Watering, weeding, and deadheading (and harvesting, if you are growing vegetables and herbs) head the list of projects for this month.

Watering - Watering may be the biggest job this month, especially when the weather gets hot. To keep a lawn green and lush, water about one inch every five to seven days.

Make a frequent check of flowers and vegetables for their watering needs. Generally, you'll want to give them about an inch of water each week; deep, less frequent watering is better for them than frequent surface watering. When possible, water in the morning so the soil has a chance to warm up before the cooler evening hours set in, as well as giving the foliage plenty of time to dry.

Check outdoor container plants every day during hot weather and about every second day in more moderate weather. Water them thoroughly each time you water.

Weeding - With warmer weather and more frequent watering, weed seeds will germinate faster. In addition, many weeds seed at this time of year and the seeds will be blown or carried into your garden. Take time to keep the weeds cultivated out of all parts of the garden.

Many weeds are hosts to insects and diseases. Keep them under control, so pests and diseases do not infest your other garden plants.

Harvesting - Pick fruits and vegetables as soon as they're ripe. Overripe fruits especially can attract a number of pests, and in this month's hotter weather, they will rot very quickly.

Deadheading - Keep deadheading flowers as they fade; not only will the plants look better, but if they're allowed to produce and shed their seeds, they're more likely to stop producing new blooms. Just a little time spent on grooming the plants really makes a big difference in the appearance of the garden.

Other Chores

Fall Vegetables - Right now is the time to start fall and winter vegetables. Plant or seed them directly into the garden or start them indoors. Green onions, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and over-wintering cauliflower are the most popular vegetables to grow in the winter garden.

If you choose not to have a winter vegetable garden, consider planting a nitrogen-fixing cover crop to be turned into the soil in the spring.

Lawns - Watering is by far the most important lawn project this month. Water in the morning when it is still cool, so there will be less water lost to evaporation and so the lawn will not remain cool and damp overnight (and attract fungus or algae).

Raise the cutting height on your mower to keep grass longer, conserving water and helping roots stay cool.

Wildflower seeds tend to be ripe by late summer, so if you have a meadow to mow, this is a good month to hop on the tractor.

Perennials and Biennials - Many plants can be started from seed sown directly into the garden this month or next. Iris and other early-blooming perennials can still be divided this month and even into September. Choose a cool day or time of day, and give them a tall drink of water in their new locations.

Planning and Planting - This is the month to select fall bulbs for planting. Design your garden now, rather than waiting till the last minute. If you haven't yet removed dead and dying spring blooming-annuals, do so, and amend the soil for later planting. Replant with fresh color to add fall magic to your yard.

Houseplants - Houseplants will need to be watered more often this month, especially if they're in a sunny window.

If you are going on vacation, move plants out of direct sunlight, especially those in south-facing windows. If you have a helpful neighbor who will water them, good. Otherwise, water them thoroughly before you leave.

Slugs and Bugs - Take time to examine the garden on a weekly basis to see if slugs or any kind of bugs are ruining the appearance of any of your flowers or shrubs.

Our nursery professionals can help you determine what is causing the problem and recommend the appropriate steps to take to eliminate the culprits.

Hostas are an indispensable foliage plant for shade gardens (zones 3-8). Goodness, that description just doesn’t say enough--they are not only indispensable, they are absolutely beautiful! The broad leaves are pleated or puckered, and the many different varieties offer a large range of colors, color combinations, sizes and shapes.

In one garden bed you can have a front row of low-growing hostas only 6 inches tall surrounded by other varieties that grow up to 3 feet or taller. What a dramatic effect in your garden!

Hostas help you create a lush multi-green foliage, woodland look in your backyard. Plant them together with rhododendrons, astilbe, sweet violets, impatiens or other shade plants of your choice.

And fabulous foliage is not their only attribute! Hostas also send up beautiful plumes/spikes of white and lavender blooms in summer.

Hostas love moist, humus rich soils, although they can adapt to dry soil conditions. They love part to full shade and filtered sun. If exposed to full sun, they will not perform as well, and will not have the beautiful foliage colors that we desire.

Plant using a good planting mix like Master Nursery Bumper Crop. As your hostas become established, you can divide them. Late summer is the best time to do this.

Yes, there are a couple of pests that haunt hostas everywhere: snails and slugs. Frequent scattering of a slug and snail killer such as Sluggo snail bait, will do the trick for you.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to plant hostas in your gardens. We've got a great selection here at Millcreek Gardens. Come in to see us soon. We'll meet you in the shade area!

Bold in the front row, these shorties can make a huge statement. Do not underestimate a plant that is short, for a plant so short must surely be quite sweet!

The front line of most borders is composed of the lower growing annuals, perennials, shrubs, and even bulbs. These guys would simply be hidden if you planted them in the middle or the back of gardens that are designed with multiple plant heights involved.

Beautiful borders can be foliage or flowering groundcovers and nothing else. That works fabulously along a meandering walk through a garden. Sun choices include thyme, trailing rosemary, armeria, ground morning glory (convolvulus), beach strawberry (fragaria), gazania, and many, many more. Shade choices include sweet woodruff (Galium), green carpet (Herniaria), mondo grass, pachysandra, or baby's tears.

