Garden Keeping Journal - July Edition
Monthly Tips, Inspiration & Checklists for Zone-7 (and neighboring) gardeners
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Hello my garden friends,
July is the month I finally stop hoarding my own garden. After weeks of watching things grow, I’ve learned to actually cut the blooms - and discovered the garden rewards you for it.
I adore making small cut flower bouquets from whatever is blooming in the garden.
There’s a corner on my desk where I keep a small vase filled with something pretty. And I have a spot on my kitchen bar counter which is visible from many parts of the main living area where I almost always have something colorful and lovely.
I do grow a number of things specifically for this purpose, but honestly, it takes A LOT for me to cut those stems and bring them in. I don’t know what it is, but I guess everything just looks so lush and joyful in the landscape and I feel like by cutting the blooms I’m eliminating some of the magic.
But I’ve gotten much better at it this year and remind myself that often, by cutting blooms often I’m encouraging more growth and more flowering.
July in Zone-7 is about general tending, pest and water management. And if you are lucky, this is the beginning of some harvesting too.
Most years we are into our monsoon cycle early in the month, and with that comes the daily/weekly dance of backing off on your automatic drip schedule when appropriate... (and not forgetting to turn it back on if there's a break in the rain storms!)
Even with a rain sensor, which helps make that easier, I've found that I need to pay close attention to newer plants that might still need a bit of hand watering after a storm, when the rest of the system is on delay.
If you've been keeping up with the monthly checklists so far, then you should find that July is quite a bit less heavy on the big tasks. And just more about spending time in your landscape every day and tending to the little things that need doing.
July at Juniper Hill Cottage
A few behind-the-scenes notes from the garden as summer fully arrives.
🌼What I’m Planting
Another round of Cilantro*
Rosa ‘4th of July’ Climbing Rose (only because I’m replacing one of a pair that never settled in and finally gave up on me in June)
English Lavender ‘Vera’ (Lavandula angustifolia) (see the story in Last Month’s Lessons Learned👇🏼 )
*direct sowing seeds in the ground
🌼What’s Blooming
Clematis x ‘Niobe’ and ‘Jackmanii’
Lavenders - English and French varieties
Monarda - Beramot Lemon, Bergamo, and Raspberry Wine, and more
Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus) - various varieties
Baikal Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis)
Clary Sage ‘Vatican White’ (Salvia sclarea)
Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans)
Raven Cranesbill (Geranium phaem ‘Raven)
Bushy Bulbine (Bulbine abyssinica)
Burgandy Desert Willow (Chilopsis lenearis ‘Burgandy)
Halls Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana)
Major Wheeler Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler)
I could keep going - but I also share lots of images of garden glimpses on my Substsack daily Notes if you’d like to catch more there
🌼Last Month’s Lesson Learned
Lavender is one of my all time favorite landscape plants. It does well here.
The soft, slightly fuzzy delicate leaves. The coolish, grey blue color of the foliage. The spikey tall vertical blooms in all manner of purples and light blues. That scent is heavenly.
However, anyone who’s ever grown lavender knows that it can get large and very woody. In practical terms, what that means is that while it may still be very much alive and even still blooming fairly well, it begins to loose it’s lovely rounded shape, and has a sort of - I don’t know - just a ratty look to it.
I’ve had the most lovely English Lavender (the cultivar escapes me right now) growing in a very prominent spot right by the front entry to the porch, in a very large ceramic planter.
It’s been stunning for about three years. Give her a light prunning each early spring as she begins waking up and she’s off and running.
This year, in May, she was healthy and leafing out, I began pruning. And just got over zealous about the thing. I kept cutting and cutting. I was feeling good about it, although I knew it was a tiny bit risky.
But now I know she’s not coming back and I’m feeling rather stupid about it.
Lesson Learned: The guidance that says only cut back about a third of a lavender and do it right after they’ve flowered is true. Don’t wait until spring. And certainly, don’t hack of two thirds of the thing. The trouble is, it’s just sooo hard to prune it back in late summer when in fact they are often still blooming a bit- and you remember the story I shared earlier about cutting blooms in the landscape - it’s just hard.
About These Checklists
While we don’t offer garden maintenance services here at The Whiskey Porch, these monthly Garden Keeping Checklists are designed to help you stay on track and feel supported through the seasons.
Whether you’re handling everything yourself or working with a maintenance crew, you’ll find the tips practical and flexible - especially if you’re gardening in or around Prescott, Arizona, or in other Zone-7 and neighboring climates anywhere in the world.
Each checklist reflects the rhythm I experience here in Prescott’s downtown microclimate, so your own garden may vary slightly depending on your elevation, location, and what you’re growing. Generally speaking, these notes align with USDA Zone 7b.
Of course, no two years are exactly alike, even in the same zone. Some seasons bring an early hard freeze in late October, while others hold off until December. Keep that in mind as you plan your tasks.
These guides are geared toward landscape gardens that include mostly perennials, with a sprinkling of annuals, veggies and herbs.
Let’s get into it!
👇🏼The full checklist, closeup images of what’s blooming, and detailed guidance that follow below are part of The Gift Library, available to paid members - Porch Companions (whether Monthly or Annual) or Studio Stewards.
See what’s included & join the porch:
Already a member? Thank you for being here - scroll down for July’s guide👇🏼