favorites, as its long stems and fragrant flowerheads are perfect for crafting.

The other huge benefit is that sterile plants don’t gift you a gazillion unwanted seedlings to pull up in spring.

3. Add Self-Seeders That Need Light to Germinate

At the very opposite end of the spectrum are self-seeders. Now, some self-seeders are a godsend in a low-maintenance garden, sprinkling flowers through borders and quietly filling gaps. Others are a huge headache, germinating in swathes of new plants that can overtake a border.

The trick is to choose self-seeding plants that need light to germinate. This means seeds will only germinate where there’s room to do so, and also that you can simply fling them into a bed and pretty much forget about them.

I have cosmos, columbine and love-in-a-mist threaded through all my low-maintenance borders, and they happily squeeze in between bigger perennials. How much of any one variety I get very much depends on the weather, as some years suit some better than others. I cheat the system a little by cutting a few seedheads at the end of summer and giving them a good shake where I’d like more to grow, too.

4. Split Drought Tolerant and Deep Drinking Plants

Growing plants that have different moisture needs side by side means you’ll be forever faffing about with a hosepipe. Some plants will be wilting through lack of moisture while others complain about being overwatered with unsightly yellow leaves. The answer is to split up borders into drought-tolerant plants and those that need consistent moisture, so you never water unnecessarily.

I take a pretty relaxed attitude to gardening but this is where I get strict, and not just because I live in a dry part of the country that's nearly always on a hosepipe ban in summer. Giving plants the moisture levels they prefer makes a huge difference to them thriving, rather than simply surviving, and impacts how abundantly they flower and for how long.

I also train deep-drinking plants to become more drought tolerant by giving them more water, less often. Most plant roots will grow towards moisture so, by saturating the ground when you irrigate then leaving it to dry out, you encourage roots to grow downwards where they will be better-able to source their own water supply. Water every day with a light sprinkling and roots will stay at the surface where they’re far more vulnerable to drying out.

Bonus Move to Cut Lawn Maintenance in Half

Okay, so your lawn doesn't grow flowers but, as I'll wager that grass is the single most high-maintenance plant in your garden, cutting chores here means tons more time to appreciate your bloom-packed borders. For starters, setting your lawn up for a good season in spring will save you heaps of maintenance through the rest of the year. But right now, there’s a really easy way to speed up the time it takes to look after your lawn, and that’s to leave the mower clippings where they fall, as a mulch.

The tips of the grass blades that are snipped off every time you mow are full of nitrogen. So, rather than putting them on the compost pile or into the trash, let them break down to fertilize your lawn, as well as lock in moisture. Just be sure to mow when it’s dry so the clippings don’t clump together and, if you don’t have a mulching mode on your mower, mow regularly so the clippings are short.

This is how robot mowers work – and speaking of which, if you’ve ever thought about buying this ultimate time-saving garden device, now’s a great time to buy. Once midsummer is past – especially for models that have an updated design in the pipeline for the following year – products often heavily discounted, so there are usually good deals to be found.

The Best Mower Deals We Found

Summer heatwaves happen to most gardens. It’s more a matter of when and for how long rather than if it will occur. The aftermath of a bad heatwave can be devastating – drooping plants, crispy brown foliage, and even dead plants. But you can minimize the damage with some simple rescue care during and after a heatwave.

To make your rescue efforts efficient and effective, it helps to know the plants that like heat and the ones that do not. It’s the latter that will need your immediate attention, while the former will likely bounce back on their own. If you live in an area that experiences a lot of heatwaves – though, they’re getting more common even in areas with historically cooler summers – then you need to know which plants can revive themselves quickly and which ones need special attention.

I’ll reveal the toughest heatwave-proof plants to grow in your garden and the ones that need some extra care after multiple days of high temperatures.

Heatwave-Proof Plants

If you tend to get frequent heatwaves, it’s a good idea to include more of these plants that tolerate high temperatures and recover readily without your help.

1. Coneflower

Native perennial echinacea, also known as coneflower, is very durable in the heat. Good in zones 3 through 9, coneflowers love full sun and get through hot spells with their long tap roots that reach deep for moisture. 'Cheyenne Spirit' coneflower from Wayside Gardens is a fiery multicolored cultivar that looks stunning in the summer garden.

While your coneflowers might wilt a little in the most extreme heat, they’ll likely recover by evening. Floppiness is a way for the plant to conserve energy. You can help it recover better and faster with occasional deep watering.

2. Russian Sage

Russian sage, which can grow in hardiness zones 4 through 9, is exceptionally heat-tolerant. Popular for its silvery-green foliage and pretty purple flowers, this perennial actually prefers the heat and soil that tends toward dryness. Overwatering or growing in soil that doesn’t drain well are among the easiest mistakes to make with Russian sage.

During a heatwave, it benefits from its leaf color, reflecting more of the harsh sunlight than plants with darker green foliage. As with other heat-tolerant plants, Russian sage has long roots, especially if you helped it get established with deep watering. You can water it during a heatwave, but this plant will recover regardless.

You can get a classic Russain sage plant online from Fast Growing Trees.

3. Stonecrop

Stonecrop is a type of sedum, which is a group of succulent plants that do very well during heatwaves and can be grown in zones 3 through 9. They are prized for their fleshy leaves and flat clusters of small flowers.

They’re also popular for how easy they are to grow and how forgiving they can be of summer heatwaves. 'Autumn Joy' stonecrop, which you can get from Nature Hills Nursery, is one of the most popular and widely-available cultivars.

As a succulent, stonecrop stores water in its leaves. It also only opens the pores on its leaves at night, which means it doesn’t lose water during the day. These characteristics help stonecrop thrive right through the hottest days of summer. Not only does it not need your intervention, but overwatering it can cause more harm than good.

4. Lantana

Lantana is a hot-weather plant that is only hardy in zones 8 through 11. In colder climates, you can grow it as an annual flower. Lantana is popular for its bright, colorful flowers and its ability to survive and thrive throughout hot summers.

Lantana might wilt a little in the worst heatwave, but it will bounce back quickly. You can deadhead flowers after the heat has passed to encourage fresh blooms.

Watering might only be necessary if you grow lantana in containers. If you're looking for bright orange blooms to add to your container garden, 'Lucky Flame' lantana plants from Home Depot are just the thing.

Plants That Need Help in a Heatwave

Heat-tolerant plants make summer garden care a little easier, but you can still grow more sensitive plants. They just need some extra care to survive and come back to life after a heatwave.

1. Bigleaf Hydrangea

A lot of gardeners grow bigleaf hydrangea, which is hardy in zones 5 through 9, to enjoy its copious and colorful pink and blue flowers. Unfortunately, these small shrubs don’t thrive in extreme heat. The large, thin leaves lose water rapidly in hot and dry conditions, so they tend to wilt easily.

The flower buds can also be affected by heat, resulting in a hydrangea bush with no blooms. A lot of stress from heat can even reduce flowering the following year.

So what can you do? Water your hydrangea deeply each morning during a heatwave. Provide temporary shade with a shade cloth, like this one from Amazon, if your plants are in the sun in the afternoon. Keep mulch thick around the plants to retain soil moisture.

2. Japanese Maple

Most types of Japanese maples, which are hardy in zones 5 through 9, do not handle hot, dry conditions very well. Prized for their feathery, delicate leaves, heatwaves can quickly cause leaf scorch. Newly planted trees are particularly vulnerable.

If you grow a Japanese maple, water it deeply every day or every couple of days during a heatwave. If possible, plant your tree in a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Provide some late-day shade with a patio umbrella or shade cloth if necessary during very hot, sunny days.

3. Bleeding Heart

Bleeding heart is a unique perennial with heart-shaped flowers that hang elegantly from arching branches. It grows best in zones 3 through 9 with shade and rich, moist soil. These needs mean that it will not do well during a summer heatwave or drought. Too much heat can even trigger dormancy.

The best way to save your bleeding heart from the summer heat is to be proactive. Water it ahead of and during a heatwave. Provide extra shade if it currently gets too much afternoon sun. Once the heatwave is over, remove any leaves that didn’t survive with a sharp, clean pair of pruners like these from Fiskars.

4. Impatiens

Although they are native to warm climates and only hardy in zones 10 through 11, this popular summer annual doesn’t actually do well in extreme heat. Impatiens are prized for their summer-long flowers that bloom even in deep shade.

Too much sun, heat, and dry weather can quickly kill your impatiens without intervention. Keeping them well watered is the best thing you can do for impatiens in summer. Water impatiens in the ground at least once a day and those in containers twice a day.

You can also move potted impatiens into full shade during hot and dry spells. Putting containers on a plant caddy from Amazon makes them easy to move into the shade and back into the sun once the weather cools.

Not all wilting plants are in danger in a summer heatwave. Some will bounce right back, stronger than ever. Others need emergency care. Knowing which plants are more resilient will help you focus your time and attention where they are needed most.

The color purple is an arresting sight in beds and borders. And when you’re looking for ways to add some dazzle to shady spots, it can feel like a home run. Standing before a bench of velvety plum heuchera, deep lavender salvia, or rich amethyst coral bells, it seems natural that their jewel tones will add a lush punch and drama to dim corners.

But once you get those dark beauties planted, the illusion can vanish fast. Rather than popping against the gloom, those rich, deep purples seem to pull a disappearing act. Gardening in the shade can be tricky, of course, but why would these vibrant tones shrink into muddy shadows? Well, purple, it turns out, is not the best shade for shade.

The good news? A dark, shady corner can be saved. You just need to understand a few simple rules about low-light color theory to transform your yard’s dimmest nooks into glowing, high-contrast sanctuaries. Here’s what you need to know…

Why Purple Disappears in Shade

Why do purple plantings struggle in shade? Put simply, our eyes see color by light reflected off an object. Darker colors, including shades of purple, absorb a lot of light and reflect little. To be really visible to the human eye, they need a lot of light to reflect. In your shady backyard corner, there simply isn’t enough light to create the visual sense of purples, blues, or burgundies. So they look flat and don’t stand out.

Compared to sunny spaces, low light in the garden is like turning down a dimmer switch. As the available light drops, so does our eye's ability to distinguish deep, cool wavelengths. Dark cobalt lobelias, violet salvias, and carpet-forming, dark ajuga (bugleweed) rely on high-intensity sunlight to bounce off their petals and ignite their rich tones. Placed in a shadowy nook, we just register a flat, visual void.

Another reason to avoid putting purple plants in shade is that the lack of light can actually cause the plants to turn green! Purple and burgundy plants get their color from a pigment called anthocyanin, which also acts like a sunscreen against very bright light. If you grow these plants in shade, they’ll make less anthocyanin because they don’t need it. The result is a duller color or even a greener color.

To make matters worse, many of our favorite purple-flowering perennials are culturally hardwired for baking sun and lean, free-draining soil. Planted in cool, damp shade, sun-worshippers like lavender or salvia suffer a double blow. Not only do their purple blooms seem invisible, but their roots quickly succumb to fungal diseases and crown rot on account of the stagnant, moist soil that can often accompany the shade.

Understanding Purple Rules

Not all purples are created equal. The trick lies in recognizing the difference between cold indigos and hotter tones, as well as the quality of light falling on your garden bed. In deep, evergreen shade, almost any dark shade vanishes. But in soft, dappled woodland light, warm purples packed with pink and red undertones (like winter-blooming cyclamen) can catch flickering sunbeams and glow. Cold, deep blue-purples like dark aconitum (monkshood), on the other hand, lack those luminous undertones and melt into the shadows.

Bloom structure and petal geometry also play a massive role in whether a purple plant succeeds or disappears. Tiny, delicate purple flowers, such as slender creeping campanula (bellflower), disperse scarce light across fine petals and dissolve into a haze from just a few paces away. Larger, broader petals act like light scoops. Even better are purple blooms with built-in reflective markings. Take cranesbills like Geranium maculatum or beloved hardy geranium Rozanne. Their electric violet-blue petals have a pale eye that acts as a tiny reflector dish for ambient light.

If you can’t imagine your shade garden without moody plum foliage, you don't have to banish it entirely. You just need to change how you frame it. Dark foliage favorites like Heuchera 'Plum Pudding' or bugbane might fail when left to fight the shadows on their own. However, when treated as high-contrast accents with paler, light-reflecting partners, their deep tones suddenly become an asset rather than a visual liability. So which colors are going to work well in your shady corners?

What Colors Work Better in Shade

If deep purples act like a visual sponge in the shade, chartreuse and lime green act like highlighters. Chlorophyll-rich, yellow-green foliage is the ultimate shade illuminator, catching the barest hint of ambient light and glowing as if lit from within. Imagine a cascade of golden Japanese forest grass nestled under a dark tree canopy. Even evergreen shrubs like Euonymus Emerald 'n' Gold can transform a gloomy bed into a warm, inviting space. These acid-green tones bring an electric energy to shaded areas, lasting from spring to first frost.

You don't have to rely purely on solid colors, either. Silver sheen and white variegation act as tiny, built-in mirrors for your garden beds. Plants with metallic or frosty overlays bounce light back to your eye. The icy, crackled leaves of Brunnera Jack Frost or the silvery trailing stems of deadnettle can brighten a dark path just as effectively as landscape lighting. Similarly, the speckled, silver-splashed foliage of pulmonaria (lungwort) helps to create visual dynamics and texture.

With flowering plants in the shade, the rule is simple: go pale and luminous. Icy whites, soft creams, pale golds, and bright baby pinks stand out brilliantly against the dark backdrop of soil and shadowy tree trunks. Instead of planting a dark purple flower that will immediately vanish, opt for the yellow blooms of barrenwort or the soft, nodding pink bells of native columbines. These lighter pigments don't just survive in the shade, they absolutely shine.

5 Plant Superstars for Color

Now that you know how light behaves in dim spaces, it’s time to fill those shadowy garden spots with plants that naturally do the heavy lifting. The following vibrant shade-loving perennials don't just tolerate low light but work actively with it. Combining built-in luminosity, striking foliage, and effortless charm, these reliable shade-lovers will keep your woodland beds glowing all season long.

1. Hosta

This classic shade plant offers broad, sculptural leaves that act like solar panels to catch available light. Chartreuse and variegated cultivars are game-changers. Look for chartreuse cultivars, like Rainforest Sunrise, and Lime Piecrust. Variegated varieties include Guacamole or Patriot, with striking, creamy white margins to illuminate gloomy corners. You can buy Patriot Hostas from Nature Hills.

Don't rule out blue hostas entirely. Pale, icy-blue varieties like Halcyon or June thrive in partial shade thanks to the chalky, waxy coating. This powdery finish contrasts beautifully with fine-textured partners like trailing deadnettle or feathery maidenhair ferns. Hostas love rich, moisture-retentive soil packed with organic matter. Apply a thick layer of organic mulch around the base to retain moisture. While blue cultivars need shade to protect their waxy coating, chartreuse hosta varieties display their brightest golden pigments when given a gentle tilt of morning light.

2. Astilbe

Where broad-leaved shade plants bring weight, astilbe (Astilbe spp.) introduces light, feathery elegance. Their feathery, cloud-like plumes are composed of hundreds of tiny individual flowers that catch and scatter light across shadowy borders. Pale cultivars like creamy Bridal Veil or soft pink Peach Blossom work as visual softeners. Even crimson options like Fanal carry enough warm, luminous pink undertones to glow brightly under a dappled tree canopy. For a pretty bushy option, Vision in White Astilbe from Fast Growing Trees gives extra-special luminescence.

Just remember to maintain constant soil moisture to get the best from these feathery beauties. They thrive near rain gardens, ponds, or under heavily mulched beds. Layer with some fine bark or compost, and avoid windy, exposed sites that strip humidity from their delicate fronds. A gentle topdressing of organic fertilizer in early spring will reward you with dense, erect plumes that stand tall well into midsummer.

