In our efforts to simplify our lives and gardens, summer weather reminds us that tending our green spaces is still necessary. Minimal attention may include keeping the garden watered and removal of dead or dying material consistently, especially slimy bulb foliage that has long since ripened. Many problems can be minimized or avoided by not providing organic havens for plant eaters such as slugs and roly poly bugs to hide under and then come out in the evening to devour our ornamentals.

Don’t attempt to transplant much of anything, as it is very difficult for a moved plant to put down roots in hot soil that does not even cool off during nighttime hours. Wait until the dew dries before working in flower or vegetable beds, especially areas where green beans are growing.

It looks like a good tomato year with all the rain we’ve had but the contest is just beginning. At least, mulch around the base of the tomato as disease can be initiated by soil being blasted onto the leaves of the plants. Actually, drip irrigation is better as it waters the roots without wetting the leaves.

Note any tall plants that are flopping onto shorter ones and vow to give them a tall neighbor to lean on next year. If the plant blooms from late summer on, such as goldenrod or asters and tall sedums, early spring pruning can help keep the plants shorter. More minimal gardening hints to come ……………..

Garden when the sun isn’t beating on your back. Drink lots of water.

Question: When is a golden larch not a Golden larch? The answer is, when it's a Dahurian larch in late autumn. The Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) is an uncommon tree, rarely seen in cultivation outside of botanical gardens and arboreta. Native to Asia from Siberia into Mongolia, northeastern China, and North Korea, it is a deciduous conifer that sheds its needles every fall and regrows a new set the following spring.

The exact age of our specimen is unknown, as its planting predates by many decades the era of computerized plant record keeping, prior to which few written records remain. I would estimate it to be greater than 60 years of age. My impression is that it doesn’t seem to be significantly larger than when it first caught my eye in the early 1970’s. Our specimen is singularly noteworthy because larches are so rarely seen in this part of the Midwest. Most species are native to northern regions having cooler and wetter climates. It’s a healthy tree despite a sparse and open habit. It suffered collateral damage in a storm several years ago when falling limbs from a nearby tree broke some lower branches, but nonetheless its vigor remains unchanged.

Not to be confused with its cousin, the Golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis), which sheds golden needles earlier in October. The Dahurian larch typically retains its needles several weeks longer every fall. In its autumn glory, it can be easily located in the Holly Fields, just south and west of the statue of Mother and Child, standing against an evergreen backdrop of tall American holly trees.

Our spring classes are now online. Check out the wonderful listing of new and favorite classes in horticulture, crafts, art, cooking and more. A few classes have already filled but many are still open. Due to popular demand we added another section of Silver Leaf Pendant on Sunday, June 7 from 10 to 2 p.m. Register early to avoid missing out on the classes you really wanted!

Celandine poppy is native to moist woods and stream banks in the central and southeastern portions of Missouri. Four-petaled, bright yellow flowers (to 2" diameter) bloom singly or in small clusters in early April before the trees leaf out on mounded plants densely clad with pinnately lobed, blue green leaves. Plants typically grow to 12-18" tall, but will naturalize, sometimes aggressively, by rhizomes and self-seeding to form large colonies. Celandine poppy adapts well to moist garden loams in sun-dappled or shady areas of the landscape. Foliage will usually persist to fall in moist soils, but may go dormant in summer if soils dry out.

In 2009 the Missouri Garden celebrates its 150 anniversary - 150 years of being green. Here is a thoughtful essay by John Smelser on his personal thoughts on how to be "green" in the garden and work towards a sustainable environment. We hope it inspires you to be as green as you can in 2009.

Ok, ready to put those new seed growing tips to use? Here’s a Plant of Merit introduction for 2009 that is not only a great performer HERE, but is also easily started from seed. Seed may be started indoors about 10-12 weeks before last spring frost date.

Also called the summer snapdragon, the flowers are two-lipped and bloom from spring to early fall. ‘Serena Lavender’, ‘Serena Lavender Pink’, ‘Serena White’ and ‘Serena Purple’ feature flowers of the color described by the cultivar name. SERENA MIXTURE is, as the name suggests, a seed mixture of the four different Serena cultivars.

Plants typically grow 12-18” tall on stems clad with narrow, oblong to lanceolate, green leaves. It shows some drought tolerance and has good tolerance for summer heat and humidity. Plants may also be purchased in spring from local nurseries. Deadheading is not required.

These bagworms will be in for quite a surprise when they emerge! Not much to chew on here. Luckily, they will be only a few crawls away from an abundant supply of juniper foliage (and their many friends). I took the picture in the parking lot of a Thai restaurant. They must be Thai bagworms with a taste for fire-hot cuisine. The restaurant was terrific and doing a brisk take-out "bagged-to-go" business. Hmmmm.

I took this striking image of a heliconia in the Climatron the day after we had a fantastic night photography class conducted by visiting artist/photographer Linda Rutenberg. My nighttime images didn't turn out that great but I learned some great tips on framing an image from Linda that I put to use in this daytime shot.