Garden Center at Arden Arcade #6966

As we continue deeper into summer, your landscaping and garden will weather more intense heat and UV rays than earlier in the season. You'll want to consider how to keep things cool with shade, proper tending, and irrigation. You might also need ways to beat the heat. Let us help. At your Garden Center in Arden Arcade, we've got what you need to make the most of summer.

Keep Your Garden Tidy
As the weeks tick by, the sod or grass you planted will grow taller than what's ideal. It's going to need some maintenance to look manicured and fresh. Keep the lawn in check with a riding lawn mower and a string trimmer to knock down any tall grass around hardscaping and trees.

Trees, shrubs, and bushes climb toward the sun and lose their shape over time. In the summer, they'll be growing fast, filled with buds and blooms before you know it. Manicure them into a beautiful shape with the best hedge trimmers for your shrubs. It's best to leave major tree maintenance and tree topping to the pros, but you may want to use a pole saw for minor trims and a chainsaw to shape bushes and small trees.

Care for Your Shrubs and Trees
When you're making sure your garden is watered, don't forget about the trees, and bushes. They may need less watering than vegetable plants, but they can still get dry and parched in the summer heat. It's not hard to learn how to water bushes and trees — just aim the water at the roots. It'll help prolong the greenery and flowers and keep it from drying out.

Also, check for damaged areas on the shrubs and trees. Pests can wreak havoc on your greenery if you don't catch them in time. Look for spots on bark or leaves, holes in leaves, or strange raised scars on tree bark. When your leaves look like lace, insects or caterpillars are eating them. Spots may indicate several issues ranging from fungus to bugs. Those scar-like lines on tree bark could mean your tree is infected with borers, an insect that lays eggs inside the bark and then burrows out after it hatches. Any of these issues should be researched and cared for as soon as possible, as a severe case may kill part or all of your tree.

Grow Your Own Herbs
For savory flavors to accent your homegrown produce, try herb gardening. It's easy to learn how to grow herbs indoors, but you can raise herbs outdoors, too. If you grow herbs outdoors, stick to heat-loving herbs that'll endure the summer temperatures, and consider a hanging herb garden.

Planting herbs in the ground can be tricky, as many of them — especially mint — are invasive and will take over your yard. So just keep them in small decorative pots on a sunny porch, window sill, or even as a beautiful hanging garden on a wall. Herbs also work well in a hydroponic garden, which means they don't grow in regular black dirt. Instead, they grow in a mixture of rock chips, perlite, or sand.

Vines as Decorative Shade
Plant vines near an arched arbor or trellis so they'll climb it and give you both shade and beauty. Go with native vine plants to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Grape vines are a classic choice, but they take time to mature, so you'll enjoy dappled shade but no grapes for a few years. Remember to match your vine plants to how much sun you receive, as some like full sun and others don't. As a bonus, many vines put out sweet-smelling flowers, so you can enjoy a delightful fragrance as you cool off in the shade.

Find Your Summertime Garden Supplies Today
No matter if your perfect summer includes relaxing, grilling, gardening, or finishing those outdoor DIY projects, we've got you covered. Make the most of these lengthy evenings and early mornings to enjoy all the season has to offer. Shop online at your leisure, on our app anywhere you like, or in the aisles of your Arden Arcade store.