A quick guide to flower care during the hot summer months -- and tips on how to enjoy your flower garden more, too.

There are routine summer maintenance chores to do in the summer flower garden, but the hectic pace of spring gives way to a sense of languid, hazy enjoyment. Be sure to stop and notice the butterflies, the scents and the pure delight of the garden as you work among the flowers. The following gardening tasks and pleasures should be on your summer garden maintenance to-do list.

Deadhead Faded Flowers

Deadhead or remove the faded, spent blooms. This is a pleasant job that leaves the garden looking tidy and neat. Daylilies need deadheading daily.

Weed the Flower Garden

A regular routine of mulching and ongoing garden maintenance will cut back on weeds so you have fewer each year than the year before. Your best bet in the summer months is to follow these three easy steps to weed control. For more on controlling weeds in flower gardens, see these pre-planting weed control tips and more ongoing weed control tips.

Tidy Up Faded Foliage

Cut down faded foliage of plants that die off in the heat such as pansies and perennials that die back and go dormant, such as bleeding heart and oriental poppies. Also remove any diseased foliage from the garden and dispose of it in the trash.

Harvest and Save Flower Seeds

Save seeds from your best plants, either to strew in the garden or start indoors next winter.

Check for Pest Problems

Pest patrol! Scout regularly and follow modern Integrated Pest Management methods.

Add More Mulch

Fluff and replenish mulch. Packed mulch repels rain or irrigation water, so keep it fluffed up. Add more as needed to maintain a depth of about two to three inches.

Watering the Flowers

Water only if needed to supplement rain. Dig down into the soil to see if you need to water.

Better Composting

Compost "happens" faster in summer, especially if you are adding fresh grass clippings to your composter. Use half finished compost as mulch, or use completed compost as a top dressing.

Lemonade in the Shade

Take time to sip a cool drink and savor the wonders of your shady garden areas. Toss in a sprig of home grown mint or scented geranium leaves.

Plan your Shaded Flower Garden for Next Summer

High summer is the best time of year to get the most out of your cool, shady garden. There are many different flowers you can grow in the shade.

Enjoy the Moon Garden on Summer Evenings

When it’s too hot to be outside during the day, many gardeners get special enjoyment from evening visits to their white garden or moon garden planted with exquisite white flowers and silvery foliage.

Take Photos and Document the Garden

Even if the garden looks bad, it’s a good idea to document how it looks each month. Use the photographs next winter to help plan next year’s flower garden design and plantings.

Send in a Soil Sample

Lab results tend to come back faster during slower times of the year, like now. Have your soil tested every few years.

Harvest Herbs

Many herbs are best harvested at the peak of freshness. And if cut back now, many will regrow to yield additional cuttings later in the season.

Savor the Special Fragrance of Summer

There is nothing else like it—the perfume of flowers and foliage wafting in the heat of a summer afternoon! Early evening has its own special scent, too. Do you need to add more fragrant flowers and plants?

Enjoy Butterflies

You can plant a special butterfly garden or simply incorporate lots of flowers butterflies love in your normal flower garden. Plant these butterfly flowers and the butterflies will thank you!

Plan for Fall Bulb Planting

It’s never too early to plan ahead. Many of the bulb catalogs offer summer sales specials with great discounts. Order now for fall planting and then enjoy the flowers next spring! The best way to plant spring blooming bulbs is in quantity, so allow ample space for a terrific spring bulb display.

Take Time to Enjoy!

A well maintained flower garden looks lovely and offers a special kind of respite. Be sure to set aside a little time this summer just to enjoy the many benefits of all your hard work!

more FLOWER GARDENS ARTICLES and FLOWER GARDENS BLOGS Copyright July 18 2007 Barbara Martin All Rights Reserved