SHOPPING
Pottery and garden accents Give your yard a quick summer makeover by adding colorful new containers and outdoor decor. For huge selections of pots, statuary, fountains, and more, check out one of these four stores: Grass Farm/Garden Accents in Gilroy (garden-accents.net or 408/846-4555), Pottery & Beyond in Emeryville (510/428-1881), Pottery Planet in Santa Cruz (831/462-9949), and Pottery World in Rocklin (916/624-8080).
PLANTING
Butterfly-friendly flowers Butterflies add beauty and motion to a garden. To attract them, plant these colorful, nectar-rich summer bloomers: agapanthus, Asclepias tuberosa, coreopsis, Eriogonum, Monarda, purple coneflower, rudbeckia, salvia, Shasta daisy, snapdragon, and yarrow.
Fragrant plants Warm summer afternoons and balmy nights are perfect times to linger outdoors and enjoy sweet-
smelling flowers. For heady scents in warmer areas, plant gardenia, heliotrope, and tuberose. In all parts of Northern
California, grow Nicotiana sylvestris as an annual. Locate scented plants near seating areas, paths, and windows, where you can enjoy their fragrance the most.
MAINTENANCE
Care for lawns To protect new growth from the hot sun, keep mowing height high when temperatures soar, and mow when the grass is taller than the recommended height. For bluegrass and fescue, set your mower at 2 to 2½ inches and mow when the grass is 3 to 4 inches tall. For Bermuda grass, set the mower at 1 inch and mow when the grass is not quite 2 inches tall. If your lawn is full of crabgrass that has set seed, collect and discard the clippings to keep the weed from spreading.
Mulch If you didn't already do so in spring, spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of organic matter (such as fine or shredded bark) over garden beds now to conserve moisture, cool plant roots, and discourage weeds. To prevent rot, don't pile it against stems and trunks.
Support fruit tree branches Apple, peach, pear, and plum trees may be laden with fruit this month. To prevent limb breakage, use wooden supports to brace sagging branches. Also, regularly clean up and discard fallen fruit, since it might harbor diseases and pests.
Water When temperatures rise, adjust your automatic irrigation systems to water more often if needed and as your water district allows. Check container plants daily. Deeply irrigate mature fruiting and most ornamental trees every other week (every week in hot inland areas). Mature drought-tolerant trees need deep watering only once a month or so.
PEST CONTROL
Get rid of tomato hornworms Chewed leaves and black droppings on your tomato plants usually indicate the worms' presence. Hunt through the foliage, then handpick and destroy them. If they're still small, you can target-spray them with Bacillus thuringiensis, which is nontoxic to mammals ( Bt is less effective against large hornworms, and it can kill butterflies). TIP FROM THE TEST GARDEN
Meet your yard's secret helpers
Beneficial insects and birds are the hardest-working unpaid gardeners you'll ever find; they help keep your plants healthy.
Ladybugs The black-and-yellow larvae and orange-brown adults feed on aphids. Encourage them to stay by planting common fennel and cosmos.
Green lacewings Their larvae dine on aphids, mealybugs, and scale. Attract adults with sweet alyssum and coreopsis.
House finches They consume aphids and other honeydew-secreting insects. Provide nesting space in vines.
Hummingbirds Besides nectar, they eat small bugs, and will even pick off adult whiteflies in midair. Supplement their feeders with nectar-rich salvias.
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