You can still sow seeds for Armenian cucumbers, cantaloupes, okra, cosmos and sunflowers and transplant heat-loving annuals such as vinca, salvia, portulaca (moss rose) and globe amaranth. Flowers are blooming; the roses are beautiful and the glads and lilies are starting to bloom. Hibiscus in may colors are rampant as is the bougainvillea. If you have a pond, the water lilies are in full bloom. Pick off spent blooms from flowers and pay careful attention to watering and disease control.
Remember, keep the spent blooms cut from your flowers as much as possible to prolong the bloom. Once they bloom, they want to set seed and then they think their job is finished. Water is critical for plant growth so it is important to water regularly and deeply. Don't sprinkle in the sun, it may burn your plants and too much water is lost to evaporation. How dry our desert air is! The best way I have found to water veggies is to mound the dirt up in a berm around all the plants of one kind or similar moisture needs and let water trickle slowly in until it has saturated down to root level. A thick layer of mulch (3" - 6") helps to keep plant roots cool and holds in moisture. As the mulch deteriorates, it also adds humus and nutrients to the soil. Some alternate watering methods are: drip watering, which never seemed to work right for me, soaker hose, which is great for a small area, and trench watering, for which you would have to plan when planting - you raise the planting rows and water in the trenches between. I prefer planting in basins with mulch as it seems easier to get the necessary amount of water to the plant roots.
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