3. Caladium

For unabashed drama in low light, caladiums are certainly going to catch the eye, and keep it. These tropical beauties produce thin, heart-shaped leaves that act like stained-glass windows when caught in dappled light. Cultivars like Caladium hortulanum Candidum feature paper-thin, stark white leaves laced with intricate dark green veins, while varieties like White Queen and Rosebud flush with light-reflecting pinks. Buy Ella’s Homes’ Pink Caladiums from Amazon as live plants.

Unlike cold-hardy perennials, these tubers are heat-lovers that demand warm spring soil to wake up properly. Wait until soil temperatures reliably top 65°F (18°C) to plant them. Planting too early in cold, soggy spring dirt will lead to tuber rot. Keep the soil rich, well-draining, and moist in warm summer months. In cooler northern climate zones, you can grow them as annuals or lift the tubers after the first light frost to store for next year.

4. Japanese Painted Fern

While traditional green ferns add lovely texture in the shade, the Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) brings metallic brilliance right down to ground level. Its feathery fronds glow in shades of frosted pewter, shimmering silver, and deep burgundy along the central stems. This unique silver sheen gives a natural light-reflecting quality that is low-growing and gently spreading. Buy Japanese Painted Ferns from Walmart as live plants for instant shimmering intensity.

To maximize the metallic sheen of this fern variety, place it in sheltered dappled shade where faint sunbeams can hit the leaves without scorching them. This shade-lover thrives best in loose, humus-rich soil that is kept evenly moist but drains freely around the crown. Avoid planting in high-traffic zones or windy corridors, where the fragile fronds can be snapped or bruised. Add a light fall mulch of shredded leaf mold around the base to protect its shallow roots over winter.

5. Bleeding Heart

Few shade perennials grab the attention quite exquisite bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). In spring, their delicate, arching stems hold rows of trembling heart-shaped blooms. In shady conditions, the classic rose-pink and white petals act like tiny glowing lanterns, bringing fluid movement to the mid-tier of a bed in partial shade. Where the shade is particularly deep, try pure white Alba. You can buy Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts from Nature Hills as live plants.

Plant in rich, humus-dense soil that stays moist through the growing season. As summer heat sets in, it is natural for bleeding heart foliage to turn yellow and go dormant. Plant it alongside late-emerging hostas or broad-leaved ferns which can fill the empty space it leaves. Just give the crown a layer of leaf mold in the fall.

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Is there such a thing as a good morning routine when it comes to gardening? Some might assume not, but I truly believe the opposite... especially when it comes to my roses.

Yes, if there's one plant I'll happily make time for before I've even finished my first cup of coffee (or tea, if I'm being honest – I can't deny my British roots), it's my roses. Which is just as well, because although my husband is a professional gardener, he absolutely hates hybrid roses. He's got plenty of reasons for it – and he's made them very clear over the years – which means the two hybrid roses growing in our garden were planted before the rule was instituted and are now entirely my responsibility.

I don't mind, though. In fact, I think they've become some of my favorite plants because I've had to figure them out myself. While my husband happily gets on with the rest of the garden, I'm the one checking my roses over like a doting plant mamma before the sun is only just getting itself into gear.

How Your Morning Routine Impacts Your Roses

Yes, there is no denying that checking my roses for thirsty soil, fresh blooms, and the first signs of pests has become as much a part of my morning routine as applying my moisturizer... but that doesn't mean spending half an hour outside every morning armed with secateurs and fertilizer and mulch. In fact, my rose routine usually takes no more than a couple of minutes.

I wander out with my cuppa in hand, have a look at the leaves, check the soil if we've had a dry spell, admire any new blooms (or sob internally if my tiny tearaway daughters have plucked a handful of petals for their mud kitchen again), and make a mental note if anything needs doing later.

It might sound like a tiny habit, but it's one I've come to rely on, because roses have a remarkable way of telling you exactly what they need – so long as you catch the signs early enough. A little wilting, the first few spotted leaves, or a cluster of aphids on fresh growth? All are so much easier to deal with before they become bigger problems. That's why I always check mine before the rest of my day properly begins.

The biggest lesson I've learned from shifting my morning routine to match my roses is that timing matters just as much as what you do. While you don't need to water roses every morning, checking them early in the day? Well, that gives you the best chance to spot problems and, if they do need a drink, to do it at the best time for watering plants.

Shop Rose Growing Essentials:

Morning is generally the best time to water roses because it gives moisture time to soak into the soil before the heat of the day arrives. If you water at the base of the plant early on, the roots can take up that moisture before temperatures climb and evaporation speeds up, and skipping an evening watering session means your leaves won't stay damp overnight (which can encourage fungal diseases such as black spot and powdery mildew).

My morning check is also when I spot the little things that can quickly snowball; aphids love tender new rose growth, and they're much easier to remove before they've colonized an entire stem. And I find it oddly therapeutic looking for yellowing leaves, damaged buds, or flowers that are ready for deadheading (is it just me who thinks of it as a mindfulness routine?).

Mind you, roses (whether we're talking about your birth month rose or just your average blooming beauty) aren't the only plants that can benefit from a shift in your morning routine...

Other Plants That Benefit From An Early Morning Check

1. Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are usually quick to tell you when they're thirsty, and a deep morning watering is far more effective than trying to revive wilted plants in the afternoon heat, making them morning routine musts.

2. Dahlias

Dahlias also appreciate a quick early inspection. Morning is the perfect time to check for slugs and snails, spot leaves that need removing, and make sure the soil hasn't dried out during a hot spell.

3. Sweet Peas

If you grow sweet peas, there's another reason to head outside before your bowl of oatmeal (or porridge, if you're me!). Morning is the ideal time to pick flowers while they're at their freshest, and regular harvesting encourages the plants to keep producing even more blooms.

For me, spending a few quiet minutes with my roses before the day has even begun in earnest has become one of the easiest ways to keep them healthy, flowering, and looking their best all summer.

It also sets me up for a great day, too! Who doesn't love bouncing into their first meeting knowing that they've already ticked something off their to-do list, right?

Birds have a rough time of it in a heatwave. They can't sweat, they're burning energy just panting to cool down, local insect activity plummets, and the puddles they'd normally drink from could be baked dry by midday. As temperatures soar past 90°F (32.2°C), a bird is expending more water than it can find, in search of diminishing resources, which is where a bag of frozen peas is one of the handiest things lurking in your kitchen.

Here's what makes them so great for attracting birds through summer heatwaves. A frozen pea is roughly 80 percent water, locked in something solid. Set a few out, and they don't soak away into dry ground the way a splash from the hose does. Instead, they thaw slowly and give moisture back over a longer time period. On top of that, peas are soft and sweet, easy for a heat-stressed bird to swallow.

Introducing a small handful of thawed green sweet peas into your backyard is nothing short of a lifeline. It delivers instant moisture in a tidy and reliable form, along with gentle, easily digestible plant sugars. And it does this right when extreme heat can cause sluggishness and stress in your feathered pals. So crack open that underused bag of peas, and give your birdies a unique pick-me-up.

Why Does it Have to Be Peas?

The water content of a pea (Pisum sativum) is what sets it apart as our special summertime treat for birds. A dry seed or a stale crust hands a bird calories, but costs it water to digest. And water is the one thing it can't spare when it's already dehydrated. A thawing pea carries vital hydration and some gentle nutrition in the same soft mouthful, no debt attached. Blackbirds and robins take to them readily. So do starlings, tits, and sparrows, the ground-feeders having the easiest time of it.

You might be wondering if sweetcorn, diced carrots, or frozen lima beans can do the same job. Sweetcorn has a fibrous, heavy cellulose husk that demands significant digestive water to process. Under intense afternoon sun, corn sugars ferment at high speed, creating sour, gut-distressing compounds. Carrots and lima beans are far too rigid, posing choking hazards for small throats. Sweet peas, by contrast, possess paper-thin, easily ruptured skins, enclosing a soft interior. This bird-friendly bundle is packed with electrolytes, vitamin C, and gentle plant protein.

As a special bonus, the price is so low as to make this a relative steal for bird-lovers. A bag of Great Value Frozen Sweet Peas from Walmart is very inexpensive and covers plenty of afternoons. You can thaw them first, or just scatter them still frozen. Either way, they'll be at air temperature before long. Skip the salt, butter, and seasoning, though. Plain is the only version of a pea that belongs outside, either scattered on the ground or on a deck.

For ground based feeding, you can get mesh trays like the Kingsyard Heavy Duty Ground Feeder Tray from Amazon to keep scattered peas elevated off hot soil, while preventing dampness and rot. Or you can put peas in the hanging tray version – the Kingsyard Platform Bird Feeder Hanging Feeder Tray, also from Amazon. You can leave out peas on a balcony just as you would in a full garden. These peas provide days of hydrating, high-moisture summer treats for foraging birds.

While ground-foraging thrushes (like the American robin) and bold thrashers jump at whole peas, smaller species like house finches, Carolina chickadees, and tufted titmice prefer their peas slightly crushed. Taking 10 seconds to lightly smash a small batch with the back of a fork breaks the skin, releasing the sweet juice and making it easy for tiny beaks to pinch off soft morsels.

What to Do with Your Peas

Placement has a big impact on how well this pea treat works. A handful tossed onto an open lawn in full sun will turn to warm mush in no time. Furthermore, songbirds like gray catbirds, song sparrows, and bluebirds are hyper-aware of aerial predators. Setting out food in direct sunlight leaves them exposed. The shade is where they belong. Under a shrub, beneath a garden bench, along the shaded edge of a fence — anywhere out of direct sun keeps them cool and appealing for longer, and gives smaller birds somewhere to feel safe while they feed.

Timing helps, too. Putting them out in the early morning and again toward evening catches birds when they're most active and keeps the food from sitting through the hottest middle hours, inevitably going bad. As well as using a tray or flat feeder (or just some lawn), you can use very simple shelving units to house your peas. The Vattenkar Outdoor Plant Stand & Dish from Ikea is a clean, weather-resistant tray that sits perfectly in shaded borders for discrete ground feeding.

Floating them in water is even better. Drop a small handful of peas into a shallow ground bird bath, like the pretty Bakayoyo Ceramic Ground Based Bird Bath from Amazon. Using a 1.5-inch (4 cm) deep basin gives small songbirds a confident footing while positioning the peas at beak level. The bobbing catches the eye from above, which is how birds find water. Keep the water shallow, approximately an inch or two (2.5-5 cm) at most, and again, make sure the bath receives some shade.

The bright green color of peas against light-colored water is effective in drawing high-flying species like American goldfinches and ruby-throated hummingbirds. Floating peas bob, roll, and rotate as the water shifts, imitating live aquatic larvae. Keep water depths restricted to 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4 cm). Anything deeper creates panic for short-legged species like chipping sparrows. Also, stack a few rough river rocks in a slightly deeper bath, so visiting birds have a slip-free launchpad.

Safety and Comfort with Pea Feeds

Thawed peas sitting in summer heat go slimy and start to ferment, so clear out whatever hasn't been eaten by the same evening. Small batches of peas beat one big pile for exactly this reason. A pea nobody ate in the afternoon is a problem by the next morning, drawing flies and rats to a spot that was meant to help (to say nothing of nocturnal visitors like opossums and raccoons). Rinse the dish weekly as well, since a feeding station used daily builds up mess that spreads disease between birds.

And bear in mind that frozen peas are best used as supplementary treats – not the only food you leave out. Growing songbirds still require dense amino acids and natural oils. Complementing your pea station with mealworms gives bluebirds and wrens critical animal protein. For added protein power, grab a bag of Kaytee Pet Products Dried Mealworms from Amazon for a way to boost the diets of your visiting bluebirds, robins, and wrens once they have hydrated. As with your peas, you can try pre-moistening a few mealworms in water so they are softer for bird gullets.

Native fruiting shrubs like serviceberry (Amelanchier) or native coneflowers (Echinacea) yield rich seed heads for cardinals and finches. Always try to wash your feeding dishes twice a week. Use a 9:1 water-to-white-vinegar solution to keep your yard's sanctuary disease-free all summer long. Heinz All-Natural Distilled White Vinegar from Walmart is great value, non toxic, and tough on mineral crust.Just bear in mind that most birds will investigate new food cautiously at first, so it can take a day or two before they start taking them regularly.

Other Bird Bath Care Essentials

Above and beyond some well-timed and well-placed peas, creating the ultimate summer bird magnet comes down to one element: moving water. In nature, still puddles signal stagnation and parasites, whereas splashing water signals fresh, oxygenated hydration. Warblers, tanagers, and vireos (species that rarely visit seed feeders) will travel across neighborhoods when they hear a lively, splashing bath.

Adding a solar-powered fountain or a water wiggler breaks the surface tension instantly. Create continuous water ripples across the surface of the bird bath water, using the Solar Water Wiggler from Walmart. The highly rated Mademax Solar Bird Bath Fountain Upgrade from Amazon, can also be dropped into an existing bath for gentle sprays to keep water fresh, and charm warblers, thrushes, and songbirds. As a bonus, continuous surface ripples prevent female mosquitoes from laying eggs. Misting systems can also provide extra hydration points in heat. Mounting a gentle leaf-mister is compelling to delicate species like hummingbirds and goldfinches.

To combat green algae blooms caused by intense summer sun, drop a pure copper disc or heavy copper penny into non-metallic ceramic or resin basins. The natural leaching of trace copper ions helps to keep the water clear for days between scrubs. Dropping a copper disc into the basin also helps to keep water fresh for longer. One team favorite is the Melbree Pure Copper Bird Bath Disc from Amazon.

Shop Summer Extras

Those frozen peas are a brilliant emergency measure, but don’t use them in place of the basics. They are a very important emergency measure, but they will work better if you balance your bird care ritual with key feeding and bathing essentials. Make sure you have your bird bath needs covered in order to help with both the peas and conventional hydration and cleaning. These accessories will keep your feathered neighbors safe, hydrated, and happy.

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There are a lot of good reasons to grow plants in raised beds. The most important is that they give you more control over soil conditions. You can create the perfect blend and ensure good drainage. Raised beds are also easier to manage, especially if you have any mobility issues.

On the other hand, raised bed gardening has one major issue: water. Like containers, the soil in a raised bed will dry out faster than soil in the ground. This means you need to spend more time watering, unless you use one of these nifty strategies or easy-to-find tools and materials to create beds that are mostly or entirely self-watering.

Here are the four easiest and most effective ways to turn your raised bed into a self-watering garden that can withstand summer heat and drought or that you can leave for vacation and not worry about wilting.

1. Build a Wicking Reservoir

A water wicking reservoir is an underground irrigation system. The reservoir stores water at the bottom of the bed. A wicking material allows the water to move upward into the dry soil as needed.

With this type of wicking raised bed system, you only need to fill the reservoir every few days or weekly, depending on the weather. It prevents overwatering and encourages strong, deep root growth.

You can find self-watering raised beds on Amazon that already have a water reservoir built in, buy a self-watering insert from Gardener's Supply Company, or make your own water wicking system from simple materials.

Line the bed with plastic sheeting or a pond liner to make it watertight. Create a reservoir on top of the liner using large, clean rocks or perforated drainpipes. Cover this with landscape fabric to act as your wicking material.

Finally, you just need a vertical PVC pipe on the side of the bed that reaches down to the reservoir. You’ll use this to refill the reservoir as needed. The wicking material allows water to be pulled upward into the soil, but only when the soil is dry so overwatering isn’t an issue.

2. Use Watering Spikes & Olla Pots

There is an even simpler solution to creating self-watering beds that is best for small raised beds. Watering spikes, olla pots, and similar products are an easy way to let your beds water themselves. They work in a similar way to a wicking reservoir, but are easier to install.

These devices are made from unglazed terracotta. You fill them with water and bury them in the raised bed soil. The clay of the terracotta is porous, so moisture slowly seeps out into the dry soil around it. This is a low-tech, easy option for watering beds. The downside, however, is that each pot or watering spike only covers a small area of soil.

