July Gardening Calendar 2025

 

July Gardening Calendar

Extreme heat began earlier this year than previous years. In the past five years, each summer we currently break last year’s record.  Extreme temperatures were recorded around the world in June 2025 and we have two to three more months of the summer. June’s last two weeks have been extreme and temperatures have soared 10-20 degrees above average. The entire United States is experiencing higher than normal temperatures. 21 places hit triple-digits. Currently there are numerous states that are under extreme heat warnings. Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington were under heat warnings last year. Temperatures have soared 10-20 degrees above average.

The CDC recommends these precautions for anyone who is involved in outdoor work or activities during extreme heat weather. Drink plenty of water and don’t wait until you are thirsty. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks. Always where sunscreen and reapply as directed on label. Try to avoid working in mid-day heat and ask if the task can be rescheduled. Where loose fit clothing in light colors. Dri-fit is a brand of clothing that helps keep one cool during work or exercising. Where a large brimmed hat to help keep one cool. Try to go to air conditioning or shady location during breaks. Keep an eye on your co-workers and encourage them to take breaks to drink water and cool off. Summer gardening tasks to do in one’s landscape, if living in one of the states mentioned for extreme heat try to schedule in early morning hours or early evening.

Watermelon – Choosing a summer watermelon for ripeness is as simple as slapping or knocking on it. The good ripe one’s sound hollow, and the unripe one’s sound like solid wood.

Flowering annuals and perennials – Such as Salvia, Zinnia, Coneflower, and Petunia, remove faded flowers to encourage bushiness and more flower production. Plant sun and heat tolerant annuals. Tropicals are a good choice because the plants now how to beat the summer heat and tropicals will reward you with lots of blooms and color.

Dahlias – The last week in July trim your plants back by half of their height to produce fall blooms. Fertilize with a flowering plant food.

Pink and Blue Hydrangeas – Remove faded flower stems. Trim shorten droopy, flowerless stems by 1/3. New growth that occurs now through winter will produce next summer’s blooms.

Herbs – Now is a good time to trim back Basil, Mint, and Oregano by half to prevent flowering and seed production. This will produce tastier leaves to use later.

Summer Vegetables – The plants will stop flower production when just one ripe cucumber, squash, or okra are left on the plant. Pick your summer vegetables on a regular basis to prevent this.

Fall Vegetables – Plant peppers, corn, cucumbers, squash, bush beans, and fall tomatoes. For tomatoes use the small to medium sized varieties.

Houseplants, Patio Pots, and Hanging Baskets – Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized by-weekly with a water-soluble plant food. For more information on Houseplants order Cheryl’s book Grow Fresh Air from her website Hibiscus and More.com

Trees and Shrubs – Newly Spring planted trees and shrubs should be watered 2 gallons of water per foot of plant height. Now is a good time to put a new3-4-inch layer of mulch by doing so the roots stay cooler and help conserve moisture. For more information on Landscape Gardening, you can order Cheryl’s book Southeast Style Gardening from her website Hibiscus and More.com.

Figs – Remove the tallest shoots in the middle first, then prune the rest of the fig lightly. The horizontal branches produce the best fruit.

New Turf – There is 6 to 7 weeks to start your project on laying or replacing turf grasses. The grass needs to be well-rooted before the cool weather starts, which is shortly after daylight savings time ends, which ends November 2, 2025. It usually takes 10-15 days to get the grass established.

The Monarchs need our help. For more information on Butterfly Gardening, Cheryl has written Gardening for the Butterflies available on her website Hibiscus and More.com

Hibiscus and More offers fine art prints of Cheryl Meola’s plant photography. Fine Art Prints. Fine Art Prints.

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography on Merchandise. The website features clothing, home décor, puzzles, and greeting cards to customize for any occasion. https://cherylann-meola.pixels.com

Floral & Foliage Stock Photography.  Stock Photography.

Botanical & Seasonal Stock Photography. Stock Photography.

Have a wonderful summer. Stay hydrated, keep cool, go to shade when you start feel weak.

