Fresno Gardening Green

Remember friends, neighbors and shut-ins with extra produce and flowers from your garden. Tasks Consider removing groundcovers, turfgrass or annual flowers from little-used garden areas such as parking strips, medians or lawn islands. Cover bare soil with a layer of mulch.

This month we will look at when and how to water your roses. Especially now that the weather is starting to heat up and the rains are probably done until the fall. We live in a Mediterranean climate. Winter rain and summer dry.

June days are the longest of the year - take advantage of the extra hours in your garden. Tasks Check drip irrigation lines and emitters for leaks or clogs and adjust to provide adequate moisture. Thin fruit on stone and pome fruit trees. Spider mites can be discouraged by rinsing dust from foliage.

What do we gardeners do when the forecast says a high of 100F but our plants beckon us? There are a few things we can do to make sure we and our plants stay safe. First, take care of yourself.

After two consecutive years of normal and above-normal rainfall, trees, hedges and bushes whose growth was constrained during the drought years have shown a huge growth spurt this spring. My neighbor's magnificent loropetalum hedge is at least four feet taller and wider.