Gardening can feel overwhelming at times — so many weeds, so little time – but you can accomplish a lot in the garden in 15 minutes. Set a kitchen timer and start one task. I may tackle a section of my garden and try to do whatever is needed. Or focus on a specific weed and walk from flower bed to flower bed removing just that weed. An example from my garden is mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). I am not the only one for finds this weed challenging – it was featured as the Weed of the Month on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden site.

And then there are evenings when I just take my hand-held pruners and focus on deadheading and pinching.

Read books, visit gardens, join a club. And I’ve learned many things from The Philadelphia Inquirer’s In the garden, it’s time to…

Below are a few of my favorites.

• The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust
• Philadelphia – America’s Garden Capital Passport
• Hardy Plant Society

On July 4th celebrate the holiday by planting a seed wherever there is a gap in your garden. Follow the directions on the seed packet. (For zinnia seeds I have had good luck with soaking the seeds overnight and then planting the next evening.) You will be surprised at how much can grow between July 4th and the first frost.

Below is a photo of flowers from my garden cut for a late August party. Zinnias were started from seeds indoors and planted in late May.

As soon as flowers start to fade, cut them. Removing flowers helps the plant to use its energy to grow more flowers rather than producing seeds.

Pinch plants (pinch off the tender, new growth at the end of the stem) to make them grow fuller rather than long and leggy. Here’s a short video. How to pinch out plant tips video

In the photo below I would pinch the two small leaves at the center of this coleus.

Think about how plants can partner with each other in your garden. In the first photo below hostas were planted with daffodils. The daffodils appear first and have their time to shine. After they have bloomed and the plants start look scraggly the hostas grow and cover them. This allows the daffodils to wilt and send their nutrients back into the soil for next year’s blooms without making the garden look unkempt.

In the second photo Coral Bells are propping up Nepeta, which tends to get leggy and then droops. Both the Coral Bells and Nepeta are beginning to cover a Primrose that is past its prime.

Have fun experimenting with plants for your garden. Over the years I have thought more about the “why” of my plant selection. I have bought all types of annuals and perennials and received perennials from friends’ gardens. I am moving more to native plants to make my garden a home for wildlife but I still add plants that are non-native because I like them and many support wildlife that is migrating. Here are some of my favorites.

Have fun choosing plants that you love for your garden but think about what your garden can do for others. If you choose plants that are resistant to insects then you won’t have bugs to attract the birds.

Perennials
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)
Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)
Annuals
Flowering Vinca
Hot Lips Salvia – this is a perennial in some zones but an annual for me. Hummingbirds love it.
Marigolds – they may seem “ho-hum” but they are little workhorses – providing color from when you plant them until the first frost.
Zinnias – same as Marigolds – they take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. See photo below.
Coleus – you can find beautiful reds, burgundies and lime green.

There are some plants that can go it alone but most need mass to be noticed. The more densely you plant the less room there will be for weeds to grow.

Plant in odd numbers – three, five, or seven – to give your garden a sense of informality and movement. Design concepts from other disciplines – art, photography, graphic design, and interior design – apply to the garden also. Check Not Another Gardening Blog for advice on Unity of Three – arranging elements in groups of three (or odd numbers).

Work with the time of day. Plant in the evening when the sun isn’t beating down on your new plants; this gives them overnight to get established. Cut flowers in the morning when they are fresh for bouquets and arrangements.

Below is a photo of an August birthday bouquet after it arrived at my friend’s home via FedEx. I had cut the flowers in the morning of the previous day and then sent them via FedEx for next-day delivery.

The best time to plant or transplant is when rain is forecasted. After rain is the best time to weed. Weeds can be pulled out easily and completely from wet soil. When you can get the whole weed and not hear it break as you pull it out you are reducing the amount of weeding you will need to do in the future.

If you can’t plant right before it rains, plant in the early evening when the sun won’t be harsh on your new plants. Water immediately and then water regularly until they are established. I like to water early in the morning when possible.

Based on the forecast below, Tuesday evening or Wednesday before the storm look like good times to plant. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday show cloud cover, which can protect your new plants from the hot sun while they settle in. Thursday will be a good day for weeding.

Observe sunlight and shade in your garden.

Know where the sun rises and sets on your garden. And pay attention to shade producers – your house, trees, shrubs, etc. I use sticky notes on the inside of my windows as I look out at my garden to record when it’s sunny and shady in various flower beds. I was surprised to find that a container that I thought was shaded by my house all day actually had full sun until 3:00 PM.

Below is the sticky note method for this year’s vegetable garden. My theory that a tree had started to shade part of the garden proved to be false.