June Gardening Calendar 2025

 

June Gardening Calendar 2025

June is the time of year to trim your Big Leaf Hydrangea, Oak Leaf Hydrangea, and Gardenia after blooming. After trimming, use an Azalea and Hydrangea fertilizer and add a new layer of mulch for the summer and fall months. The flower buds are set in the fall months for summer months blooming.

Your cool season vegetables have already started to bolt (bloom), which alerts the gardener the season is over for cool season vegetables. You can either pull out the vegetables or till them into the soil to enrich and add nutrients to the soil.

We can start thinking about planting winter squash, pumpkins, gourds, okra, and southern peas.

There is still time to plant heat tolerant vegetables tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and watermelons. These I thought are worth mentioning to try in your garden:

Malabar Spinach is a heat tolerant alternative to traditional spinach and grows as a vine. The leaves in salads are fleshy and have a peppery, citrus taste when used fresh. When cooked Malabar spinach taste just like traditional spinach. Make sure the plant is always well watered. You can use the leaves fresh, stir-fry, steamed or boiled.

Okra enjoys the heat. The spineless varieties are recommended because of the spines on the plant and okra. Even with the spineless varieties it is recommended to wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting the okra. Some of the varieties recommended are Clemson Spineless 80, most popular, Emerald, White Velvet, Cajun Delight.

Sweet Potatoes can be grown in a container, such as potato grow bags, whiskey barrels, or a very large container. You can harvest the tubers, sweet potatoes in about 4 months.

Summer Yellow Squash is very prolific grower and producer and enjoy the summer heat. In the summer would have summer squash several times during the summer. Yummy. Try cooking steamed or boiled with sliced onions, if you like onions.

Peppers, hot or sweet. There are many varieties of green, yellow, orange, red. All colors love the heat. In areas that have extremely high temperature during the summer months you may need to give some afternoon shade to prevent flower drop.

Bush Beans are easy to grow and do not require staking. Provider, Blue Lake 274, Contender are just a few varieties to grow this summer.

Butterhead Lettuce is one of the lettuces that will take the summer heat. Water deeply and mulch heavily.

It is always a good idea to monitor your garden for insects and diseases. Early detection is the key. When you are uncertain of the insect or disease, take a sample to your local garden center or nursery.

Fertilize tomatoes every two weeks with a calcium enriched fertilizer. The calcium will be listed on the label.

In June, there are numerous perennials in stock at your local garden center. A perennial is defined as a plant lasting more than two years. Asclepias (milkweed) is one great perennial that is gaining popularity. Milkweed is the host and nectar plant of the Monarch Butterfly. Last year the Monarch Butterfly was put on the endangered species list. As gardeners we can start incorporating Milkweed (Asclepias) into our gardens. Asclepias do extremely wonderful in containers for the apartment gardeners. We have to act now and quickly. Buy your plants or seeds now. The Monarchs need our help. For more information on Butterfly Gardening, Cheryl has written Gardening for the Butterflies Click Here to Purchase.

Deadhead perennials to get a second flush of blooms.

Color annuals and Tropicals are blooming brightly at your local garden center. Start thinking about starting your container gardens and color bowls to place around your deck, patio, or outdoor living area. Tropicals know how to beat the heat of summer and will bloom continuously till first frost.

Hibiscus and More offers fine art prints of Cheryl Meola’s plant photography. Fine Art Prints. Click Here to Purchase.

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography Merchandise. Click Here to Purchase Merchandise.

Floral & Foliage Stock Photography. StockPhotography.  

Botanical & Seasonal Stock Photography. Stock Photography., 

Sunday, June 15^th is Father’s Day send something special from Hibiscus and More. Gardening Books are great and make excellent Father’s Day Gifts to give for gardening Dad’s. Cheryl has written books on General Gardening, Houseplants and Butterfly Gardening. Click here to purchase Gardening Books.

