Summer is here, but it’s never too late for flowers

By MEGAN SEXTON - msexton@thestate.com

It’s Fourth of July weekend and you never quite got to the garden this year.

Too late?

It depends.

If you’re planning a full-blown, re-do of the backyard with trees, shrubs and flowers, it might be better to wait until prime perennial planting season this fall.

But there is plenty of time to bring some quick color to your landscape. And containers may be your best choice.

The key will be keeping those pots watered. You’ll need to water containers at least every other day in the heat of the summer (sometimes every day if it is really hot and dry). Adding moisture-release crystals to the soil will help some, but plants in containers can dry out quickly.

Nurseries and garden centers still have plenty of seasonal annuals and perennials in stock — and many stores are holding sales to move the summer merchandise.

And it’s South Carolina — we still have months of warm (make that hot) days ahead to soak up the beauty of the outdoors.

THE MAKING OF A CONTAINER

Those perfect containers packed with flowers and foliage really aren’t that hard to put together.

That’s easy for Rebekah Cline to say.

The owner of Rebekah’s Garden at the State Farmers Market can create an eye-catching container in less than 15 minutes. We watched her.

Here’s how she did it.

Cline starts by dropping a few empty plastic flower pots in the bottom of the clay container. “They give you some wiggle room and it saves on the soil you need,” she said.

Then she fills it up with a mixture of Fafard Container Mix and Earth Healer, the chicken manure from Mepkin Abbey. She also sprinkles in Soil Moist crystals, which absorb and release water. She adds enough soil so when she places the largest plant, it’s stem will be level with the top of the container.

When choosing plants, the most important decision is picking plants similar in sunlight and soil requirements. (So don’t pair sun lovers with shade lovers.)

As you start placing plants, think about where you’ll put the container. If you want height in the back, put your tallest plant there. If you have a container that can be seen from all sides, put the tallest plant in the middle.

At this point in the season, plants you buy at the nursery may be a little rootbound. Before placing them in the container, use scissors or a knife to cut the roots apart. It’s called butterflying, and it allows the plant’s roots to grow and spread better in their new home.

Cline believes in living in the moment, so she likes containers to be full from the first day. “I pack it in. Who wants to wait?”

For this container, she started with purple fountain grass as her tall plant in the center. She then added three coleus plants (‘Fishnet Stockings,’ with purple and green foliage). Next she added zinnias for a burst of color. She followed with melampodium (“It blooms its heart out all summer long and you don’t have to deadhead it very much.”).

She followed that with duranta on the sides, an excellent sun plant grown for its foliage.

“Now you stand back and see what it needs,” she said, looking at the container. “More color.”

So she packed in some more zinnias and surveyed it again.

“It needs some height right here near the center.” The answer: a black pearl pepper plant.

“And everything needs a touch of white,” she said, adding white vinca plants.

Now she looks for holes and adds pink vinca for filler and color.

She sprinkles in time-release fertilizer “like salt and pepper on top.”

Finished. She’s created a container that will last through the heat of the summer until the first frost.

“I don’t know where the front is, and that’s actually good,” Cline said. “And if we’re having a party tonight, we’re ready.”