We survived another dose of triple digit temperatures last week that put new stress on all of the Oklahoma plant kingdom. It is amazing the difference in how much extra water our flowers, veggies and trees need when dehydrating at 100 degrees as opposed to even the cooler 90 degrees of this last weekend. We are headed from hot, dry weather towards the cooler fall weather of hardy mums, pansies, kale and cabbage and overseeding lawns with tall fescue. If you have sustained your plants with some extra watering, many of your existing plants will perk up with the cooler day and night temperatures. Many plants will give you a burst of new growth and flowers from now until the first hard freeze in early November. Even my tomatoes are back to producing flowers and small fruit, an indication of better times ahead.
After two tough challenging summers in a row you are likely ready to enjoy some beautiful Oklahoma gardens where you can get some good garden design ideas, learn what plants are performing best and just enjoy the opportunity to visit with fellow Oklahoma plant lovers.
The Oklahoma Horticulture Society, our states leading group of plant lovers, hosts an annual “Garden Tour for Connoisseurs”. This year the tour will be on Saturday, September 22nd and will visit 6 great private gardens in Crown Heights, Mesta Park and Edgemere Heights as well as the impressive Chesapeake Employee Gardens. The tour gardens will be open from 9AM to 4PM. You can buy advance tickets at many OKC metro garden centers for $12.00. You can buy tickets on the day of the tour for $15.00 at any of the tour gardens. The Horticulture Society is anxious to expose young people to the joy of plants and gardening so children and grandchildren under age 6 can attend for free. I always look forward to this premier OKC garden tour and get lots of great ideas to use in my own yard while discovering lots of new plant material and re-discovering other plants long forgotten.
All the proceeds from this great volunteer effort go to support horticulture scholarships at OSU-OKC, Tulsa Community College and OSU-Stillwater in addition to the great speakers, publications and educational efforts of the Oklahoma Horticulture Society. Hopefully you will be able to attend this tour of these six great yards being opened for your enjoyment. Thanks to Rosemary and Jim Keating, Rebecca and Robert German, Sharon Astrin and Randy Marks, Marsha and Carson See, Susan and Rick Wymer and Maggie and Phil Clayton for opening their yards for this tour of inspiration and discovery. More details about where to buy advance tickets, the garden tour locations and the stories of each garden are available at www.ok-hort.org and click on garden tour. I hope you are able to join us and will look forward to seeing you on the tour as we support a great cause while having a wonderful time and getting lots of new ideas and inspiration. If you enjoy the tour you might want to consider becoming a member of the Horticulture Society so you can be involved in all their other great activities. You will be able to join at any of the tour gardens or on-line.
Rodd's Seeds of Wisdom 