Staying Grounded: Practical Ways to Manage Stress Day to Day

 

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Staying Grounded: Practical Ways to Manage Stress Day to Day

Stress doesn’t always arrive like a thunderstorm. Sometimes, it seeps in quietly—through tight deadlines, constant notifications, the pressure to show up perfectly in every role you play. Managing it isn’t about mastering a secret formula but learning to create room for your well-being amid the chaos. You don’t need to reinvent your life to feel better; what you need are strategies that slip into your routine, ones that feel like something you’d actually do, not a checklist written by someone who’s never had to answer emails during dinner. The truth is, managing stress well is less about controlling your surroundings and more about learning how to ride the wave without letting it knock you off balance.

Lean Into Movement

You’re not being asked to sign up for an ultramarathon or do sunrise yoga on a mountain. Just move. That walk around the block, dancing in the kitchen while dinner simmers, even stretching while watching TV—these are little acts of defiance against stress. Movement doesn’t just release tension; it reminds your body it’s not trapped, that there’s still flow and freedom in your limbs.

Let the Small Stuff Stay Small

You already carry enough. Why pick up things that don’t belong to you? Letting go of minor irritations—like someone cutting you off in traffic or your partner forgetting the milk—frees up emotional space. It’s not about ignoring problems; it’s about refusing to let the tiny stuff set up camp in your head and act like it owns the place.

Explore Alternative Remedies

Sometimes what you need isn’t another productivity hack, but something gentler—something that speaks to your nervous system in a different language. Chamomile tea offers a calming ritual that helps you slow down and exhale after a hectic day. Ashwagandha works behind the scenes, supporting your body’s ability to adapt to stress over time. And THCa, a non-psychoactive compound in raw cannabis, can provide soothing effects without the high—this may be a good option for stress relief.

Rethink Your Digital Diet

It’s not news that scrolling endlessly through bad news and perfectly curated lives isn’t helping. But the solution isn’t to throw your phone into a river either. It’s choosing when and how to be online—turning off notifications for a few hours, unfollowing accounts that leave you feeling like you’re not enough, or simply swapping screen time for a real book. The world keeps spinning whether or not you check your phone every ten minutes.

Create Tiny Rituals

Not everything has to be efficient. There’s quiet power in building small, intentional moments into your day that have nothing to do with productivity. Maybe it’s making coffee slowly, lighting a candle while answering emails, or ending your day with a hot shower and zero screens. These rituals don’t just anchor you—they whisper that you’re worth a pause, even when life says go.

Talk, Don’t Just Cope

Bottling things up might feel like strength, but it often turns into weight you weren’t meant to carry alone. Having someone to talk to—a friend, a therapist, even just a coworker who gets it—can turn the volume down on your worries. It doesn’t have to be dramatic; sometimes just naming what’s bothering you is enough to shrink it. The goal isn’t to fix everything—it’s to feel seen in the middle of it.

Embrace Nature

There’s something about trees swaying in the gardeningwind, a quiet trail, or even clouds drifting by that puts things in perspective. Nature doesn’t ask anything of you—it just exists, and in doing so, invites your nervous system to unclench. Even if you’re stuck indoors, glimpsing nature through a window or even pausing to look at wall art with a nature theme can relieve stress and improve your mindset. You don’t need a cabin in the woods—sometimes, a park bench or a potted plant on your desk will do the trick.

Let Yourself Off the Hook

You’re going to mess up sometimes. You’ll forget things, miss deadlines, react badly, or drop the ball. That’s not a moral failing—it’s being human. The faster you forgive yourself, the faster you can get back to living instead of dragging around the guilt like a suitcase full of bricks.

Stress happens. It’s baked into life in a world that’s always “on.” But your job isn’t to eliminate stress—it’s to know yourself well enough to soften it, to take care of the person you are under all the pressure. With practical tools that feel like you—not some self-help fantasy—you can carve out space for calm, even when the day is loud. And that’s not just how you manage stress—that’s how you stay human.

Discover the beauty of nature with Hibiscus and More, where you can explore a stunning collection of fine art prints and greeting cards perfect for any occasion!

Hibiscus and More has written several books on gardening available on the website Click on Gardening Books to view. Landscape Gardening, Butterfly Gardening, and Houseplants.

Need floral stock photography?

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola

https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/Cheryl

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied.