One olla pot, like this one from Amazon, will cover a growing area of 4 to 6 square feet (1.2-1.8 m), so it’s a great solution for small raised beds. Watering spikes, which you can get from IKEA, are best for individual plants. So if you have a few thirsty plants, like tomatoes, a handful of spikes can keep them happy and reduce the amount of time you need to spend watering.

3. Set Up a Drip Irrigation Kit

Adding a drip irrigation setup to your raised bed turns your garden into a self-sufficient system in just one afternoon. These kits come in a range of sizes and those designed for smaller areas, like raised beds, can be as low as $30, like this simple drip irrigation kit from Home Depot that Content Editor Laura has used in her garden for years.

The kits include a hose or pipe system with multiple holes. You’ll install this in a bed and connect it to a hose. A hose-faucet timer, like this one that Laura also recommends, allows you to set the system to water at regular intervals.

Once installed, this is a hands-off watering system, so convenience is one of the biggest benefits. With some kits, you can even connect to an app and control watering from your phone.

Drip irrigation kits are also highly efficient, so if water usage is limited in your area, they are a great option. You’ll use up to 70% less water than using a regular hose and nozzle to water.

4. Create a Gravity-Fed Drip System

Instead of the pressure from a faucet and hose, you can use gravity to water your beds through a drip hose. You need an elevated source, like a rain barrel, and some tubing. Water moves down under the force of gravity and into the raised bed.

Like a drip irrigation system connected to a faucet, you get the benefit of water conservation, but you don’t need the pressure of the faucet. This is a good DIY drip irrigation option for a bed that isn’t close to the faucet.

Start with an elevated rain barrel, like this one with a built-in stand from Home Depot. If you have taller raised beds, you will need to place your rain barrel even higher. You can use cinder blocks, bricks, or old pallets to build a simple platform to lift your barrel above the height of your raised beds.

Next, add a drip irrigation system to get the water to your beds. You can make your own drip irrigation system or use a premade kit. Just make sure the kit you buy will work in a gravity-fed situation. Some drip irrigation kits need water pressure from a faucet or hose to function. But this drip irrigation kit from Amazon works with low or no water pressure.

No single solution for creating a self-watering bed is perfect, but one of these ideas might be better than others for your garden. You can also combine strategies to make watering easier. For instance, use a wicking reservoir with mulch to keep moisture in the soil longer. Or use a drip irrigation system with watering spikes for your especially thirsty plants.

Whether you install a simple drip irrigation kit, build a wicking reservoir, or just add mulch and a timer, these upgrades can dramatically reduce maintenance while keeping plants healthier and more productive. With the right setup, you can spend less time watering and more time enjoying your harvest.

I don't think it's any secret that I have a bit of an obsession with hydrangeas. If there's a new variety to admire or an old favorite coming back into bloom, I'm probably already planning where I'd squeeze another one into the garden.

I'm just as fond, though, of flowering vines, not least of all because they are one of the easiest ways to make a garden feel like it knows what its doing. A bare wall, old fence, or even a mature tree? A sea of flowers with the right climber. I've even found myself falling down rabbit holes researching birth month vines and unusual flowering climbers simply because I love discovering plants that do something a little different.

The only problem? Many flowering vines have one spectacular moment and then quietly fade into the background. And, by the time fall arrives, they often have very little left to offer. Boo, hiss.

The Native Hydrangea You Need to Try

With all this in mind, then, imaging how excited I was to stumble across woodvamp (Hydrangea barbara, formerly better known as Decumaria barbara). It's a plant that feels like a hidden secret, as it combines everything I already love about hydrangeas with the easy elegance of a climbing vine, then finishes the season with attractive fall foliage.

Native to the southeastern United States, where it naturally scrambles through moist woodlands and climbs tree trunks using tiny aerial rootlets, woodvamp is a doozy of a climber. Especially as, unlike some vigorous vines, it clings gently to walls, fences, and mature trees, creating a soft, natural look rather than an overwhelming one.

In late spring and early summer, it produces clusters of creamy-white flowers with a light, sweet fragrance. They're a little more understated than the huge mophead blooms many people associate with hydrangeas, but I actually think that's part of their charm. The lacecap-like flowers look wonderfully elegant scattered through the foliage, and they attract plenty of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators while they're in bloom.

One of the quirks I find most interesting is that woodvamp only flowers well when it's allowed to climb. If it's grown as a groundcover, you'll get attractive foliage, but very few – if any – blooms. Give it something to scramble up, though, and it really comes into its own.

Then there's the autumn display. As the growing season winds down, the glossy green leaves often mellow into soft buttery yellow or warm tan shades before falling. It's not the fiery scarlet of a Virginia creeper, but it's a gentle, elegant finish that gives this vine another season of interest when many flowering climbers are already calling it a year.

I also love that it's beginning to be recognized under the botanical name Hydrangea barbara. For years, gardeners knew it almost exclusively as Decumaria barbara, but taxonomic revisions have brought it into the Hydrangea genus, reflecting just how closely related it is to the shrubs so many of us already grow and love. Don't be surprised if you see both names used by nurseries and botanical gardens.

The only downside? It isn't nearly as easy to find as climbing hydrangea or clematis. You'll usually have to seek it out from specialist native plant nurseries rather than your local garden center. Personally, I think that only adds to its appeal. Half the fun of gardening is discovering plants that make visitors stop and ask, "What on earth is that?"

Three More Flowering Vines That Shine Into Fall:

There are so many wonderful flowering vines to choose from, but sometimes the plants that deserve the most attention are the ones hiding in plain sight. If you're looking for something a little different, I'd always encourage you to go native, go underrated, and give woodvamp a try, if only for the cool name!

Honestly? I don't think you'll regret it.

I think we can all admit that there are some plants that put on a spectacular show and disappear almost as quickly as they arrived. I love both, of course (there’s something special about an annual that gives you a perfect burst of seasonal beauty) but the ones I appreciate most are the longest-blooming perennials. Aka the ones that keep going, forever and seemingly ever..

Yes, the real stars of the garden are the plants that are still flowering weeks after everything else has started to fade. The ones that handle the hottest days of summer, keep borders looking full, and carry the garden right through that tricky transition between summer and fall.

The trick to a truly beautiful garden is setting one up so it doesn’t need constant replanting or endless maintenance. And the best way to do this? By filling it with the hardworking perennials that quietly bloom for months, return year after year, and make the whole garden (nay, life in general!) feel more effortless.

The 7 Longest-Blooming Perennials

In the market, then, for the longest-blooming perennials? Well, these are the plants I turn to when I want reliable color that lasts. They fill gaps, support pollinators, and give me that wonderful feeling of looking out at the garden and realizing there is still plenty of life and color left, even after summer has faded and fall has wrapped the world in all her mists and mellow fruitfulness.

Without any further ado, then...

1. Asters

Asters are the perennial I’m always grateful for when summer starts winding down. Just when many plants are looking tired, asters step in with clouds of purple, pink, or white flowers that carry the garden right into fall.

They’re also one of the most valuable late-season plants for pollinators. Bees and butterflies rely on those blooms when many earlier summer flowers are finished, making asters a beautiful and practical addition to any garden.

I love that they don’t demand much attention either. Give them a sunny spot and a little room to grow, and they reward you with one of the best late-season flower displays around. Try the Grape Crush New England Aster from Nature Hills for big bold purple color.

2. Catmint

If I had to recommend one easy-care plant for almost any garden, catmint would be high on my list. Its soft blue-purple flowers appear for weeks, and with a quick trim after the first flush, it often rewards you with another round of blooms.

The silvery foliage on this longest-blooming perennial looks attractive even when it isn’t covered in flowers, and the whole plant has that relaxed cottage garden feel that makes a border look effortlessly beautiful.

It’s also wonderfully tough. Catmint handles heat, tolerates dry spells, and doesn’t need to be fussed over to look good (go for something like Walker's Low Catmint from Nature Hills if you want to make your life easier).

3. Salvia

Salvia is one of the longest-blooming perennials going, which means it is obviously a plant that earns its place every single year. The tall flower spikes add structure and color, and pollinators absolutely adore them (I have some outside my window as I type, and there are bees all over the stuff!).

I especially like perennial salvias because they keep producing those jewel-like blooms through summer with very little attention. They’re the kind of plant you can almost forget about – until you notice how many bees and butterflies are visiting.

With a little deadheading, many varieties keep sending up fresh flowers, making them one of the most reliable sources of summer color. All hail salvia!

Shop Salvia Below:

4. Coreopsis

If you want one of the longest-blooming perennials around, absolutely look to tickseed, because coreopsis brings the kind of cheerful color that instantly makes a garden feel happier. Those daisy-like flowers can keep appearing from early summer well into fall, especially when spent blooms are removed.

Modern varieties have made these plants even better, with improved flowering, compact growth, and colors that work beautifully in both borders and containers.

It’s one of those plants that makes gardening feel easy because it gives so much while asking for very little. Opt for all things bright and beautiful, then, and try Sunshine Superman Coreopsis from Nature Hills (on offer now, no less!).

5. Coneflower (Echinacea)

Coneflowers are one of those plants that seem to improve with age. They look beautiful in full bloom, but I also love leaving the seed heads standing later in the season because they add winter interest and provide food for birds.

They handle heat beautifully once established and bring a wonderful prairie-style feel to the garden. The flowers keep coming through summer, and they’re a favorite with pollinators.

For me, they’re one of those plants that look good at every stage – from fresh blooms to dried seed heads. And I know I bang on about it constantly, but the Magnus Purple Coneflower from Nature Hills is the way to go if you hate the droop that echniacea usually falls prey to.

6. Yarrow

Yarrow is one of those underrated plants that deserves far more attention. The flat flower clusters add a completely different shape to the garden, and the blooms seem to float above the foliage.

It thrives in heat, tolerates dry conditions, and doesn’t need perfect soil to perform. Once established, it’s exactly the kind of dependable perennial that makes a garden easier to manage.

I love plants like this because they quietly do their job while other, fussier flowers struggle. And, if you want one that looks like the picture above, you need the Strawberry Seduction™ Yarrow from Nature Hills in your life.

7. Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (aka hardy geranium) has earned its reputation as one of the longest-blooming perennials for a reason. It produces masses of blue-purple flowers and has one of the longest bloom periods of any hardy geranium.

I love the way it spills gently through a border, softening edges and filling gaps between larger plants. It feels natural rather than overly planned, which is exactly the look I often want in a garden.

It’s the kind of perennial that quietly works away for months, giving you color long after many other plants have finished. And Rozanne Hardy Geranium is 20% off at Nature Hills right now, too.

BONUS: And The Rest!

There are plenty of other perennials that deserve a mention on our list of longest-blooming perennials; agastache, for example, is a fantastic choice for sunny gardens, with tall flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees adore. Rudbeckia brings bright golden blooms and a cheerful late-summer display, while gaura adds airy majesty that seem to dance above the foliage.

Then we have penstemon, another excellent pollinator plant, and heliopsis delivers months of sunny yellow flowers with very little fuss. Which to choose, eh?

Shop Longest-Blooming Perennials Below:

The beauty of these plants is that they don’t just look good for a fleeting moment. The clue is in the name, folks; they earn their place by showing up year after year, filling the garden with color, and making summer gardening feel much easier.

A garden full of the longest-blooming perennials isn’t just beautiful – it’s a garden that keeps giving. Time to hop on the bandwagon, then; it just makes sense.

Most jade plants leave the store looking like small shrubs, and plenty stay that way for years. The trunk stays thin. Branches stretch toward the window and away from the room, and eventually the whole plant leans instead of standing. Summer is when that pattern either breaks or sets.

July lands in the middle of active growth for Crassula ovata, which is why so much of good jade plant care concentrates in this window. Cuts seal within days at this time of year. New shoots follow a pinch quickly, and the plant has energy to spare for thickening, not just reaching.

5 Jade Plant Tasks Worth Doing in July

None of this is difficult or time-consuming, and it doesn’t need a strict schedule. What matters is timing – the plant is growing hard right now, so it responds quickly in a way it won’t come October.

1. Water Deeply, Then Leave It Alone

Heat pushes most houseplants into daily thirst. Jade works the other way – the leaves are the water tank, and roots left sitting damp are what actually kills these plants. Soak the mix until water runs from the drainage hole, then wait until it's bone dry to the base before going again. Clay helps here. A terra cotta pot like this one from Amazon breathes and pulls moisture out through its walls, which speeds up that drying considerably. Plus it looks exactly like a paper bag, which is fun.

Skip the calendar and read the leaves. Ones that have gone slightly soft, or picked up a faint pucker along the surface, are asking for water. Firm and plump means wait. Yellowing leaves that drop at a touch point the opposite way, toward overwatering. In a hot July the gap between soakings might still stretch to a couple of weeks, and a jade left dry is in far less danger than one kept wet.

2. Move It Outdoors, Slowly

Real sunlight does things a windowsill never manages. Stems thicken, internodes shorten so growth stays compact instead of stretchy, and the leaf margins often blush red – a stress response that happens to look striking. Moving it outside is the single biggest thing you can do for jade in summer.

Rushing it burns the plant, though. A jade fresh off a winter windowsill scorches in direct sun almost immediately, and those bleached patches never green up. So the move happens in stages. Start it in full shade, give it morning sun only after a week, then find it a spot that gets sun for the better part of the day. Rain is the other thing to watch, because a plant left outside through a wet stretch takes on water faster than the mix sheds it. Bring it back indoors once nights start dropping toward 50F (10C).

3. Feed Lightly While Growth Is Happening

Fertilizer earns its place only while a plant is actively growing. July qualifies. A jade wants a fraction of what any leafy houseplant takes, so Miracle-Gro succulent plant food from Amazon goes on at half the label strength, once for the month. Water first, though – fertilizer landing on parched roots burns them.

4. Pinch and Prune for Branching

Here's the mechanism behind every sculptural jade worth looking at. A stem that keeps its growing tip keeps extending in one direction. Remove that tip and the plant tends to push two new shoots from the leaf pair just below the cut. One branch turns into two. Repeat it the following summer, and the one after – the dense, tree-like frame on an old jade is a few seasons of exactly this, nothing more clever.

Pinch soft new tips between finger and thumb, or cut woody stems just above a leaf pair with clean snips. Take no more than a third of the plant at once, and keep an eye on where the weight should end up – branches multiply from wherever the cut lands. Keep the jade cuttings too. Leave them somewhere dry and shaded until the cut ends callus over, then set them in a dry mix and hold off watering for a week.

5. Inspect the Joints and Check the Roots

White cottony specks tucked down in the leaf joints are mealybugs (Planococcus citri). Jade sits high on their host list. A cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol handles what's visible. Look again a week on, though, because the eggs come off in waves and one pass never gets them all. Heat speeds up that cycle. Something small in July has turned into something else by the end of August. Root mealybugs are nastier, hiding below the soil line where a mix like this bag of Hoffman organic cactus and succulent soil mix from Amazon and a fresh pot become the only real fix.

Tip the plant out of its container while the mix is dry and look at what's down there. Roots circling the inside wall call for repotting, and so does a mix broken down into something dense and soil-like. When repotting jade go up one pot size only, and use gritty succulent mix. Ordinary compost holds far too much water around a jade, for far too long. Handled well, July does most of the heavy lifting for you. Give a jade plant the right signals now, and the fuller, more sculptural shape people chase for years starts to build on its own.

Jade Care Essentials

There are few pleasures in life as enjoyable as waking up to birds chirping in the summer. But most people assume they can’t have that if they live in an apartment or a home with a smaller balcony. Not so! A clip-on railing bird bath doesn’t take up any floor space, doesn’t require using a hammer or a screwdriver to install, and you can turn even the tiniest perch into a real wildlife stop.

