7-27-11: A Time for Lilies–and Renewal

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Did you know that mid-summer can be a time for new beginnings?  In life, yes — but specifically, in the garden.  Maybe your tomato plants have died — but that patch of soil still has months of growth left in it.  Our garden guru, Anne Raver, has suggestions for what to plant, and when — you can still get beans, basil, dill, and zinnias in the ground, among other things.  She relies on this calendar from the University of Maryland for help.

Even if you’re mainly a vegetable-grower, Anne recommends adding some flowers to the mix — they can attract insects, which can help to pollinate the flowers.  The garden has a mixture of native and non-native species.  The sea holly is a kind of eryngium native to Iran and the Caucasus.  The elecampane, or inula, is native to central Asia.   Anne also grows many plants native to the prairie and other parts of this country:  great coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), ironweed (vernonia), Joe Pye-weed (Eupatorium maculatum), cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), and several species of rudbeckia.

Anne also recommends ordering some of your seeds now, for next year–some of her favorite mail order seed suppliers are Johnny’s Selected Seeds,  Renee Shepherd’s Seeds, Burpee, and Pine Tree Garden Seeds.

Anne Raver lives and gardens in Carroll County.  She also writes about gardening for publications including the New York Times — check out her recent article on a 73-year-old grower of garlic.