By Jessi Jablonski
Sprucing up the summer garden
Summer has flown by! Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday the lilacs were blooming. Before you know it, the leaves will be putting on a blazing show for us as they change color for the autumn.
How did your garden do? Do you still have blossoms on your plants? Experience has taught me that deadheading and cutting back perennials and annuals can often greatly increase the length of time that a plant will bloom.
Dead heading is simply removing the spent flowers from a plant. The plant will stop putting energy into developing seeds, and instead, put out more flowers. Petunias, marigolds, Zinnia, Cosmos, coneflower, Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, shasta daisies and Gaillardia are great examples of plants that will continually bloom if deadheaded on a regular basis.
Cutting back plants is a great way to freshen them up. Depending on the plant, half or two-thirds of the spent flowers and foliage can be cut off when the plant is done blooming and starting to look a little shaggy. This will encourage new growth and often times more flowers. Catmint, bee balm, salvia, Veronica, Scabiosa, balloon flower and perennial Geranium will benefit from being cut back, and will reward you with a more tidy and clean looking plant.
Some plants will not necessarily rebloom, but removing spent blossoms can be beneficial. Not only will peonies will look more tidy if dead headed, but the plant will have less of a chance of developing disease issues. Daylilies, hosta and Iris have stems that turn brown and are somewhat unsightly. When working in clients’ gardens, we always remove these flower stalks for a clean, fresh look.
With all of the long gardening days, lunch needs to be light and still fuel us! These protein-packed wraps are made in large batches and tossed in the lunch box as we leave in the morning. In summer, we use tomatoes, peppers and corn from our garden. The ingredients can be easily swapped out to fit most dietary needs.
The Plant Lady is a regional horticulturalist with the goal is of making Bluff Country more beautiful one garden at a time. Follow her on Facebook at PlantLadyMn for helpful tips and tricks, or via email at ThePlantLadyMN@gmail.com.
Make-Ahead Lunch Wraps
3 cups cooked brown rice
4 (15-oz) cans black beans
2 (15-oz) cans pinto beans
1 (10-oz) can whole kernel corn
1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 pound shredded pepper jack cheese
16 large soft tortillas
Salsa and sour cream for serving
Combine all ingredients except tortillas, salsa and sour cream in a large bowl. Stir and then divide mixture evenly among the tortillas. Fold the sides in and roll the tortillas up. Wrap each tortilla in foil. Store in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for 3 months.
The night before serving, put in fridge to defrost. Wraps can be microwaved, sautéed in a little oil, or eaten cold out of a lunch box. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired. Another way to serve them is to place several wraps in a baking dish, generously top with enchilada sauce and bake for 350 for 30 minutes for a delicious Mexican dinner.