Balcony railing bird baths have come a long way. They now combine a clamp system that grips a standard railing without falling off, a bowl that is deep enough for birds to actually bathe in, and materials that are weatherproof. Some of these even double as a bird feeder so you can attract birds that are always looking for food.

Below I'll share exactly what to look for in a clip-on bird bath and a handful of my favorite options that are actually worth buying.

What Makes a Good Railing Bird Bath?

Before you buy, it's worth knowing what separates a useful balcony bird bath from one that tips over and falls at the first gust of wind. A good clamp should fit railings of up to at least 2–3.5 inches thick and tighten securely with a simple turn screw.

The bowl should be shallow enough for small birds to swim safely (no more than 2 inches deep) and wide enough for a few birds to share at once. Rust-resistant materials (powder-coated metal, galvanized steel, or durable ABS plastic) are essential for anything left outside year-round.

But location matters, too. A railing bath on a balcony naturally sits above ground-level predators, which is one reason why birds seem to love them. For more on getting the most from your setup, our guide on bird bath placement mistakes is worth a read before you get started.

Best Clip-On Bird Baths for Balconies

Now that you know what makes a good balcony bird bath, here are four of my favorite options that will suit any outdoor space – no matter how small!

1. Best Budget Pick

2. Best 2-in-1 Pick

3. Best Cast Iron Pick

4. Best Solar Pick

Summer heat can make outdoors uncomfortable for both you and your plants – if you don’t select them carefully. Wilting ornamentals are a sad sight to see, but if your privacy shrubs are impacted, your entire landscape can start to feel endangered. That’s why it’s important to install hedging that won’t get dry and brittle under scorching summer heat.

Some shrubs for landscape hedges won’t shrivel and die in hot sunshine. You’ll want to pick heat-resistant, drought-tolerant shrubs that can take summer’s worst. To get you on your way, we’ve put together a list of our top five hedge shrubs that will keep on protecting your privacy during any and all heatwaves this summer.

5 Best Privacy Shrubs that Can Take the Heat

Which shrubs will stay happy and healthy during the hottest sunshine of summer? Pick varieties with dense, heat-tolerant foliage. If the plants thrive in the hot sun, they won’t wilt or shrivel as temperatures rise. The best choices will be drought-resistant evergreen shrubs.

1. Wax Leaf Privet

Wax leaf privet (Ligustrum japonicum), also called Japanese privet, is a large evergreen shrub native to eastern Asia. Its natural shape is compact, but it can grow to 12 feet (4m) tall and 6 feet (2m) wide while remaining dense and upright. Some describe it as having a “giant meatball” shape, considered a top choice for medium-size screening. Fast Growing Trees has a 'Texanum' wax leaf privet variety that will grow into a lovely hedge.

These shrubs are extremely resilient and thrive in a full sun location. It is not just heat tolerant, but also drought and salt spray tolerant. All in all, it’s a tough privacy plant with dark green foliage and white spring flowers that appear on new growth. It thrives in USDA hardiness zones 7-10.

2. Yardline Viburnum

You might not expect such a tough plant to be so lovely. Yardline viburnum (Viburnum awabuki) is a heat-tolerant, sunshine-loving upright evergreen shrub. It is a four-season beauty, with shiny, dense, leathery leaves year-round, plus white flower clusters in spring and bright red berries in fall and winter, making them very popular with wild birds.

Yardline is a narrow, low-maintenance shrub, growing to 12 feet (4m) tall but only 2 feet (1m) wide, a great space-saving choice for hot regions in USDA hardiness zones 7-10. It likes well-drained soil and is extremely drought-tolerant once established. The Viburnum awabuki 'Chindo' variety can be found at Fast Growing Trees.

3. Bottlebrush

If you’d like a flowering evergreen shrub for a heat-tolerant privacy screen, consider bottlebrush (Callistemon spp.). It’s native to Australia, and thrives in USDA zones 8-11. This large shrub is a favorite for its unusual, brush-like flowers in shades of red or pink that appeal to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Despite its ornamental value, bottlebrush is highly tolerant of both heat and drought, although it does need irrigation until it is established. It requires a full sun site and sharp drainage. It not only shrugs off the heat and provides flowers even in the hottest weather. Find bottlebrush shrubs from Fast Growing Trees for a unique and low-maintenance addition to your landscaping.

4. Carolina Cherry

A Carolina cherry (Prunus caroliniana) is also called Carolina laurelcherry, Carolina cherry laurel, and Cherry laurel. It is evergreen, native to the hot lowlands of the Southeastern United States. This ornamental tree is extremely popular with southern homeowners since it needs minimal care and thrives in full sun environments.

The Carolina cherry tree is both drought and heat tolerant. Like almost every other drought-tolerant shrub, a Carolina cherry does require watering until it is established. This smaller evergreen has bright, dark green foliage that looks gorgeous in a landscape. Add to that the creamy white, fragrant flowers that appear in spring, followed by attractive black berries that contrast beautifully with the foliage.

This sun-loving plant is hardy in USDA zones 7a through 10 b, attracting wild birds and pollinators too. Carolina cherry laurel starts can be found at Walmart for a great price.

5. Texas Sage

Tough Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) asks very little and gives a lot. This evergreen is native to the South and thrives in the warmer zones, USDA hardiness zones 8 through 11. Its leaves are silvery-gray and help the plant reflect light on hot summer days. They also hold onto moisture during droughts.

Texas sage grows to 8 feet (2.5 m) in both directions, thriving in intense sun even in the poorest soil. Then - surprise! The shrub burst into bloom after periods of rain or humidity. Get ready for these phenomenal purple blooms when you purchase Texas sage shrubs from Fast Growing Trees.

Call it midsummer madness, but I’ve been staring out of windows a lot lately, and the backyard has been filled with much-needed stillness and wonder. The other day, I found myself watching a sparrow bouncing from terracotta pot to dappled bird bath to cherry branch, sometimes with bits of a dandelion clock stuck to his beak. His unabashed joy and curiosity filled me with a sense of rightness in the world. So it’s only natural to want more of that, and to feel a little pang of frustration when the bird bath sits there in the stillness, just being… well, still.

If you find yourself watching and waiting, and wondering where the birdies are, it’s all about that stillness. Sometimes it’s tempting to think there’s a bit of pot luck involved in enticing chickadees and warblers out to play, but there actually is a bit of method to the madness, and if you want to attract more birds to your backyard, it’s all about the ripple effect. A flat, glassy disc of water is not only uninviting to birdies, it can be a little intimidating. Yes, really. Your little avian friends might be curious, thirsty and sociable, but many species are also timid. To a cautious bird led entirely by instinct, static water feels invisible at best and risky at worst.

But you can do something now, very quickly, to transform your still waters into a shimmering, sparkly splash zone that no backyard bird can resist for long. This super-simple bottle dripper trick doesn’t need to cost you a dime, it doesn’t require oodles of technique, and it takes literally minutes to set up. Interested? Here’s how to instantly transform that static water into a hoppy, fluttery wonderland. Oh, and as a special bonus, this quick trick can also help keep the mosquitoes away. Win-win!

Why Birds Need Moving Water

Garden birds are obsessed with moving water. And yes, the ripple effect is definitely a thing. As someone who used to care for budgies in my youth, I would find it fascinating how they would stare at a bird bath from a distance, gazing at it with hypnotic interest. If only I could have told my younger self that they might have needed a little more coercion than repeatedly pleading “come on, come on” in a little voice.

The way birds approach a bath is 1 part curiosity and 9 parts hesitation. That glass disc of water is a mystery. It’s hard to judge the depth, impossible to tell if it’s fresh, and it could leave them vulnerable to predators. But add a rhythmic drip, and the energy changes. The ripples and sounds are a compelling combo. Few backyard birds can resist the allure of a bird bath filled with sparkles and splashes.

That gentle sound of water movement and light play creates a lovely blend of sonic and visual cues for a bird. Literally breaking the tension, it announces fresh water and it gives your finches, sparrows and bluebirds a sense of how deep that water is. Moving water can entice the shyest backyard visitors. Dainty yellow warblers love moving water and will flutter with abandon under falling droplets, while curious chickadees and nuthatches will perform adorable, hoppy zip-and-dips.

And remember what I said about mosquitoes? A rhythmic drip of water breaking the surface tension in a bird bath can also reduce summer mosquitoes. Skeeters need still water to lay their eggs. By keeping the surface constantly rippling, you make it impossible for mosquitoes to set up camp and help keep water clean. You can get some useful commercial skeeter controls, like Summit Mosquito Dunks and Summit Mosquito Bits, both from Amazon. But this dripper trick gives you a very pretty alternative in the form of a cheep (yes, I went there), cheerful splash zone. So how do you make it? Read on…

Prepare the Bath for Your Dripper

The best thing about this bottle dripper trick is that you don't need a fancy, expensive setup to make it work. This trick involves suspending one specially prepared bottle of water above your bird bath, either using a tree branch or a shepherd’s crook. So all you need is a basic household plastic bottle and a few spare minutes. Oh, and a bird bath, of course. Bird baths can run to the hundreds, but the only necessity here is that it is sturdy for weight and safe for birds.

Theoretically, you can use a ground-based, deck-mount or floating bird bath with this dripper trick, it’s all possible. If you are thinking of pairing the dripper with a hanging bird bath, just make sure it is strong, wide and relatively shallow. The wide rim of the gorgeous Monarch Abode Copper Hammered Bird Bath Bowl, from Amazon, is perfect for the surface area for the trick and for the splashing sound.

You can also make this trick work if you are able to position your hanging bottle over a deck-mounted (clamp-style) bath. If you have a deck or a balcony, you can use a bath like the Misopily Deck Mount Bird Bath Bowl from Lowe’s, which clamps securely to patio railings. As long as you have a way of dangling the bottle above it, you’re in business. Just keep an eye on weight and balance. Make sure hanging chains or deck brackets are securely anchored before setting up your drip.

Personally, I find pedestal or standing bird baths work best for this trick. You can use a resin-based bath, like the vintage-style Best Choice Vintage Fleur de Lis Standing Bird Bath from Amazon or a more heavyweight ceramic style. For a little color with your splashing, the Mumtop Hummingbird Bird Bath from Walmart is pretty. Word to the wise, it will be more alluring to common garden birds than tiny hummers, but it holds its own under a water dripper. Finally, the Sunnydaze Avignon Freestanding Ceramic Bird Bath from Walmart is admittedly pricier, but it will pay for itself in terms of bird traffic and it's sturdy and durable.

If you're using a shallow ground dish, a simple plant stake pushed into the soil right beside the bowl can hold your bottle steady. Whatever bird bath you use, just make sure it is strong and safe. As a bit of housekeeping, bear in mind that small birds prefer a water depth of just 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm). If your basin is deep, add a few smooth river rocks or flat stones to the bottom, so tiny feet have a firm place to land, sip and play.

Make Your Bottle Dripper

Transforming a humble plastic bottle into a birdie splash zone takes only a few minutes. The key is getting your setup sturdy and your drip rate finely tuned. The ideal is a clean 16-to-32-ounce plastic water or soda bottle. Larger 2-liter jugs hold more water, but they can get heavy and sag, while tiny single-serve bottles empty out too quickly in the heat. Next, you need a thin sewing pin or needle. You can grab a pack of Singer Hand Sewing Needles from Walmart. Poke a single tiny hole into the bottom of the bottle. The size of the hole is important, so make sure it is tiny.

Once you’ve made the pinhole, fill the bottle with clean water and tighten the cap. With the cap screwed tight, a vacuum forms in the bottle, causing the drip to slow to a stop. But loosen the cap just a fraction, and air enters. This allows steady droplets to fall. Don’t worry, this is as technical as the trick gets, but it’s pretty cool, eh? Test your bottle over the sink until you find the sweet spot, which is a drip every couple of seconds. This creates an inviting sound without draining your reservoir too quickly or frightening skittish, dainty visitors that might be gathering the courage to hop closer.

Securing your bottle safely is crucial. You can wedge it in place, perhaps in the groove of a tree branch. But suspending it above the bath gives you more control over height, tension, and access. You can find shepherd hooks to help with this, such as the Beau Jardin Heavy Duty Shepherd Hook from Amazon. Hang your bottle 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) over the center of your bird bath basin. This height means droplets hit the water surface below with enough force to create glistening ripples and a soft plink that will resonate with your birdie community.

Wrap wire or twine tightly around the neck and base of the bottle to create a harness for the bottle dripper. Double up some jute like Nutscene Greentwist Garden Twine from The Home Depot to hold the bottle securely in place. By the way, if you’re worried about what the birds might think of a giant plastic bottle hovering in mid-air, good call – but it’s fine. They might give it a bit of a side-eye to start with, but once they realize that giant floating bubble is the source of fresh, moving water, they’ll soon be won over. And voila, one splash zone, coming right up!

Other Options for the Ripple Effect

This bird bath bottle dripper trick is a brilliant, budget-friendly entry point if you’re looking to turn your backyard into a birdie holiday resort. Of course, you might eventually decide you want to upgrade. You can get floating solar fountain inserts which harness the summer sun to create plumes of water. Float-and-go options like the Dartwood Solar Bird Bath Fountain from Lowe’s and the MadeMax Solar Bird Bath Fountain Pump from Amazon turn static basins into dynamic bathing spots for birdies. Just drop in your bath and make sure it receives some good sunlight.

You can also get battery-powered and solar-powered water agitators or “wiggler” devices. These create continuous water ripples across the surface of the bird bath water, such as the Solar Water Wiggler from Walmart. For a gentle artisanal alternative, the butterfly shaped Copper Bird Bath Water Wiggler from Walmart creates gentle movement and the copper can also help maintain water freshness.

Finally, you can try fine mist setups that attach to garden hoses. These cast a cloud of micro-droplets and are popular with hummingbirds. Nozzles are available that attach to standard hoses to create fine water clouds. For water features that can also charm local hummingbirds, try a Mellbree Mister Nozzle Kit from Amazon. But I have to say, our simple plastic bottle dripper measures up brilliantly for the cash-strapped and time-poor looking to entice birdies to play.

Summer Bird Bath & Dripper Care

A vibrant, splash-tastic bird bath is only as good as its cleanliness, no matter what else you might throw at it. In peak summer heat, algae can bloom quickly, making regular checks important. Your dripper requires very little fuss, but just check the bottle cap every few days. If the steady drip slows or stops, there could be a speck of algae or mineral build-up clogging the pinhole. A quick poke with a pin should clear the opening. Also rinse out the bottle whenever you refill it. It’s a good idea to swap in a fresh recycled bottle every 3 weeks in summer.

Refill the bath daily and give it a thorough scrub twice a week. Use a stiff-bristled brush, like the Modanu Ergonomic Brush for Bird Baths from Walmart. Stick to non-toxic enzyme cleaners or a simple mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 9 parts water. Dropping a copper disc into the basin is a great way of slowing down algae growth between cleans and helps to keep water fresh for longer. The gold (or should that be copper?) standard is the team fave Melbree Pure Copper Bird Bath Disc from Amazon. Keeping your bath in dappled or partial light can reduce evaporation and algal blooms, but you need to balance this with any solar-powered fountain pumps or wigglers you bring to the party.

Shop Bird Bath Extras

Your summer bird sanctuary deserves a few little treats, for you as well as your resident birdlife. This backyard bundle is tailored to a safe, happy avian retreat that you can enjoy from your sunlounger or kitchen window. Whether you are setting up your very first basin or looking to add a little extra magic to your current dripping setup, these birdie upgrades will keep your feathered friends happy, hydrated, and coming back for more.

Bird Bath Trio

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Wicker swivel chairs and striped outdoor pillows, handled ceramic planters and soft pastel patio rugs: Drew Barrymore’s yard collection at Walmart looks just like my daydreams of a perfect garden. Maybe Drew’s missing the wildflower meadows of her 12-acre Westchester County estate she listed for just shy of $5 million in March, but there sure is more than a fragrant whiff of nostalgic whimsy in the styling of her curated Beautiful patio collection.

