This week in your Massachusetts garden & landscape
Week of June 18, 2018
Bouteloua gracillis ‘Blonde Ambition’ Blue grama grass is becoming wildly popular. It is a 30” x 30” ornamental grass that fits nicely into smaller spaces. Its blue-green leaves in the spring gracefully turn into hues of gold for the winter. Blooming in mid to late summer with yellow-gold seed heads that resemble false eye lashes, ‘Blonde Ambition’ will scream for attention. Hardy for zones 4-9.
- Houseplants like to be moved outdoors for the summer months. Be careful and move them out into a shady spot at first. Once they have acclimated to the shade, they may be moved to a sunnier location.
- Leave the grass clippings on the lawn for fertilizer. Also, you can feed your lawn by raking 1/8” of peat moss or compost over it to build up its organic content.
- Cut off spent peony blossoms but leave the stalk. If spent peony blossoms are left on the plant and turn moldy, it can promote botrytis blight. This blight will turn the stalks and leaves black. If you see signs of botrytis blight, remove the effected part of the plant to prevent its spread to the rest of the plant.
- Clitoria ternatea or Butterfly Pea Vine is a beautiful annual that is often overlooked. The vine grows quickly and climbs by tendrils allowing them to cover walls rather fast. The foliage is pretty but the deep blue flowers that are the show stopper. After flowering, long, thin seed pods form which could be saved for next year’s crop. Thrives in full sun.
- Helleborus xHybrids (Hellebore) is a great burst of early-spring color in the garden. This perennial hosts a variety of colors to choose from that include purple, burgundy, pink, cream and yellow. Hellebores thrive in part shade and well-drained soil. Hardy in zones 4-9
- Placing a bamboo stake next to each pepper and eggplant plant in the vegetable garden is very helpful. When the plants get tall enough, tie the plant loosely to the stake. When the fruit get heavy, the plants will not fall over if they have been tied.
