Sometimes the smartest thing to do is to Don’t
July 2024. By Oscar Ortega: It’s hot out there, and it is bound to get hotter. Doing less may help both you and your garden enjoy this time of year a bit more. Here are a few ways in which a little lazy can seed your garden’s success:
Mulch More, Weed Less
Do you enjoy attempting to extract weeds from hardened soil? If so, don’t mulch! Spreading a three inch layer of mulch in unplanted spaces will do the work of suppressing weed growth for you all summer. It also makes it easier to pull the weeds that manage to fight their way through.
Water and Itch Less
We see many Angelenos water way more than their plant life needs – or wants. This is certainly true in native plant gardens. It also explains so many problems people experience with turf grass lawns, from aphids and other pests to yellow grass. Maybe the least pleasant outcome of too much water is the prevalence of “pollinators” that breed in it! If you are hoping to have more time in the garden and fewer bites, dial back here, and see if the mosquito bites dial back too.
We mow this IdealMow lawn once a year, in early spring.
Mow Less, Wander More
Is your garden time spent walking behind a mower? There are funner ways to enjoy summer! Simply mowing less can leave many lawns – and their keepers – in better shape. Turf grass often needs less mowing than it gets. Easier still: IdealMow lawns of California native grasses need only a few mows a year, and they love lazy summers at meadow-length, floating on the breeze. They won’t have a care if you don’t!
Yoshi Aoyagi cuts back Deer Grass for its summer siesta.
Let Sleeping Plants Lie
Some California native plants have learned to rest in the heat of summer. In fact, some will take a deep summer siesta. Rather than replacing them, consider the actions of watching and waiting. They may just delight you when they wake up.
Elaine and Toby Kaufman leave their abundance of sages for the birds.
Seed Your Success
Many California native plants will bloom through summer if we deadhead, and this form of garden labor definitely beats dutifully following a mower! Still, doing even less can be worthwhile. Letting blooms go to seed attracts birds and wildlife. A disciplined lazy can fill a garden – and a life – with song.
What do you think? Can you handle a little time off to enjoy the season? For those who prefer action, check out our summer to do list.
