This steamy month, up your watering game, welcome butterflies, harvest your crops and deadhead those summer blooms.
by Helen Yoest

We have entered the dog days of summer, and sure enough, these days my pup Pepper can often be found on the back patio’s daybed, lounging under the ceiling fan. This season, I start working in the garden in the early morning and continue throughout the day. If I can’t begin until later, I’ll skip working in the garden, grab a good book and tell Pepper to scoot over so I can join her. Be careful in the heat. Acclimate yourself and hydrate! 

Water, Water, Water

July is Raleigh’s wettest month, but rain events aren’t necessarily weekly. In dry spells, you’ll want to supplement watering, especially for new plants and vegetables. As a rule, water in the morning to reduce evaporation and target the base of the plant to keep the foliage dry. For containers, the smaller the pot, the more often you’ll want to water, especially if it’s located in full sun; larger pots in the shade may only need watering weekly. 

Welcome Monarchs

Got Milkweed? Native Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), are the only larval host plant for the monarch butterfly — their survival depends on it. Milkweed is a drought-tolerant plant that can still be planted now, giving it time to get situated to host monarchs on their return migration to Mexico, around September and October.

Harvest Your Veggies

Tomatoes are ripening, as are cucumbers, beans and summer squash. Pick your veggies when they’re ripe, otherwise they’ll go to seed, signaling the plant to stop producing. If you love tomatoes as much as I do, plant more this month — this’ll extend your tomato growing season through the first frost.

Deadhead (Or Don’t)

Many folks like to deadhead flowers like black-eyed Susans, coneflowers and shasta daisies to extend the blooming season and offer more fodder for pollinators. But if you let them go to seed, birds like goldfinch or chickadees will have more to feed on. I think doing half and half is the best of both worlds.  

This article originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.