Hot, Hot, Hot
While there are still plenty of things to do in the garden, even during this hot weather, let’s take a moment to consider ourselves. High temperatures and humidity have created dangerous heat indexes and Code Orange days in the past few weeks.
Since it is only just past the middle of July, the weather isn’t going to get cooler for a while. Garden early in the morning and follow the shade around as the sun gets higher. Or go out in the early evening. Don’t take chances.
Slather on some sunblock. Wear a hat. Take a bottle of water outside with you and remember to drink some every so often. Plan rest breaks in between projects.
Your plants will get extra thirsty as we approach the dog days of summer. Be sure they get plenty to drink as well. Possibly move the more tender plants that are in pots to areas where they get part shade during the day. If you have a plant that is getting too much sun, you can use a tarp to create shade for it, if it can’t be moved.
Watch out for whiteflies right now. They appear to be mold on the plant but if you shake them, they fly up. They love hibiscus, lantana and gardenias as a snack.
When you see this, and yellow leaves on your plants, cut those branches back and be sure to discard so they don’t spread. You can spray plants with insecticidal oils to get rid of these pests. Spray in the morning—and watch your vegetables for these too.
This is a good time to clean up the garden. Get rid of old plants which have died. Do some mulching to get ready for some fall flowers to perk up your garden. Wait until later, maybe September, to prune roses.
But no matter what you decide to do outside, be careful. It’s better to look at gardening on TV and in magazines and plan for cooler weather than to get heat stroke.

Photo and Story by Joyce Lavene

Crazy for foxglove
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but many more garden centers have really nice foxglove plants this spring. Foxglove has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity the last few years. It is a colorful plant with good height and spectacular flowers that is very dramatic as a backsplash for smaller plants.
First of all, I should say that if you are seeing foxgloves with blooms, you will go at least a year without any flowers. The plant is a biennial  but even the leaves are very nice between blooming years. Colors include pink, red, lavender, purple and yellow. Purple is said to be the dominate color, however, so even if your plant is pink the first time, it might come back purple.
Bees and hummingbirds love them. In our area, they need part sun to full shade since they don’t really like as much heat as we get in the afternoon.
Plants are easily grown from seed but will self seed after the first year.
Foxglove has been around for a very long time. Eighteenth century English physician Dr. William Withering discovered the plant as digitalis and explored the plant’s potential to save lives, which it still does today.
But it also makes a showpiece in your garden with its long, trumpet shaped flowers standing tall. I bought two plants this year and hope to sow some seed too. They look outstanding in my garden and I know they will in yours too!
Congratulations to the Cabarrus County Master Gardeners who won a state award at the State Master Gardener Conference.  This award was given for the herb festival held every year.

Taming honeysuckle

“Is it possible to tame honeysuckle so it doesn’t grow everywhere? I love the smell but hate the plant.”

No matter how awful a plant is—even kudzu, honeysuckle, wisteria and English ivy—anything can be tamed and successfully kept in check. It takes a lot of effort and you have to watch it like a hawk, but you can grow honeysuckle in your yard.
The trick is to be ruthless with your shears. These plants are very hardy and very difficult to kill. Don’t be afraid to cut it back. Trust me, it will bounce right up again.
Though winter is the best time to start while the plant is dormant, you can take up the shears now too. Cut the shoot(s) back to no more than 12 inches to begin with. As they grow, continue to cut. Over the summer, you may have to cut it back every week. Shoots will come up around it and you can make it resemble a bush. Keep clipping and keep the shoots at close to the same length.
You can also train shoots to grow up a trellis. This is a little more difficult. Train the climbing branches until they reach the top of the trellis and then cut the end of the branch’s growing tip to just beyond a bud or leaf, forcing more growth into the side branches.
Allow three or four side branches to grow from the climbing branches alternating on each side. Clip all the other growth sprouting out from the length of the branches using sharp pruning shears.
Never let this plant get ahead of you. Put it in a place that you can see every day. If you let it go at all, you might have to try and get rid of it completely. But I agree with you, Marge. It has the most wonderful perfume!

Pot herbs
No room for an herb garden this year? Not a problem. Herbs grow as well in containers as they do in a garden. For herbs like mint and lemon balm, it can be even better because they don’t have the chance to spread to everywhere else in your garden.
Herbs make beautiful pots for decks or stairs. It’s handy as well to go out and snip herbs from the pot without walking into the garden, especially since you usually think of them when you’re cooking.
Most herbs need full sun, which is at least six hours a day but it’s nice for them to have a little shade on very hot summer days. Make sure they have good soil and drainage. No one likes to have wet feet all the time.
Don’t over fertilize. Most herbs have very small roots and don’t need as much. Even in the ground, their requirements are less.
Check before you plant herbs together to be sure they have like growing characteristics. Chives, parsley, marjoram and mint like constant moisture while oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil like to dry out for part of the time.
Herbs like to be crowded in a pot together so don’t worry that you are putting in too many. They also look prettier that way. As long as you can tell them apart from each other when you want to use them, that’s all that matters. Use plant stakes to identify, if you have to.
Choose herbs that you like to use or that you’d like to experiment with. The more you pick, the more you’ll get. Pinch herbs back to make them bushier and better formed if you aren’t using them. You can dry those parts and use later. Freezing fresh herbs is also an option.
You can bring your herb pots in at the end of the season but be sure you have plenty of light in the windows where you place them.