Or picture this: flowering border plants, low and mounding, such as nepeta (catmint), small (1-2 ft ht.) lavender, coreopsis, and Santa Barbara daisy or fleabane (erigeron) combined with button shaped pittosporum 'Crème de Mint' santolina in gray green or bright green, or curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) spilling over a stone walkway. The purple, yellow and green mounds will lead you to the pathway destination.

And not to be forgotten, succulents can be colorful not only for their flowers, but also for foliage color. The long succulent list includes many varieties of sedum, aptenia, iceplant and more. Low growing ornamental grasses such as Festuca glauca or Japanese blood grass can make a large visual statement.

You can design your borders using a single plant type or a monochromatic (all one color) theme, or instead, create a "border of many colors." The choice is all yours. We have presented a few suggestions, but there are so many more plants, we'd just have to take you on a tour of the garden center to show them all to you.

Border plants, short and low, can make an instant beautiful impression in your gardens whether they are along your pathways or the front line of your garden beds. They will bring simple delight. We'll see you soon in the garden center, selecting your favorites.

"We're in the middle and we are simply marvelous! We are the flowering perennials, shrubs, and grasses that catch your eye with our color, our form, our fragrance and sometimes, our motion. We provide many of the key elements of the garden design. We aren't the tallest, and we aren't the smallest."

As the eye falls upon any garden, be it a garden bed, pathway, entrance or outdoor room space, it may look upon the border babies but it will definitely drift upward toward themid-level plants. Much of the beauty and drama of the garden takes place here in the middle. Much of the structure of the garden takes place here, too.

Lucky gardener, you have almost an endless choice of plants from which to choose for this location and we cannot begin to name all of them. Instead, we'll give you a number of design tips to help in the selection of your "Marvelous Middle Collection."

1. Colors and Color Combinations: create a mood or match your home colors.
2. Fragrance: flowers and/or foliage with a nice scent.
3. Shapes: mounds, billows, spikes, and fillers to fill in empty spaces.
4. Textures: look at the flower and foliage shapes and sizes.
5. Motion: see the way the plants move in the breeze.
6. Garden Theme: xeriscape, cottage, cutting, natural, woodland, native plants...you can find mid-level plants for almost any theme.

We'll look forward to seeing you and when we do, ask us for suggestions for mid-level border plants for your kind of garden. We'll be watching for your arrival — see you soon!

Who is standing high above the bright flowering faces of the garden? The "tall and sassy" guys. These plants are the ones that first catch your eye. And these tall plants in the background of your gardens may be selected from the perennial group, grasses, shrubs or small-scale trees. As you make your selection, remember — they can have the important role of creating the theme of the garden design. It could be a single plant as the focal point, one with strong architectural form or a colorful grouping that stands high above the other flowering plants in a perennial bed.

A strong focal point, such as the beautiful lacy and waterfall structure of a Japanese maple called 'Waterfall' (weeping form, 4-6 ft) is a good example of a single plant creating a garden theme. An observer will be expecting to see a bubbling stream with a waterfall directly beneath its weeping branches. The maple and the stream could be surrounded by a woodland garden of columbine, hosta and trillium. Or perhaps the focal point is created with a different tree; envision a semi-shady meadow garden with your tree surrounded with daylilies, ornamental grasses, rudbeckia and more.

Another function of the tall member of the garden is architectural interest or structure. The butterfly bush (Buddleja), flax (Phormium), or small trees are examples of structural plants, each creating a different mood or type of garden. All offer garden interest, many even in the winter.

Perhaps you have a perennial garden without a tree or large architectural plant. Height, drama, color, texture and motion can be achieved in no time if you choose from the many different tall-growing perennials such as buddleja, canna, lavatera, verbena (bonariensis), watsonia, and ornamental grasses.

Whatever your garden design and whatever the plant function that you desire, we have a large selection of "tall and sassy" plants available today. Come in and take a look!

The pesky little insect has ruined countless hikes, BBQ's and campouts. This vector has literally killed millions of people throughout history, and still affects millions around the world today. As daunting as this sounds, there are steps you can take to co-exist and stay healthy.

What attracts the mosquito? After 30 million years of evolution, the mosquito has perfected its hunting skills. The mosquito uses three sensors to attract its prey:

• Chemical sensors: Mosquitoes sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet away. Unfortunately, we give off these gases as part of our normal breathing.
• Visual sensors: Clothing that contrasts with the background enables the mosquito to "zero in" on you.
• Heat sensors: Mosquitoes detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals very easily.

The best thing you can do to control mosquitoes is to use a mosquito repellant with deet and eliminate standing water around your home. A mosquito can lay up to 250 eggs at one time in still water, and they can hatch as fast as 7 days. Check your gutters frequently for collected water (especially if they sag and aren't level), along with birdbaths, buckets or boggy areas of the garden.

Burning citronella candles, using an electronic bug zapper, or spraying surfaces near entertainment areas with a mosquito barrier spray like Mosquito Beater by BONIDE will also help kill, or at least repel, mosquitoes. We also highly recommend using Mosquito Dunks if you have areas of standing water that you can't drain.

Diligence is your best protection. Stay indoors at dawn and dusk hours, wear pants and long-sleeved shirts if possible, avoid any standing water, and repair broken screens.

Although it can be a constant battle, by incorporating the use of insect repellents and breeding prevention (eliminating standing water), mosquitoes and the diseases they carry can be reduced, making the outdoors more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.