July is one of my favorite months in my garden. The annuals are filling out nicely along my borders and in my planters. The roses are in bloom and the chores aren’t too demanding. I am busy removing spent blooms to encourage perennials and roses to grow more blooms and I will cut back my Achillea (yarrow), columbine and peonies when they are done flowering.
This has been a good year for my clematis and they’re scampering up the trellises. There’s still a good selection of plants available if I find an empty spot or I just want something new. The planting is much more leisurely now and it’s easy to drop in a plant or two in the cooler evenings.
July also is a great time to visit other people’s gardens. The Elmhurst Garden Club is hosting a garden walk on Sun., July 8; and the Pottawatomie Garden Club has one on Sat., July 14.
The Naperville Garden Club invites you to join us when we visit John Richter’s garden at 10AM on Thurs., July 19. John is opening his one-acre property (29 W 430 Forestview Drive North in Warrenville) to us and our friends— and if you’re reading this, you must be interested in gardening and therefore are a friend of the Naperville Garden Club.
John has thousands of hostas, daylilies, tiger lilies and other perennials that he has collected over the years. If you see something you like, chances are very good that he will dig up a portion of it and sell it to you at a very reasonable price.
There’s plenty of parking and you should wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water. Some seating is available, so plan on taking time to just rest and take in the splendor of his gardens. We look forward to making new friends on this outing.