Not at the expense of practicalities, though. The chair comes with a storage cover to keep those bouclé cushions spotless, the pots have drainage holes, and the rugs are hose- and machine-washable. So while Drew may be used to having an actual garden of dreams, she absolutely seems to know what we normal folk want in our real-life yards. Because this is a winning mix of style and substance, not to mention good ol’ common sense, as testified by customer ratings – the lowest I could find across Drew’s entire patio line was four-and-a-half stars out of five.

But then, we all know Drew can turn her hand to anything from befriending ET to being a daytime talkshow host – and showing us all how to create a decadent bathtub canopy of trailing houseplant stems in her swish urban-jungle bathroom, of course. No wonder, then, that Drew has delivered yet again with this garden collection made for modern life. And did I mention it's at Walmart? And some of it is on sale at Walmart? Let's shop!

Our Picks From Drew’s Garden Line

Launched in Walmart in April of this year, Drew’s curated patio and garden collection combines pretty and practical at a good pricepoint. A number of products are now on sale, making these items more appealing than ever.

Our Pick of Beautiful Pots

Our Pick of Beautiful Patio Furniture

Our Pick of Beautiful Outdoor Dining

Our Pick of Beautiful Outdoor Rugs

Nice, huh? Combine your purchases with a few quick and clever container ideas – and perhaps a budget but blooming lovely DIY water feature – to turn your deck or patio into an outdoor living space, you too will have yourself a garden of dreams.

Husqvarna and Stihl are titans of the chainsaw world – and we pitted two of their best models against each other to see who cuts the competition down to size.

Swedish-based Husqvarna and German-based Stihl are both reputable brands, so we're off to a good start. Husqvarna produces popular high-quality gardening tools like strimmers and mowers as well as chainsaws. Stihl is also an expert in the gardening field, providing a host of excellent and durable tools to help you get the job done.

These industry leaders are well-known for producing some of the best chainsaws on the market today, but it can be hard to know which is right for you. Let’s dive full throttle into the competitors’ best chainsaws and see whether the the Stihl MS 211 or Husqvarna 440 comes out on top.

Stihl vs Husqvarna chainsaw: Performance

Chainsaws can make felling and pruning trees a much quicker and simpler task. As chainsaw expert and founder of both firepitfanatic.com and firewood-for-life.com Nick Greenway puts it: “You can do a lot of work in a short amount of time using a chainsaw. Whether you're trimming some branches or cutting down full-sized trees, a chainsaw is an amazing tool to have around your home.”

When it comes to your chainsaw, you want something with enough power to get the job done but is not difficult to operate or use safely. In terms of raw power, the Husqvarna 440 just edges out the Stihl MS 211. The 440 has an engine power of 2.4 horsepower and a displacement of 40.99 cc. The Stihl MS 211 is just behind with 2.3 horsepower and a displacement of 35.2 cc.

The lightweight MS 211 can cope with a range of tasks and can cut through wood with ease. It is a great all-rounder to have on hand when you want to fell small-to-medium trees or cross-cut and debranch them. This chainsaw is conveniently sized and easy to start to make getting the job done as simple as possible.

The Husqvarna 440 is incredibly easy to start and operate thanks to its wide variety of features. It is also two pounds heavier than its MS 211 counterpart, coming in at 9.7 pounds total. It is still very easy to lug around from job to job and is well-balanced during use.

In terms of negatives, there are a couple of things to bear in mind with each model. The MS 211 has sluggish tension in the chain and a knob that could be softer. The On button could also be more visible and large for those using gloves. On the other hand, some customers have reported that the Husqvarna 440 can have some idling issues out of the box and may need time to warm up before hitting its best performance.

With all this in mind, it's a close call. However, we think the Stihl MS 211 just edges out the Husqvarna due to its sheer power and ease of use.

Stihl vs Husqvarna chainsaw: Features

Modern chainsaws come with a wide range of features to make them easier and safer to use. So, whose features are better?

The Husqvarna has no shortage of convenient features. The SmartStart Technology ensures that starting your 440 chainsaw takes minimal effort from you. At the same time, the QuickStart with Air Purge removes air from the carburetor and fuel system to add to that easy start feeling. The combined choke and stop control make starting easier and reduce the risk of engine flooding during use.

Once you get going, the Low Vibration Technology places dampeners between the engine and the chassis, reducing fatigue and making the chainsaw more comfortable to hold during use. The Fuel Indicator system ensures that you are never caught out mid-job again. The X-Cut Dedicated felling marks keep your incredibly sharp and durable X-Cut chain precise every time.

When you need to idle your 440 chainsaw, the chain oil pump disengages with the engine to reduce oil consumption and emissions. This is not even counting the maintenance features incorporated into the design.

Stihl’s MS 211 chainsaw, on the other hand, keeps it short and sweet when it comes to features. Made in the USA, the MS 211 has the exclusive ElastoStart handle with starting grip and built-in shock absorber designed to reduce the effort when pulling on your starter cord.

Once you're raring to go, the MS 211 chainsaw has an anti-vibration system to keep you comfortable and minimize fatigue during a job. The Ematic lubrication system and guide bar provide proper lubrication and work to minimize oil consumption by 50 percent. The Master Control Lever is a single-use lever that operates the choke, works the throttle lock, and the on/off switch for convenient handling. Should you need to stop suddenly, the Quickstop chain brake will stop chain rotation if manually activated or by inertia if there is a strong enough kickback.

With all this in mind, we have to give it to the Husqvarna 440 for its wide range of handy features.

Husqvarna vs Stihl chainsaw: Price

Price is a big factor to consider when considering chainsaws. Nick Greenway agrees, stating that: “When shopping for a new chainsaw, you should consider how much you want to spend. Both gas and electric chainsaws have a wide range of prices. As with any tool, you get what you pay for, and chainsaws are no exception.”

When it comes to the price tag, both the Stihl MS 211 and the Husqvarna 440 are very similar. The Husqvarna is the more expensive one upfront, coming in at $399.99 on both the Husqvarna site and Amazon. Stihl’s MS 211 is a little trickier to pin down as they tend to sell through approved dealers who mark the price individually. At Ace Hardware, the Stihl is currently priced at $339.99.

Getting a chainsaw is not just about the upfront costs - fuel and maintenance costs also play a role in how much a chainsaw will cost you. Husqvarna’s shop has various chainsaw fuels, lubricants, and oils available in a range of sizes and prices for your convenience. Husqvarna even lets you finance your 440 chainsaw over time if that is best for you.

Stihl also has a range of oil and lubricants in various sizes. The price can be tricky to pin down due to Stihl’s insistence on using verified dealers. However, some oils tend to be priced between $2.50 and $17.99 depending on the price. We recommend shopping around for fuel, gear, and lubricants from the verified seller list to find items in your budget.

Overall, we would suggest that Husqvarna is the better choice despite its higher upfront cost due to its convenience and ease of financing your purchase and getting parts. Stihl is still excellent and cheaper upfront but requires some shopping around to make any purchase.

Husqvarna vs Stihl chainsaw: Care and maintenance

Chainsaws need regular maintenance to stay in top shape. While most chainsaws have similarities in their care routines, each model will have little key differences that you need to bear in mind.

To make this easier, both models’ manuals lay out a maintenance schedule and details on what care to perform and when; this makes it a breeze to input into your calendar so that you do not forget. The 440 even goes a step beyond and has included multiple points of easy access and cleaning into its ergonomic design so you can perform these routines with ease.

Husqvarna vs Stihl chainsaw: Verdict

Husqvarna and Stihl are both famous producers of quality chainsaws that will help you get the job done. However, after considering the price, features, and performance of the 440 and MS 211, we think the Husqvarna 440 comes out on top.

This is not to say that you should not think about getting Stihl’s MS 211; there are plenty of jobs that the MS 211 is perfect for. It is just that the Husqvarna is perfect for beginners while the MS 211 is better for felling trees efficiently in domestic situations.

No matter which model you pick, it is vital to do your research and learn how to handle a chainsaw correctly before use. As Nick puts it: “Chainsaws can cause a lot of harm, especially if you're an inexperienced operator.” Make sure to read the instructions thoroughly and register your warranty before cutting to the wooden chase.

Half a watermelon forgotten at the back of the fridge stops being food quickly. The flesh turns grainy while the juice separates out, and the smell announces itself whenever the door opens. Into the trash it goes – several pounds of organic matter bound for landfill for no reason.

The garden has better uses for it, though none work the way people assume. Treating spoiled fruit as homemade plant food is sound enough as an instinct. A melon just isn't fertilizer and won't behave like one. What it offers is raw material, plus a side benefit for wildlife that rarely gets mentioned.

1. Turn Overripe Watermelon Into Natural Plant Food

Start with what a watermelon is made of. Roughly 92 percent is water, leaving a thin margin of sugars and fiber once that evaporates away. Drop a melon into a planting hole expecting a nutrient boost and the plant receives almost none of it – no nitrogen in a form roots can use, no phosphorus ready to take up.

Microbes have to get there first. Bacteria and fungi dismantle the flesh and rind into humus across several weeks, releasing minerals as they go. None of that is a knock against the melon. It's the same process running any compost heap. What comes out improves soil structure and moisture retention, with nutrients in forms roots can take up – exactly what raw melon fails to offer. You can do it yourself with this compost bin from Amazon.

How To Add Watermelon to Your Compost Pile

Chop it small first. A whole melon sits in a heap as a sealed unit, breaking down from the outside over months. Pieces cut to a few inches (8cm) across give the organisms far more surface to work on. Include the rind – tougher than the flesh and slower to go, but it composts fine.

Too much melon at once is where this goes wrong. Watermelon is a green in composting terms – wet and nitrogen-heavy, and a heap fed too much of it turns sour and airless. Every addition wants dry browns over it. Fallen leaves do the job, shredded cardboard too, at roughly two or three parts brown to one part melon.

Can You Bury Watermelon Straight in the Garden?

Trench composting skips the heap altogether. Pick an unplanted spot and dig down at least 12 inches (30cm). The chopped melon goes in the bottom. Backfill until a solid 8 inches (20cm) of soil covers it. Worms and soil bacteria handle the rest underground, out of reach of anything with a nose. A Fiskars transplant spade from Walmart reaches that depth quickly enough that there's no reason to cut the job short.

Depth is doing all the work here. Bury the fruit shallowly and it fails outright – raccoons and rats turn up within days, flies not long after. Leave the spot a few weeks before planting into it as well, since material in the thick of decomposition ties up soil nitrogen temporarily and leaves early plantings hungry at the wrong moment.

Save a Slice for Butterflies and Moths

Flowers aren't the only thing butterflies drink from. Red admirals (Vanessa atalanta) and commas (Polygonia comma) feed at rotting fruit quite happily, and some species seem to prefer it. Concentrated energy is part of the draw. Fermenting sugars also carry minerals and yeasts no blossom offers. Plenty of moths work the same way after dark – fruit-baiting is an old trick among the people who study them.

Late summer is when this counts. Nectar thins out as the flowering season winds down, right as butterflies building reserves for overwintering need it most. A slice of overripe watermelon fills that gap. Replacing anything is beyond it, though. Nectar-rich planting and host plants stay the foundation, and a fruit dish only makes sense in a garden that has both.

How to Make a Simple Watermelon Feeding Station

The setup asks almost nothing. One or two small slices on a shallow dish, somewhere flat and stable, is the whole of it. A terracotta plant saucer from Amazon suits the job because the low sides let butterflies land and reach the fruit without any climbing, and clay stays cooler than plastic under direct sun.

Keep portions modest. Two slices are easy to refresh and easy to rinse, while a plate piled high becomes a problem long before it gets finished. A splash of water stops the fruit drying to leather, and the damp seems to help the fermenting smell travel – which is how insects locate it at all.

Where to Place It, and When to Remove It

Placement decides whether this stays charming or turns irritating. Fermenting fruit draws wasps and ants as readily as butterflies, so the dish belongs well away from doors and anywhere people sit. A sheltered corner beside a hedge works better anyway, out of the wind, with cover close by for the insects using it.

Swap the fruit out every couple of days rather than letting a dish run on indefinitely. Old melon slumps into slime and grows mold, and by then it stops drawing the visitors you wanted. Rinse the saucer between servings, since residue builds fast in the heat. If wasp numbers climb past comfortable, pull the dish for a stretch. The butterflies find it again once it returns.

Avoid These Overripe Watermelon Mistakes

Scale is the big one. A whole melon parked beside a tomato as a natural feed does nothing measurable for the plant and a great deal for the local rat population. The smell alone makes that corner unpleasant for weeks. Whatever goes into the ground goes in chopped and deep, and the rest belongs in the heap.

Seeds are the surprise waiting at the end. They come through a cool heap intact, so unless the pile properly heats, expect volunteer seedlings wherever that compost lands. Sap beetles (Nitidulidae) and fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) gather around exposed fruit as well, and neither does real harm outdoors. Split the melon between its two jobs and none of this becomes trouble. A couple of slices go out for the butterflies, and the rest gets chopped into the heap or buried deep, quietly turning into next season's soil while nobody watches.

The cherries look fine one morning. But then, a couple of days later, there's a bare pit still clinging to the stem and half a dozen birds arguing in the branches over what's left. Birds don't nibble at fruit the way insects do. They arrive as a group, take the ripest fruit quickly, and move along to the next tree before you even notice.

Plenty of gardeners assume how to protect fruit trees from birds has to start with netting or a spray. But there’s an overlooked item already in your kitchen that works just as well. It’s just sitting in your kitchen drawer, only costs a couple of dollars to replace, and takes hardly any work to put up.

Find out which common kitchen product doubles as an eco-friendly and organic way to stop birds from eating all the fruit on your trees before you can.

Best Kitchen Product to Prevent Birds

You can use tin foil to deter common garden pests, like unwanted birds. It works as a visual and auditory deterrent that protects fruit trees from hungry winged visitors.

Sight runs the show for most birds. They feed and navigate visually, so a strip of tin foil shining in the sun throws bright, erratic flashes that read as movement where movement shouldn't be. This makes tin foil a good natural way to deter birds in the garden.

Their reaction to the tin foil is more of a reflex rather than reasoning. A bird approaching a branch gets a burst of glare at close range, which prevents it from landing. This makes the tree register as a place where something unpleasant lives and scares away the bird before it can land and eat your fruit.

Sound does its share of the work as well. Foil rattles and crackles at the slightest breeze. That noise combined with the flashing makes the whole display harder to dismiss and scarier to unwanted birds.

A shiny object hanging still doesn't have the same effect and birds figure that out quickly. Wind is the ingredient that turns foil into a deterrent, so a still day with no breeze to move the foil will always be the weak point of this method.

How to Use Tin Foil to Stop Birds

Strips of tin foil should be about 2 inches (5 cm) wide and 12 to 18 inches (30-45 cm) long to do the job. Fold each one in half lengthwise so both faces are reflective, then twist it once before tying, which keeps it spinning and reflecting light. A roll of Reynolds Wrap heavy duty aluminum foil from Walmart holds up through weather that shreds the standard gauge foil within a week.

Hang the strips of tin foil at the ends of the branches where the fruit actually is, not tucked against the trunk where birds won't see them. Hanging roughly one strip every 2 to 3 feet (60-90 cm) around the outside of the tree canopy is a reasonable starting density. You can add a few more on the side facing open ground since that's the approach most birds use. Tie loosely with twine and leave plenty of slack. A strip that can't move is a strip that isn't working.

Move Foil Every Few Days

Birds are quick studies. Give them a stretch of a few days with foil that flashes and never actually does anything and they'll be landing right next to it and eating your fruit again soon. Habituation is what sinks this method for the gardeners who say it doesn't work. But there's an easy fix to this issue.