©

 

Building a Greener Tomorrow

 

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Building a Greener Tomorrow: Practical Ways to Transform Your Community

When it comes to making meaningful environmental change, there’s something uniquely powerful about starting local. The neighborhood you call home holds immense potential for progress, and your voice can be the catalyst for that shift. Greening your community isn’t about drastic overhauls or expensive investments—it’s about creating accessible habits, smarter systems, and tighter bonds between people and the land they share.

Grow Where You Live

Encouraging local food production does more than just fill plates with fresh produce—it stitches communities together. Whether it’s a backyard garden, rooftop planters, or a shared plot in a community garden, the act of growing food promotes healthier eating and reduces dependence on long-distance food transport. Organize workshops or seed swaps to empower more neighbors to dig in, especially those new to gardening or short on space. If you create a few visible, shared spaces where green things are growing, others will be inspired to follow suit.

Turn Scraps into Soil

There’s a quiet magic in composting that turns yesterday’s peels and coffee grounds into tomorrow’s soil. By encouraging households and local businesses to compost their organic waste, you help reduce landfill burden and methane emissions while enriching local soil. Coordinate with city officials or nonprofits to introduce curbside compost pickup or neighborhood compost bins if it doesn’t already exist. Even apartment dwellers can contribute with countertop composting systems or communal drop-off points, making participation easy regardless of living situation. 

Launching Your Eco-Friendly Landscaping Service

Starting your own eco-friendly landscaping business is a smart way to combine your love for the outdoors with a growing demand for sustainable services. Focus on practices like native plant installations, organic lawn care, and water-efficient irrigation systems that reduce harm to the environment while still delivering curb appeal. Word-of-mouth can be powerful in this niche, especially if your early projects show a clear blend of beauty and responsibility.

Make Recycling More Than Just a Blue Bin

Recycling works best when everyone understands what goes where—and when systems are simple and trusted. Set up community education campaigns to demystify recycling rules, like which plastics are accepted and why bagging recyclables can be counterproductive. Collaborate with your local waste management authority to host open house tours of recycling centers or info booths at public events. When people can see the process and understand its impact, they’re more likely to commit to doing it right.

Pave the Way for Cleaner Transport

Green transportation doesn’t have to mean giving up cars entirely, but it does mean expanding what’s considered normal. Advocate for bike lanes that feel safe and protected, and install bike racks around local businesses and public buildings. Help promote transit options by putting up readable, friendly bus maps in central locations or launching a local carpool group for school and work commuters. The goal is to make walking, biking, and riding the bus not just a last resort—but a smart, stylish, and convenient choice.

Bring Down the Energy Bill

Reducing energy use at home and in local businesses can have a huge ripple effect if enough people join in. Start by organizing neighborhood energy audits or DIY workshops on sealing drafts, installing LED lights, and using smart thermostats. Encourage landlords and building managers to invest in better insulation and energy-efficient appliances by showing them how it saves money long-term. Small upgrades become powerful when multiplied across a community, especially in older neighborhoods where energy waste can quietly skyrocket.

Support Green-Minded Businesses

Your dollars have power, and how they’re spent locally shapes your area’s economy and its carbon footprint. Spotlight local businesses that prioritize sustainability—whether it’s through plastic-free packaging, locally sourced ingredients, or energy-conscious operations—and give them a platform through newsletters, social media, or events. Work with chambers of commerce or small business networks to create a “green business directory” to guide residents toward eco-conscious options.

Making your community greener isn’t about perfection—it’s about momentum. Every compost bin, every bike lane, every energy-saving lightbulb adds up to a quieter, cleaner, more connected place to live. More importantly, these actions remind people that they’re not alone in caring about the planet. Your role is to help light the spark, offer tools, and create space for others to join in. The rest? It grows naturally.

Discover the beauty of nature with Hibiscus and More, where you can explore a stunning collection of fine art prints and greeting cards perfect for any occasion!

Hibiscus and More has written several books on gardening available on the website Click on Gardening Books to view. Landscape Gardening, Butterfly Gardening, and Houseplants.

Need floral stock photography?

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola

https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/Cheryl

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied.

©Carrie Spencer 2025