MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sunday turned out to be a decent day for a walk in the garden, especially for those in Cooper Young.
The Cooper Young “Garden Walk” took place in the historic neighborhood. The seventh annual event gave participants the opportunity to show off their natural creations. This year's theme was "Hats Off to Gardeners."
'Garden Walking' in Memphis
So what can Memphians do to keep their gardens green, even if they don't live in Cooper Young?
Mark Pitts is the plant propagator at Dabney’s Nursery. He’s been in the nursery business for more than 40 years and said the biggest thing needed is water.
“That’s the critical thing that you got to maintain during this summer hours,” he said. “The heat and the humidity just drains the soil. New plants have a hard time getting established in this heat if you’re not manually watering them.”
Pitts said such plants need a minimum of at least an inch of water every week.
"If you’re getting at least an inch a week you are probably OK," he said. "Less than that, you probably need to do some additional watering on new plants.”
As soon as the sun comes up (the first few hours of the morning) are usually the best hours to work in the yard, according to Pitts.
“After they make it through the first year, they may well be established. But when we have times of drought in the Mid-South—August and September—even old established plants need attention and might need extra water,” Pitts said
Still, before it even gets too hot is when gardeners should prepare, according to Don Klotwog of Dabney's Nursery.
“You’ve got to prepare for the heat before it gets hot,” Klotwog said. “Know the needs of your plants. You need to know your plant.”