Simply move the strips every few days – take some down, add others, shift them to different branches – so the pattern never stays the same. Alternating foil with reflective bird scare ribbon from Amazon can double the effects.

Timing matters, too, for moving around the tin foil. Hang the foil before the fruit ripens and colors up because a bird that has already tasted what's in your tree is far harder to deter than one that never got a sample.

Hanging tin foil a week ahead of first blush is about right. Waiting until the damage shows up means fighting an established habit rather than preventing one and habits are hard to break.

Limitations to This Method

There are a few limitations to this method to know about before trying it. This deterrent works well for certain types of backyard birds, but not for others.

European starlings move in flocks large enough that the birds at the back barely notice what spooked the front. American robins get bold about fruit they've already claimed. For a small tree carrying a crop that matters, Vigoro bird block netting from Home Depot is the only thing that ends the issue outright.

There are two other cautions worth having in mind to keep your trees healthy as well. Never wrap foil tightly around a trunk or a limb, since it traps moisture against the bark and invites problems that outlast the birds. This is a common fruit tree mistake when using this method.

It's also important to gather up every strip of tin foil at the end of the season instead of letting the weather tear them loose because shredded foil ends up in bird nests, your garden, and your lawn mower.

Other Bird Deterrents to Try

Every garden has those plants that everyone talks about. The ones that show up in magazine spreads, Instagram posts, and “must-have” lists year after year. And while I understand why some plants become favorites (look, I’m just as guilty of falling for a beautiful allium) I think there are a few underrated perennials that deserve far more attention.

Don’t get me wrong; alliums are incredible. I love their perfectly round flower heads standing above the garden, and honestly, I think they can look even better once the flowers have faded and those dried seed heads are catching the light. They add structure, texture, and that slightly unreal, almost alien look that makes a garden feel like a designer was involved in the planting plans.

But there’s another perennial I’ve come to love even more for the way it performs with so little fuss. It gives me those same dramatic globes of color, brings in pollinators, handles challenging summer weather, and asks for very little in return. In short, it’s one of those plants that makes you wonder why everyone isn’t growing more of it (seriously folks, why?).

The Underrated Perennial I Love The Most

I hate to admit my ignorance, but I first discovered this underrated perennial completely by accident. I picked up a few plants (no flowers, just optimistic stems) on a whim at a neighbor’s charity plant sale. There was no looking at the labels; I was just doing my bit to help their fundraising efforts.

As such, I had no grand plan for these plants; I just liked the look of them and thought they were worth trying. That small impulse purchase turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made for my garden.

Also known as African lily, agapanthus is one of those perennials that quietly earns its place year after year. In summer, those tall stems rise above the foliage with clusters of rounded flowers that look like they’re floating above the garden.

Mine? Mine produce beautiful white and purple globes that hover above the beds, creating exactly the kind of impact I love in a garden. They have height, movement, and a slightly exotic feel (read: that extra-terrestrial vibe I mentioned earlier) but they’re not difficult or demanding. They just... they just get on with the job of looking beautiful.

Honestly, one of my favorite things about agapanthus is how little attention it needs once established. It doesn’t require constant watering, it copes brilliantly with heat, and it keeps looking good through the kind of summer conditions that can leave more delicate plants struggling. I can count on one hand how many times I have tended to mine this year; the thick, strappy foliage has even stayed attractive in a steady run of very hot, very dry weather, and the flowers continue to provide that wonderful burst of summer color.

Need another reason to fall for this underrated perennial? Well, agapanthus is also a brilliant pollinator plant. Bees and butterflies are regular visitors when mine are in bloom, which adds another reason to love them. There’s something especially satisfying about planting something that looks beautiful while also giving wildlife a helping hand.

Shop Agapanthus:

Agapanthus works beautifully in borders, but it’s also fantastic in containers. In fact, growing it in a pot can make it even easier to manage, especially in colder areas where you may want to protect it over winter (mine is in the border, but I am aware I am lucky enough to live in a slightly easier USDA planting zone than most).

So, while I’ll always have a soft spot for alliums, I think agapanthus deserves to share the spotlight. It delivers that same dramatic shape and summer presence but with a level of toughness and reliability that makes it feel almost effortless. And if they can look this good in my frying pan of a garden right now? Then you absolutely need to give them a go, stat!

With over 41,000 fires having burned more than 3.9 million acres across the United States so far this year, many folk are turning to the idea of firescaping their home gardens. Traditionally, we’ve planted thick borders of flowering shrubs and perennials around our houses. Beautiful? Yes. Flammable? Very. And there’s a new approach that is far more fire-resistant, and you still get flowers.

The US Fire Administration (USFA) recommends reducing combustible vegetation near your home to create a defensible space to slow or stop wildfires. It cites Zone 1 – the ground immediately around your home, up to 5 feet away – as the most critical area to reduce risk to the home during a wildfire. Have a think about this part of your yard and, if it's packed with woody shrubs and perennials that could fuel flames, it might be time you considered firescaping this area with the water-filled foliage of sedums instead.

You see – and I was so shocked when I discovered this – up to 90% of ignitions from wildfires are caused by embers, according to USFA. So, siting the water-filled, non-flammable leaves of sedums in the area immediately around your home makes good sense. And what do you know, sedums are one of the most low-maintenance plants on the planet, and they’re pretty as well as practical. Firescaping is a part of landscaping design we're expecting to see boom this summer as there's no telling how long this heatwave weather will last for, and sedums are such a smart and easy solution.

What is Sedum?

Sedums, commonly known as stonecrops, form a huge group of succulent plants with thick leaves and stems that store lots of water. They fall into two types: low-growing, spreading groundcover plants, and taller clumping varieties – and it’s those low growers we’re interested in here.

There are hundreds of sedums to choose from, with clusters of tiny, star-shaped flowers in white, yellow, pink and purple, typically in summer through fall, that pollinators adore. The foliage is just as attractive as the flowers, many with striking colors from lime green and burgundy to deep bronze. Spreading into a resilient mat, the foliage brings fabulous texture, too, and some varieties are evergreen, depending on your zone.

Why is Sedum Fire-Resistant?

Sedums evolved to flourish in semi-arid climates so their ability to store moisture means these plants can go months without rain. That high water content is also very helpful when it comes to resisting ignition and, planted en masse, can help to slow the spread of flames.

Their drought-tolerance plays a crucial part in their ability to resist fire, too, because stonecrops can thrive even through a hot, dry summer. Because sedums are groundcover plants that act as a living mulch, they lock moisture in the soil and keep it cool, too, further increasing their resilience. And that’s an important factor, because even the most fire-resistant plants become highly combustible in a drought-stricken, dried-out state.

Another factor that makes sedum so fire-resistant is that it lacks combustible oils and resins that many evergreen trees and fragranced shrubs contain.

While there’s no one plant that’s considered the most fire-resistant, because of variations in growing conditions across the US, sedum is right up there in most climates. And while there’s no standardized measure of plant flammability, because of its resilience as well as its ability to hold moisture, sedum is widely considered to be one of the most fire-resistant plants in America, and recommended by safety organizations and fire chiefs for fire-conscious landscaping.

Which Sedum is Best?

Low-growing sedums are better for fire resistance than taller sedums which have woodier stems. There are sedums for indoor as well as outdoor growing, as well as annual and perennial types, so do read the label or online description when shopping to ensure you're buying a hardy plant that last year after year in your zone. So the best sedum for you is the one that will naturally thrive year-round in your garden, because a happy plant will be full of moisture.

Also, choose what you love, because then you’re more likely to grow more of it! And all these sedums are super-easy to dig up, divide and replant to create free plants, so you can increase your firescaped area without spending a fortune.

It’s best to buy plants as you need to be super-patient to raise sedums from the dust-small seeds.

Best For Foliage Color

Best For Flowers

Best For Foliage Texture

How to Plant Sedum to Maximise Fire Resistance

All sedums need to flourish is well-draining soil and at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. Happily, creating those well-drained conditions marry well with a non-combustible environment. Mix horticultural grit or sand into your soil if the drainage needs improving, and use pea gravel rather than bark as a mulch, and growing sedums couldn't be simpler.

Sedums are so drought-tolerant, you can even create a fully firescaped Zone 1 with paving or gravel punctuated with planting pockets of potting soil. This creates the ultimate low-maintenance, fire-resistant foundation planting. For a modern look, consider adding angular metal edging to contain the spreading sedums in neat geometric shapes.

Another creative idea is to pair sedum with gravel and rocks and pebbles of different sizes to create a dry river.

It’s a smart move to use these succulent plants around highly combustible garden areas, too, such as decking and wooden summerhouses. Sedum can also be used to create living roofs, further helping to slow fire, and forms great groundcover to suppress weeds in any well-drained border.

To maximise fire resistance, clear any dead material – the thatch – from plants every spring. Keep weed free and, while sedum is one of the most drought-tolerant plants you can buy and survives on minimal water, it’s wise to irrigate occasionally through very dry periods in peak fire season to keep those leaves plump with moisture.

You’ll also need to keep your sedum plants watered to begin with, while they grow roots deep enough into the ground to source their own moisture supply.

Some plants are still burning through nutrients in midsummer and will keep asking for more. Others have already turned toward dormancy or next year's buds, and a July feeding pushes them into growth that winter will destroy.

Fertilizing in July is where a lot of gardens quietly go wrong. The impulse is to keep feeding everything, since the plants are big and growing hard and it seems like the season is at full tilt. Many different plants want it. Many others are already shifting gears, moving toward seed set or dormancy or hardening off wood for winter, and pushing nitrogen at them now works against what they're trying to do.

The split comes down to what a plant is doing right now. Choosing plant fertilizer matters less than choosing the right moment for it. Anything still producing flowers or fruit is burning through nutrients and will keep asking for more. Anything winding down, storing reserves, or setting next year's buds needs to be left alone, because late nitrogen produces soft growth that frost will find in October.

6 Plants to Keep Feeding in July

These six are still working, and July feeding keeps them at it. Fertilizer types differ between them more than you would figure, so the formula matters as much as the schedule.

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), grown as annuals across USDA zones 3-11, run on a heavy diet right through the season. Once fruit has set, though, the formula should shift away from nitrogen — too much and the plant builds foliage while the fruit sits there unchanged.

A feed with a lower first number and more phosphorus and potassium is the move, every two or three weeks. This Fruit and Bloom Booster from Farmer’s Secret on Amazon will do the trick, and this calcium from Home Depot matters here because a shortage of calcium shows up as blossom end rot.

2. Peppers

Whatever works on the tomatoes works here. Peppers (Capsicum annuum) run the same zones, 4-11 as annuals, and they keep throwing flowers and setting fruit until frost puts an end to it.

Feed every few weeks, low nitrogen again. Overdo the nitrogen and what you get is a big handsome dark green bush that produces almost nothing — the sort of thing you figure out in September, too late to fix.

3. Sweet Corn

Here the low-nitrogen rule goes out the window. Corn (Zea mays) eats nitrogen from the day it germinates until the ears fill, grown as an annual anywhere in zones 3-11. Side-dress it with this Gardenera Liquid Power Corn Fertilizer from Walmart once the plants hit knee height, then again as the tassels push out. Watch the bottom leaves for pale color and yellowing that runs up along the midrib, which is the plant telling you it ran short a while back.

4. Roses

Roses (Rosa spp.), hardy in zones 3-9 depending on the type, bloom in flushes and drain themselves doing it. A balanced feed after each flush keeps the next one coming. Jobe's Organics Granular Rose Fertilizer from Amazon is a good organic option, so it won't scorch roots in July heat. There is one deadline, though. Stop feeding roughly six to eight weeks ahead of your first expected frost. Anything later and the plant answers with tender new canes, right as the weather turns on them.

5. Container Annuals

Container annuals like petunias (Petunia spp.), perennial only in zones 9-11 and treated as annuals everywhere colder, live on borrowed nutrition. Every watering flushes some out the drainage holes, and by July whatever was mixed into the potting soil in May is long gone. A dilute liquid feed every week or two replaces it. Miracle-Gro's water-soluble all-purpose food from Walmart mixes into a watering can and covers the whole balcony in one pass.

6. Tropical Hibiscus

Outside zones 9-11 this one lives in a pot, hauled in every fall. Tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) will bloom right through the warm months if it's fed, but it's fussy about what. Potassium, yes. Phosphorus it would rather have less of, which means the average bloom-booster formula can set the plant back instead of pushing it.

Something made for hibiscus like this Nelson Plant Food - NutriStar Hibiscus Fertilizer from Amazon, lightly, every couple of weeks, and keep it up until the plant comes indoors.

3 Plants to Stop Fertilizing Now

These three have moved on to something else, and continuing to feed them does real harm. None of it shows up immediately, which is part of why the mistake keeps getting made.

1. Bigleaf Hydrangea

Next spring's flowers are being decided right now. Bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) sets those buds in late summer, on wood that has to firm up first, and it manages this across zones 5-9 without help.

Feed it nitrogen in July and it does the opposite — more soft growth, which is still soft when the cold arrives and dies back on you. Feeding should have wrapped up by early summer. Water and mulch is what it wants now.

2. Peonies

Peonies (Paeonia lactiflora), zones 3-8, finished flowering weeks ago and are now doing the less apparent part of the job — photosynthesizing to stock their roots for next spring. Fertilizer at this stage encourages floppy foliage and can reduce the following year's bud count. A single feeding after bloom is all they wanted, and that window closed in June. Cutting the foliage back now would compound it, since those leaves are the whole engine. Let your peonies rest and charge up for next year.

3. Garlic

By July, garlic is already committed. Planted back in fall, hardy through zones 3-9, Allium sativum is either swelling its bulbs or sitting there ready to pull. Give it nitrogen at this point and you tell it to make leaves, exactly when everything ought to be going underground, and the heads that come out of that don't keep well in storage. Feeding ends when the scapes appear. After that, it’s just water, then tapering off before harvest.

Clematis plants are serious climbers. Indeed, they might be the showiest of climbers. This rapid-growing, vigorous vine climbs up trellises, pergolas and fences, up to 30 feet (10m) high, using twisting leaf petioles and twining growth. If your garden includes a climbing clematis, you’ll know that it helps to create an enchanting three-dimensional flowering space. So the last thing you’ll want to do is compromise the vitality of your climbers – which is why you need to check a few things now.

Now, as long as you have planted yours in an appropriate site, clematis care is not all that complicated. These plants prefer to have their head in the sun and feet in the shade, as the saying goes. And for most of spring and early summer, this can happen without too much fuss. But as the summer weather heats up this month, all vines (including clematis) need targeted attention to keep them growing happily.

Taking 20 minutes this week to attend to your Group 2 and Group 3 clematis vines is not just about keeping up appearances. The little things you do now will directly determine how long those velvety petals can hold on during midsummer heat spikes, the intensity of their colors, the size and health of the blooms, and the shape and mass of their growth. Here’s how to ensure that your queen of climbers continues to be the star of your summer show.

How to Help Your Clematis in July

The heat in July can sometimes feel closer to oppressive than delightful. Our favorite plants also feel the heat, and, unlike us, they can’t escape to the cool of the shade. Clematis, in particular, requires a full sun location to thrive, which means it’s stuck in the heat without so much as sunglasses. So it’s counting on you to ride to the rescue by tackling these key tasks in July. First, make sure you know your vine's specific pruning group or class, as this is the key to unlocking its full blooming potential.

Group 1 spring-bloomers like Clematis montana and C. alpina have finished their flowering and are quietly settling into vegetative growth. July belongs to Group 2 clems (early summer flowerers like Nelly Moser) and Group 3 (late summer bloomers like Jackmanii and C. viticella). For Group 2 clematis types, what you do in July can determine whether you see a secondary flush in late summer. For Group 3, this is peak performance season, which relies on regular care and support.

