July 2026
While July is hot as usual and rain is uncertain, keeping color in our landscape is often a challenge. But many of us are still enjoying the outdoors as we know that winter is not far away and that may limit the time we spend outside of the house. So, add a splash of color with flowers to make the time in the landscape more pleasing. Why do we enjoy the outdoors during our southern summers? Well, it’s because that’s where we prepare food on our grills, enjoy playing various games that are not possible in the house, swimming or just relaxing in a pool, etc. So, it’s easy to understand why the colors of the flowers we planted in the spring begin to fade and that we look for ways to make our landscapes as colorful as possible.
Clearly, there is more than one way to renovate our earlier planting of flowers. One simple solution is to totally rework the flower beds by removing plants that are no longer attractive and look like they are struggling just to stay alive. Some gardeners destroy all of the existing plants regardless of their condition. Once the beds are clear of all of the old flowers along with any weeds that are present, the soil can be loosened to improve the entry of air. Fertilizer may then be mixed into the soil and the bed can be topped with a good quality organic material if little organic matter seems to be present. Pre-moisten the renovated bed to a 6 or 8 inch depth. As soon as the bed drains, plant new flowers that are heat-resistant. Some kinds to consider include lisianthus, celosia, marigolds, zinnias, salvia, portulaca, angelonia, pentas, cleome, lantana and gaillardia. Please understand that this is not a complete list. Just how long these beds will last will depend on the weather and the kind of care they are given.
Another way to add more color to your summer landscape is to use colorful container plants. You may be able to find colorful containers already planted with a mixture of heat tolerant flowers. Check your local nurseries and garden centers. Or, you may prefer to put together your own mixture of flowers. The advantage of creating your own floral mix is that you can tailor-make it for sun, shade or semi-shade. Another advantage is that you can use containers that are not very heavy and change their location according to the seasons as they also change thus allowing the plants to remain in ideal environmental conditions. Planted containers may also be moved to accent special occasions. Still another advantage is being able to move the planted containers to less conspicuous places when they lose their beauty or when some of the plants die.
The lower soil volumes in container plants usually means that both slow release and other types of fertilizer should be used to maintain vigorous growth and flowering and to compensate for the nutrients that are lost due to the necessity of frequent watering.
JOE W. WHITE, PH.D.
Extension Horticulturist, (ret)
LSU AgCenter