During the hot months, enjoy the garden in the morning with a cold drink. (Photo: Pixabay)

Tasks

• Protect developing tree fruit from birds and squirrels by placing netting over trees.
• Continue deep watering of fruit trees and citrus to insure a good fruit crop.
• Tie and train climbing plants, including those in the vegetable garden.
• Apply pesticides only when daytime temperatures do not exceed 95°F to prevent injury to foliage. Protect neighboring plants with a cardboard shield.

Pruning

• Deadhead annuals and perennials to encourage new growth and blooms.
• Divide iris every two to four years and save new rhizomes to replant in late summer.

Fertilizing

• Lightly fertilize actively growing plants.
• Give special attention to container plants.

Planting

• Summer heat can be truly formidable in the San Joaquin Valley.  Delay unnecessary planting until cooler weather.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: naked lady (Amaryllis belladonna).

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: lily of the Nile (Agapanthus), floss flower (Ageratum), amaranthus, aster, crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia).
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: naked lady (Amaryllis belladonna), canna.
• Fruits and vegetables: apricots, beans, blackberries, corn, cucumber, peaches.

Things to ponder

• The San Joaquin Valley is largely made up of zones 8 and 9. Consider this when selecting plants for your garden.
• Permeable hardscapes allow water from irrigation or rainfall to stay in place in the landscape, rather than running off into gutters and storm drains. Examples include pavers and bricks without mortar or grout, decks, crushed rock or gravel.