The nature and degree of your clematis care in July will depend on your USDA hardiness zone and growing setup. In warmer regions (zones 7-9), moisture retention and root cooling are top priority. In northern zones (zones 4-6), long daylight hours will drive rapid stem elongation that requires structural checks. Container-grown clematis suffer heat stress faster than ground-planted vines. Soil temperatures can spike rapidly, drying out delicate roots within a single afternoon.

Whether you’re growing in the ground or in a container, be sure to give your soil a quick onceover before getting stuck into these clematis steps. Check soil moisture levels with a digital probe, or by dipping your finger two inches into the root zone. A moisture probe like the XLUX Moisture Meter Probe, available from Amazon, can help you avoid piling undue stress onto delicate roots. Once you have a basic read on these levels, get cracking with these simple checks for happy clems in summer.

1. Give Your Clematis Regular Water

Vines dry out faster than rounded shrubs, since they can’t rely on their own shade. Think of a hydrangea shrub: the big leaves cast shade on the interior of the plants, keeping it cooler. A clematis doesn’t have that luxury. Since its roots thrive in moist soil, regular watering is a must. In July, you’ll want to give vines a deep watering. Do this early in the morning, to maximize absorption and reduce evaporation.

Clematis feeder roots reside in the top 12-18 inches (30-46 cm) of soil, making them vulnerable to drying out during heatwaves. For Group 3 varieties, water stress can cause buds to crisp up and drop before opening. To simplify the process of regular watering, you can use a soaker hose or some kind of drip irrigation. The Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose from Amazon can deliver deep moisture without splashing the foliage.

Direct your hose or drip line at least 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) from the main stem base. Soaking the crown directly can invite the risk of clematis wilt. Water deeply at the base 2-3 times a week. Try not to neglect this vital task, or else your clem will likely drop her lower leaves, and prematurely terminate flower production.

2. Protect Clematis Roots with Mulch

Those clematis roots are the key to keeping your plant thriving. Watering deeply is important, but you can also lock in that moisture with a good mulching. Place a thick layer of organic mulch around the base of the vine to protect the roots from extreme heat. Chopped bark or compost works well for this task.

A team favorite for organic root protection is Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch from Amazon, which protects from heat spikes, and locks in moisture. It also keeps down weeds that might steal nutrients or water from the vine. When mulching Group 2 and Group 3 clematis, leave a 2-inch (5 cm) gap around the main stems. Don't pile mulch up against stems, as this can trap moisture and encourage collar rot.

As an alternative to mulching, you could add some groundcover plants around the base of your clematis. Shorter perennials can also provide natural shade and keep soil cool. For container-grown clems, consider shallow-rooted companions like hardy geranium (Rozanne) or lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) to shade soil organically.

Failing to mulch or provide some groundcover during midsummer forces the plant into survival mode when heat strikes, stalling stem growth and causing flowers to shrink drastically. So don’t neglect this vital step: a protected root zone preserves moisture and nutrients and supports healthy growth through to the end of summer.

3. Feed Your Clematis Vine

You need to get the timing right with feeding. You don’t want to stress the clematis by fertilizing the plant during a heatwave. But clematis plants do need fertilizer every few weeks to keep up their vigorous blooms. So keep an eye on the weather. When a day or two of cooler weather is predicted, apply a phosphorus-rich liquid fertilizer. Follow up by watering well, try to do this every 2-4 weeks.

Avoid high-nitrogen lawn or general fertilizers. High nitrogen fuels leafy green stems at the expense of flower buds and results in soft foliage that attracts aphids. Instead, focus on potassium (potash) and phosphorus blends similar to a tomato or rose feed. For low-maintenance feeding, gently add a little granular feed, like Jobe’s Organics Rose & Flower Granular Fertilizer, available from Walmart, to the topsoil.

A little seaweed can also help. Feeding with Neptune’s Harvest Organic Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer, available from Amazon, gives a gentle potassium boost as well as other essential minerals to drive flower production. Group 2 clematis benefit from a liquid feed immediately after their first main flush ends. This fuels the stem growth needed for their second late-summer show. Group 3 clematis plants need bi-weekly potassium feeds through July to sustain their massive bloom displays.

Always water your plant with plain water an hour before applying liquid fertilizer to prevent root burn. And if you’re experiencing intense heat, hold off on feeding until temperatures drop. Stressed plants can’t process nutrients well.

4. Give Your Clematis a Haircut

The heat of summer is never a wonderful time to prune, but consider giving your vine a clip here or there in July. If you have a reblooming clematis (Group 2), deadhead the wilted blossoms. Use clean, sterilized pruners and snip off the old flower heads above the first pair of live leaves or buds. If your clematis has completed its blooming, now is a good time to give the vine a light trim. Take out the dead wood and shape the vine. But avoid anything that feels like heavy pruning.

If you don’t already have a pair of gardening scissors or snips, Fiskars Micro-Tip Non-Stick Pruning Snips from Amazon help you to slice in fiddly spaces without harming plant tissue. For a sturdier grip on older stems, the Corona ComfortGEL Bypass Pruners from Lowe’s are comfortable and great for light shaping.

Left untouched, spent clematis flowers spend significant energy forming decorative, feathery seed heads. By snipping off faded blooms, you redirect that energy back into shoot development and bud formation. It is key for Group 2 plants such as Nelly Moser, Miss Bateman, or Niobe clems. Do this now, and fresh shoots will emerge in a few weeks, bearing a second wave of blooms by late August or September.

Remember, Group 1 clematis plants set their flower buds for next spring during late summer. So any heavy pruning performed after July will cut off next spring's flower display. When cutting, also remember to wipe blades before and after use, even for light trims. Use isopropyl or rubbing alcohol to avoid the risk of spreading pathogens.

5. Control New Clematis Shoots

Clematis vines are well known for having growth spurts in summer, and all those vigorous new shoots need to be tied in and supported. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a tangled mess of vine. In July, Group 3 clematis can put on several inches of growth in a single day. If left unguided, searching stems will wrap around each other, forming a dense, tangled birds' nest of growth. This reduces light penetration and airflow, increasing the risk of fungal diseases.

Check vines every week in July for loose shoots, and fasten straggly or wayward shoots. Jute twine, like the Nutscene Heritage Green Jute Twine from Amazon, is a gentle way to keep growth in check and won’t bite into the stem. Tie the stems loosely in the direction you want them to grow. Try figure-of-8 loops to allow the stems to grow without restraint. Consistent training creates an evenly distributed canopy, allowing for the best sun exposure and resulting in a wall of flowers from top to bottom.

Shop Clematis Essentials

By the time July rolls in, clematis groups 2 and 3 are working in overdrive, either opening their main flush of summer blooms or gearing up for a secondary late-season show. You don't need a shed full of gadgets to keep them thriving – just a few well-selected tools and organic boosters will do the trick and keep your favorite climber growing at its best. A well-placed feed, precise deadheading, and a cool root zone are the secrets to prolonging those velvety blooms well into fall. Here are the simple, high-impact essentials to keep your clems lush and lovely.

Plant Care Trio

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Used coffee grounds are often recommended as a natural fertilizer for many houseplants. But do orchids like coffee grounds? The answer isn’t a flat no. It depends almost entirely on which orchid is being discussed and how the grounds reach it.

A spent filter full of coffee grounds feels wasteful in the bin, which is probably how this idea got started. There’s real nitrogen in there. There’s organic matter too, along with years of internet advice insisting that acid-loving plants will thank you for the trouble. Orchids occupy an odd position in that conversation.

Two of those assumptions don’t survive much scrutiny, and the stakes are higher when fertilizing orchids than they would be when using coffee on tomato plants. It's important to understand that orchid roots evolved for conditions nothing like garden soil, and the medium in a typical pot serves a purpose that has little to do with nutrition. Get that part wrong, and the nitrogen content stops mattering.

Why Coffee Grounds Might Help Orchids

First up, I cannot overstate this: all types of orchids cannot rely on coffee grounds alone. They still need a specialist orchid fertilizer to provide the balanced nutrients they require. I like to use Better-Gro Orchid Plus 20-14-13, available from Amazon, which is urea-free.

But what if you're looking for a natural top-up? The nutrients in coffee grounds are genuinely there. Used grounds contain around 2 percent nitrogen by weight, with smaller amounts of potassium and magnesium alongside. They also add organic matter and hold moisture. Soil microbes break them down over time into something a plant can eventually take up. For a vegetable bed or home compost pile, that’s a decent contribution from something free.

The acidity claim is where the reasoning goes sideways. Brewing pulls the water-soluble acids out of the beans and into the cup, leaving spent grounds close to neutral, at around pH 6.5 to 6.8. Anyone using them to lower pH is banking on a property the grounds gave up in the machine. Whatever they do for an orchid, acidifying the medium isn’t it.

Are Coffee Grounds Suitable for Every Type of Orchid?

The answer hinges on one key distinction. Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis species) are epiphytes, as are Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, and Vandas. In the wild, they cling to tree bark, with their roots hanging in moving air. Those roots are covered in a spongy layer called velamen, which soaks up water in bursts and then needs to dry out. Orchid bark mix in a pot is an attempt to recreate those airy conditions; providing nutrition is not its primary purpose.

Terrestrial orchids play by different rules entirely. Bletilla striata, the hardy ground orchid, grows in ordinary soil outdoors in USDA zones 5 to 9. Lady’s slippers (Cypripedium species) and ladies’ tresses (Spiranthes species) also grow in the ground. Their roots encounter organic matter much as those of other perennials do, making this a very different conversation from the one happening in a bark-filled pot.

Nearly every argument about coffee grounds and orchids comes down to two very different types of plant being discussed as though they were one.

Why You Shouldn't Add Grounds Straight to Orchid Bark

Wet coffee grounds behave like silt. Sprinkled into a pot, they filter down between the chunks and pack into the gaps, turning an open medium into something that stays damp long after it should have dried. A bag of orchid bark, such as this Rosy Soil mix, which contains biochar and mycorrhizae to improve plant health, is coarse for a reason, and filling those spaces defeats the whole design.

What follows is fairly predictable. Fungus gnats (Bradysia species) can breed in the damp organic layer, while white, fuzzy mold may spread across the surface within a couple of weeks. Roots that need air remain wet instead and can begin to rot from the outside in. Caffeine residue is another unknown: it has been shown to inhibit root growth in a number of plant species, and it is not well established where orchids fall on that list.

The Safest Way To Use Coffee Grounds for Orchids

For epiphytic orchids in bark, a heavily diluted and thoroughly strained coffee-ground “tea” avoids the problem of solid particles clogging the mix. It is still an experiment rather than a dependable part of orchid care, however, as its nutrient strength is impossible to judge and traces of caffeine may remain. I don't recommend it, but if you're determined to try it, then only use it very occasionally on already-damp roots, discard it if it smells sour or fermented, and flush the pot with plain water at the next watering. A specialist orchid fertilizer should remain the plant’s main source of nutrition.

For soil-grown orchids, composting the grounds first removes most of the risks. Around six months in a heap or a Costway dual-chamber compost tumbler from Walmart allows microbes to break the grounds down into something crumbly and stable. Much of the caffeine will have degraded, and the nitrogen has already passed through the microbial process that would otherwise need to happen in the pot.

Keep the ratio sensible while it cooks. Grounds need plenty of brown material alongside them – dry leaves or shredded cardboard – since a heap built largely from coffee can turn slimy rather than breaking down cleanly. Once finished, that compost can be used sparingly around terrestrial orchids growing in soil. It still has no business in a container of bark, no matter how well composted it is.

Can Terrestrial Orchids Benefit From Coffee Compost?

Here the answer turns cautiously positive. A hardy ground orchid in a border has real soil under it, and the microbial community that comes with it. Work finished compost lightly into the surface, and it behaves as it would around any perennial. Structure improves. Nutrients arrive slowly, and the ground holds moisture further into summer.

Restraint is the whole game, though. A thin scattering once or twice a season does it, kept clear of the crown and pseudobulbs where trapped moisture starts rot. Uncomposted grounds piled on thickly cause something different – soil microbes go after that fresh carbon and pull available nitrogen out of circulation while they work. The plant goes hungry through the exact weeks it's putting on growth. That reverses eventually, but it can cost a season of flowering first.

Signs Coffee Grounds Are Harming Your Orchid

The medium tells you first. Bark still wet several days after watering has lost its drainage, and a white or gray bloom across the surface confirms it. A sour, fermented smell from the pot says the same thing. Small dark flies rising when the plant gets moved point at gnats breeding in there.

Roots give the clearest verdict, and a clear pot makes them visible. Healthy orchid roots look plump and silvery green when wet. Anything brown and soft has drowned, and a root that collapses under light pressure is past saving. Above the pot, watch for leaves turning yellow from the lowest ones upward, or a plant that stops producing new growth entirely for a season. At that stage, repotting an orchid into fresh medium beats waiting to see whether it recovers.

Coffee Grounds Aren't a Substitute for Orchid Fertilizer

Orchid feeds are formulated around a limitation that explains this entire question. Many are urea-free because urea needs soil bacteria to convert it into a usable form, and a pot of bark simply doesn't hold enough of them. The same microbial gap that rules out urea rules out coffee grounds even more firmly.

For epiphytes in containers, a weak solution at every other watering covers what the plant needs, with an occasional plain water flush to clear accumulated salts. Anyone determined to use spent grounds should compost them properly and spread the results around terrestrial orchids outdoors. Moth orchids on a windowsill do better with something formulated for the job.

Orchid Essentials

That tub of yogurt at the back of your fridge may have a second life in your garden, according to a surprising bit of advice making the rounds online. Yogurt does hold calcium and protein, which are two important nutrients tomatoes need to thrive. Though whether a tomato plant can use any of it is a separate question.

The claim that a spoonful of yogurt plopped into your watering can boost tomato growth turns up regularly in gardening forums, usually framed as a good calcium source for tomatoes. The logic runs that dairy is rich in calcium – and tomatoes often suffer from calcium problems – so giving plants a dose of dairy fertilizer can provide plants with what they need. But this theory isn't exactly accurate.

But yogurt isn't exactly useless in the garden. Use it alongside a proper tomato fertilizer and it could potentially give plants a little extra oomph. I'll walk you through the truth behind the claim that yogurt is a good fertilizer for tomatoes, how to try it out for yourself, and some precautions to take before using yogurt in your garden.

Why Gardeners Are Using Yogurt on Tomato Plants

Calcium is the main claim behind using yogurt as a tomato fertilizer. Blossom end rot ruins fruit every summer and a lack of calcium is often named as the culprit, so a tub of yogurt in the fridge is perhaps the nearest source on hand. Plain yogurt carries a fair amount of calcium by food standards, which makes the connection feel obvious.

The rest of the appeal spreads wider than just that one mineral, though. Yogurt is also a good source of protein and protein means nitrogen for plants.

Lactose is a sugar that soil microbes will eat readily, which can improve soil. Then there are the live cultures in yogurt, mainly Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which fit the popular notion of feeding soil biology as well. The tub was headed for the bin regardless.

Does Yogurt Tomato Fertilizer Really Work?

The case for yogurt as a calcium source for tomatoes falls apart once you really look at the numbers. A tablespoon (15 ml) of yogurt carries roughly 20 milligrams of calcium. A tomato in full fruit moves vastly more than that throughout a single season and the soil in which it grows is almost certainly holds a surplus already. So a spoonful of yogurt fertilizer doesn't make much of an impact.

Arithmetic isn't the real trouble, though. Calcium in dairy arrives bound to casein, which means soil microbes have to dismantle it before roots can reach any useful nutrients. Warmth and time do that work on their own timetable. Nobody decides when the nutrient turns up or whether it does so while the plant still needs it.

Blossom end rot is rarely a result of a shortage of calcium in the first place. It's more often a delivery failure. Uneven watering of tomato plants interrupts calcium moving into developing fruit, creating blossom end rot. Yogurt doesn't address the mechanism blocking the calcium, it only addresses the nutrient itself.

