One of the best pieces of gardening advice I have ever received is this:
If you are trying to plan your garden so that it is always in bloom, make time to visit your local garden center every week or so and see what is blooming there.
Choose something from among the perennials or annuals that are looking particularly splendid and take it home.
That way, your garden won't look like Afghanistan in August.
Carrie Engel of Valley View Farms in Cockeysville is saving us a step.
Her blog, which is linked to the Valley View Farms website, has a "plant of the week." There is a beautiful picture of the plant in bloom and a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses and some advice on where to plant it.
Her most recent post is about clematis, which is easier to grow than newby gardeners imagine -- and it is dramatic, too.
Stick with Carrie's blog this summer, especially in August, make a few purchases from among her favorites and you will end up with a more well-rounded garden.
And speaking of blogs, Susan Harris, who blogs for Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville, has a post about her favorite spring perennials.
The great thing about advice from Carrie and Susan is that they live and garden in our Maryland micro climate and their suggestions are likely to work for most of us.