Now is the perfect time for a summer spruce up

Stampede is over for another year and now is a great time to take stock of how your garden is doing so far in 2013’s growing season of huge rains, heat waves and dry winds.

Here is a selection of activities that will help ensure your garden will thrive — not just survive — the environmental stresses it has faced so far and be healthy and productive right through the Dog Days of Summer:

Tackle weeds, both annual and perennial that have grown in the past few weeks of wet and heat before they set seed. Compost or cultivate into the soil any that haven’t flowered, but garbage those that have flowered and are setting seed.

Cover beds, both flower and veggie, with organic mulch such as straw, grass clippings, compost or shredded cedar bark. The mulch conserves soil moisture, protects plant roots from temperature extremes and stops more weeds germinating.

Fertilize containers with water soluble fertilizers such as fish emulsion, on a regular basis to give the plants enough nutrients to stay healthy and productive.

Remove spent blooms from the early summer flowering perennials and stake up ones that are flopping over.

Turn the compost heap if you have one. And also make sure it stays moist so that it keeps “cooking.”

Establish a regular habit of checking the soil in beds around newly planted trees, shrubs and flowering perennials and annuals to make sure you aren’t overwatering or underwatering.

Inspect plants for signs of environmental stress, incursions of insects or disease so that you can act quickly to nip problems in the bud, so to speak.

Above all, take the time to simply enjoy your garden and the activities of gardening: whether it is a stroll around the beds, a quick trip to a garden centre to see what’s new or just sitting back and relaxing after a day well spent in the garden!