Best Type of Yogurt to Use

If you still want to try out this homemade tomato fertilizer anyways, choosing the right yogurt is key. Plain yogurt is the only version that belongs near a garden bed. Nothing else on the dairy aisle qualifies. A tub of yogurt is cheap and choosing nonfat leaves less greasy residue behind than the full fat stuff. Fruit, honey, added sugar – none of it should reach the garden.

Artificial sweeteners are the other thing to skip, since they bring nothing to the soil and nobody can say how the residues behave in a garden bed. Sugar-loaded yogurt causes a quicker problem, drawing ants, wasps, and rodents to the base of the plant. Flavored tubs also carry stabilizers nobody should pour on a garden.

How to Make Yogurt Tomato Fertilizer

Dilution does the safety work for yogurt tomato fertilizer. One tablespoon (15 ml) of plain yogurt stirred into a full 2 gallon (9 L) watering can is the strongest dose you should use. Stir it well so nothing settles into a lump, then pour slowly around the drip line of your tomatoes, roughly 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm) from the stem.

Follow with a can of plain water to carry the yogurt fertilizer below the soil surface, since dairy left sitting on top can cause problems. Keep every drop off the foliage as well. Damp residue on leaves in warm weather invites fungal tomato diseases far harder to fix than any nutrient shortage.

How Often to Apply

Applying yogurt tomato fertilizer once a month through the growing season is plenty and, often, less is fine. This belongs with small experiments rather than scheduled feeding, so there's little to gain from building a routine around it.

Anyone curious can run it properly. Treat one plant with the diluted mix, leave a matching plant untreated beside it and compare at season's end. That beats the anecdotes floating around online and it costs a single tub of yogurt.

What you should never do is replace a scheduled feed of traditional tomato fertilizer with only yogurt. A plant that doesn't receive real fertilizer and only yogurt just isn't being fed properly.

Mistakes To Avoid

Dolloping on a dose of yogurt fertilizer undiluted is a big problem for tomato plants. A blob of dairy on warm soil goes sour and draws flies. It can also set into a crust that sheds water instead of letting it through. Container plants suffer worst, since a pot holds little soil and none of the microbial diversity a bed uses to process organic matter.

Instead, if the goal is feeding the soil, a bag of Back to the Roots organic compost from Home Depot does that job properly.

Repeat applications of yogurt tomato fertilizer are the other trap. Residue accumulates and a spot treated over and over starts to smell bad and stays damp.

Signs to Stop Using Yogurt

A sour smell around the base of the plant means the residue is fermenting instead of breaking down cleanly. White or fuzzy growth across the soil surface signals the same issue. Scrape off what you can and flush the area with plain water.

Insects and animals can cause problems, too. Fungus gnats drifting around the stem are a sign something's wrong, but fruit flies more so. Soil turned over at night by raccoons or rats is the surest signal, since something has found the smell interesting. And a plant that looks worse than before the experiment started has already answered the question.

What to Use Instead

Fruiting tomatoes want steady nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, with an emphasis on the last two once flowering starts. Plants also need calcium and magnesium in amounts no kitchen leftover supplies. Espoma Tomato-tone 3-4-6 with 8% calcium from Amazon covers all a tomato needs in one product and yogurt simply can't compete.

Watering does more for blossom end rot than any additive from your fridge. Deep, even soakings in a steady rhythm with a few inches of mulch to hold in the moisture keep calcium moving into the fruit. All in all, save the yogurt for your breakfast. Invest in a good organic commercial tomato fertilizer or homemade compost instead.

A great solution for heatwave summers, low-growing groundcover plants act as a living mulch to lock moisture into the soil and protect roots from extreme temperatures. And groundcover doesn’t need to be boring! These fabulously flamboyant flowering groundcover plants will bring months of beautiful blooms to borders, and keep your garden full of color into fall.

If it’s been a while since you looked at groundcover plants, you’ll be astonished to discover some dazzling new varieties that combine all the benefits of traditional groundcover with the ornamental delights usually only seen in far taller plants. There’s even a groundcover hydrangea for goodness sake!

So forget the usual fodder of forgettable groundcover and try a showstopper instead. Here’s my pick of the most eye-catching groundcover plants to keep your soil cool and your borders packed with blooms into fall.

1. Groundbreaker Hydrangea For a Sea of Blooms

• Zones 5-8
• Full sun to partial shade
• Grows 12-16" tall and 24-32" wide

Let’s start with the plant most likely to cause serious neighbor envy, shall we? Because if you plant this groundcover carpet of color-changing hydrangea blooms, expect everyone to ask what is! The fabulous new Groundbreaker series of hydrangeas brings all the beauty of the perennial blooms we all know and love to ground level. The world’s first-ever spreading groundcover hydrangea, this plant grows out instead of up, only reaching 12-16 inches high yet spreading up to 32 inches wide. Well-branched stems mean lots of conical flowers, and the blooming period lasts a whopping 100 days.

Launched two years ago, Groundbreaker hydrangeas only became available to buy in the United States in July 2026, and they’re proving hugely popular. And no wonder: growing panicle hydrangeas is straightforward to begin with, but these have been bred to be especially low maintenance.

So if you want one, you’d better be quick as these beautiful hydrandgeas are selling out fast. At the time of writing, all three Groundbreaker hydrangea varieties are available from Plant Addicts. Groundbreaker Blush Hydrangea has large white flower panicles in midsummer that gradually develop blush pink tones. Groundbreaker Ruby Hydrangea also blooms white but its flowers deepen to a rich ruby red, while Groundbreaker Greeny Hydrangea transitions the other way with blooms opening a bright lime green then gradually softening to a creamy white.

2. Drift Rose For Three-Season Color

• Zones 4-11
• Full sun to partial shade
• Grows 1-2' tall and 3' wide

The series of Drift roses are a cross between full-size groundcover roses and miniature roses, so while they’ll bring abundant color to a border, they won’t take over. These rebloomers produce wave after wave of flowers from spring till late fall and are self-cleaning, which means you don’t need to deadhead. They’re super-easy to look after, too, being highly resilient against common rose issues including black spot and powdery mildew.

There are all sorts of fabulous colors to choose from, and some have transitioning tones. In fact, the only downside to these low-maintenance roses is that they only have a mild scent, or no fragrance at all.

Nature Hills stocks a great selection of Drift roses. Popcorn Drift blooms a golden yellow and transitions to cream, while Coral Drift, Peach Drift and Apricot Drift also have color-shifting blooms in a variety of warm tones. Sweet Drift is a ravishing pink with around 30 petals on each flower, while Pink Drift has simple single blooms that are better for pollinators. Red Drift holds its bright scarlet color even in a hot summer.

3. Blue Waterfall Bellflower for a Designer Look

• Zones 4-8
• Partial to full sun
• Grows 6-10" high and 24-36" wide

There are lots of good things to say about this pretty plant, but perhaps its finest asset is that it’s often employed by landscape designers, so instantly brings a professional look. While Campanula poscharskyana ‘Camgood’ is typically housed in a pot or a hanging basket, its trailing stems make excellent groundcover, speedily spreading around larger plants.

And this little perennial is sure to attract attention with its ice-blue star-shaped flowers that last through summer into fall.

While this perennial grows quickly, it doesn’t run out of control, and happily thrives in pretty much any soil, as long as it gets at least 5 hours of sunlight a day. The small, bright green heart-shaped leaves are super-pretty, too. Blue Waterfall Bellflower plants are available from Plant Addicts.

4. Firewitch Dianthus For a Small Garden

• Zones 3-9
• Full sun
• Grows 4-8" high and 1' wide

Yes, small gardens need groundcover too! Firewitch dianthus makes for brilliant groundcover in a small garden as it’s incredibly well-behaved but works hard to form a dense, weed-blocking mat of pretty silvery-blue leaves. With a flurry of pink flowers all through spring and summer – and fall, if you shear off faded blooms – Dianthus gratianopolitanus was bred to give maximum color for minimum effort.

What’s more, the spicy, clove-like scent of the flowers is a wonderful addition to hot summer days, while the foliage is evergreen in most climates.

Each plant spreads to around a foot wide so, depending on the size of your border, you’ll need to add a few, and single and multi-pack Firewitch Dianthus plants are available from Fast Growing Trees.

5. Silvery Sunproof Liriope For Rippling Leaves

• Zones 6-11
• Partial shade
• Grows 1-2’ high and wide

This variegated monkey grass forms clumps rather than spreads, so it makes excellent groundcover to underplant a border of bigger perennials or shrubs where controlling a more vigorous plant would be tricky. This drought-tolerant plant can even cope in dry shade once established, so it won’t mind a jot that trees and shrubs are sucking most of the moisture out of the soil.

The striped leaves are evergreen in most climates and, in midsummer, purple flower spikes add to the show and last through fall. Liriope ‘Silvery Sunproof’ plants are available from Nature Hillsand are tolerant of pollution so will thrive roadside, and is even rated as Firewise in several states. While monkey grass typically needs partial shade to thrive, this variety tolerates sunlight far better than most others.

6. Cool Wave Pansies For Instant Cheer

• All zones
• Full sun or partial shade
• 6-8" high and 24-30" wide

These little gems light up a tired border and don’t be fooled by the dainty, delicate appearance – they're tough cookies and bloom for months on end. In fact, this is one of the longest-blooming pansies available. While pansies are typically planted in patio pots and hanging baskets, this is a trailing variety so spreads to form groundcover in a border and quickly but politely fills gaps between bigger perennials. Pansies can be planted in summer in zones up to 9, so put this on your list of July garden jobs.

How Cool Wave pansies behave will depend on your climate, but they’re an excellent way to bridge the summer-to-fall gap in all zones. In zones 5 through 11 they’ll survive the winter: in zones 5-6, they’re dormant through winter but bounce back in spring; in zones 7-9, they’ll bloom pretty much continuously through all four seasons; in zones 10-11, wait for the intense heat of summer to pass before planting for endless cool-season flowers. In cooler zones 4 and below, treat these beauties as annuals and plant afresh each spring.

Pansies prefer cooler conditions and will fade in hot temperatures so, in a hotter zone, plant in a partially shady spot that doesn’t bake in the midday sun; in cooler zones, it’s fine in full sun.

Pansies can be challenging to grow from seed so it’s best to skip straight to the good bit with young plants. Cool Wave Morpho pansy plants are available from Burpee in a striking purple-blue and yellow combo, and the color intensifies as temperatures drop. Cool Wave Raspberry Swirl pansy plants are also available from Burpee, with a pretty mix of rosy, golden tones.

7. SunSparkler Dazzling Dynamite Sedum for Low Maintenance

• Zones 4-9
• Full sun
• Grows 4-8" tall and 1-2' wide

If you want to add color to a border without upping the workload, Sedum ‘Dazzling Dynamite’ should be your go-to solution. This well-behaved low-growing perennial is extremely heat- and drought-tolerant once established, and while pollinators love it, deer typically don’t touch it. That burgundy-red foliage is vibrant enough on its own, but when topped with bright pink flowers through summer and fall, SunSparkler Dazzling Dynamite Sedum is a real showstopper.

Unlike some sedums that fade in summer heat, this keeps its color well, and Dazzling Dynamite plants are available from Nature Hills. The succulent leaves slowly spread to form a dense mat, even on poor soil, making this one of the most low-maintenance groundcover plants you can get.

Every summer, I find myself wanting the same thing from my containers: big, beautiful color without having to spend every evening dragging a watering can around the yard (no offense, plants, but I have better things to do). I love a lush-looking planter, but I also want to enjoy my garden – not spend the entire season keeping it alive.

Over the years, I’ve learned that the secret is choosing the right flower combinations. The best containers aren’t always the ones with the most blooms packed into them – they’re the ones filled with drought-tolerant plants that can handle heat, occasional missed waterings, and those long stretches of hot weather (which seem to be hitting us with alarming frequency) that can turn a pretty planter into a wilted mess overnight.

No container can survive indefinitely without water, especially during extreme heat or in smaller pots that dry out quickly, of course. Choosing tough, heat-loving plants, though? Well, that can reduce how often you need to reach for the hose in a surprisingly dramatic way.

6 Flower Container Combinations That Stay Beautiful All Summer

These flower combinations are the definition of easy breezy summer displays. They rely on resilient plants that keep performing when temperatures climb and watering becomes less frequent.

So, whether you’re gardening in a cooler USDA planting zone or dealing with a hot southern summer, these combinations give you a container that keeps looking good with less work.

Without any further ado then...

1. Supertunia, Verbena, and Sweet Potato Vine

This is one of those flower container combinations that feels almost too easy. Supertunias provide nonstop blooms, verbena adds another layer of color, and sweet potato vine spills beautifully over the edge of the container.

I love this mix because it fills out quickly and keeps its good looks through summer heat. Once established, these plants can handle short dry spells much better than many traditional container favorites.

It is worth noting that supertunias will still appreciate regular watering in containers, but their heat tolerance and nonstop flowering make them a much better choice than many older petunia varieties.

2. Lantana, Angelonia, and Calibrachoa

If you have a sunny spot that turns into a heat trap, this is the flower container combination I would reach for. Lantana brings clusters of colorful flowers, angelonia adds height and structure, and calibrachoa creates a trailing blanket of blooms.

This trio is especially reliable during the hottest part of summer when other flowers start looking tired. It’s a great choice for anyone who wants a bright container without needing daily watering in most conditions.

Lantana and angelonia are especially tough in hot weather, while calibrachoa adds the constant color that makes the whole planter feel full and vibrant. Happy days!

3. Zinnias, Globe Amaranths, and Euphorbia

For a more relaxed cottage garden look, this combination is hard to beat. Zinnias bring bold color, globe amaranths adds charming spherical blooms, and euphorbia creates airy filler that softens the whole container.

This is the kind of planter that looks cheerful and abundant without needing constant fussing. It also attracts pollinators, making it a favorite for busy gardeners who want beauty and wildlife value.

These are all reliable heat lovers that keep performing through the toughest part of summer, making them winners in my eyes.

4. Periwinkle, Angelonia, and Scaevola

When summer gets brutally hot, periwinkle is one of the plants I trust most. Pair it with upright angelonia and trailing scaevola, and you get a container that keeps its shape while producing plenty of color.

This combination is especially useful for gardeners who sometimes forget a watering day or two. These plants are built for warm weather and don’t need constant pampering to look good.

Periwinkle, angelonia, and scaevola are all excellent choices for hot, sunny locations where more delicate plants can struggle (and they look so pretty!).

5. Heat-Loving Salvia, Calibrachoa, and Sweet Potato Vine

This flower container combination gives you a little bit of everything – height, flowers, and dramatic trailing foliage. Heat-loving salvias create vertical interest, calibrachoa fills the middle with blooms, and sweet potato vine cascades over the container edge.

I like using this mix near entrances and patios because it looks polished but still feels relaxed. It’s the kind of planter that handles busy schedules while continuing to put on a summer show.

For the best results, just take care to choose salvias known for heat tolerance, such as Salvia farinacea or Salvia greggii.

6. Portulaca, Euphorbia, and Sweet Potato Vine

Not every low-water container needs to be packed with large blooms; sometimes the secret is choosing plants that naturally thrive in dry conditions.

Portulaca brings bright, cheerful flowers, euphorbia adds delicate texture, and sweet potato vine ties everything together with trailing growth. This is a combination that can handle sunshine and heat while still looking full and colorful.

It’s especially useful for gardeners who want a beautiful container without having to constantly monitor moisture levels. Who doesn’t love that?

Shop Container Garden Essentials:

A beautiful summer pot doesn’t have to mean constant watering and daily maintenance. If you get creative with your flower container combinations, you can create planters that keep looking fresh through the hottest days of summer and well into fall (and make your neighbors green with envy at the same time).

Last one to the potting shed is a rotten egg, I guess!