 Photo Courtesy Of Laxmi NatarajanThe Ganesha, acquired during travel, can create a personal space in the garden when placed atop a tree stump. This summer solstice month is a wonderful time for gardeners as we wake up early to beautiful mornings. The first few hours provide precious outdoor time to look around the garden, cut some flowers, harvest the first of the summer veggies and prepare the garden for the summer. We have the long evening hours to tend to the garden and enjoy the growing and blossoming changes. The early perennials are blooming everywhere. The sunny weather beckons us to enjoy the outdoors, to work, play and entertain in our backyards, patios and gardens a little more. It is a time to use the outdoors, be it a big estate-style backyard or a small patio, and enjoy nature. A few thoughtful ideas can make the backyard more accessible, appealing and inviting during this season. Clear overgrown shrubs and bushes, remove the clutter, mend broken fences, clean existing water features, repair broken lights, clean the grill, fix irrigation heads and rearrange the furniture to provide an inviting space. This time of the year, work in the garden is all about preparing for cultivation, providing mulching and beautifying the area. Weeding and mulching is very beneficial as it conserves moisture and nutrients in the soil and reduces the spread of disease and insects. You can plant summer vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants and herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Plant a few Bush beans every other week to stagger the production. Make sure to provide support for vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers with a wire cage or trellis. Use good compost to improve soil composition for growing your vegetables and plan for protecting your harvest from critters. Some of the young fruit trees have begun to drop their fruits, nature’s way of thinning to a manageable crop size. Clean up the fallen fruits. Citrus and apple trees may need a little help. You could manually pick some of the fruits so that the remaining will benefit and mature with extra flavor. Protect vulnerable fruits such as strawberries and blueberries from birds, squirrels and rabbits with nets or row covers. Sometimes a splash of color with annuals or a few perennials in the flowerbed can do the trick to brighten up a space. Deadhead (remove the faded flowers) your existing annuals and herbaceous perennials to keep them blooming longer. Stake tall perennials and train annual and perennial vines on supports. Introduce some native plants in your garden. Spring flowering shrubs like lilac and forsythia can be pruned as soon as they finish blooming. Mid to late June is an excellent time to take softwood cuttings of shrubs to start new plants. You can achieve garden beautification in many creative ways. Use statuary, container gardens and garden art to bring fun and personality to your space. Add drama with architectural plants like Phormiums, palms and various varieties of succulents. Add a bright color to an outside wall or a fence, line a fence with bamboo mats that can be rolled out, change the cushions on a bench or chairs, add candles or solar lights, or hang paper lanterns or inspirational flag sets. Individualize an area by adding personal collectibles. Install a bird feeder and provide water to welcome the birds. A wind chime placed where it can intercept the breeze will provide soothing sounds. For a special gathering, pick flowers from the garden and arrange them in a vase, add a colorful tablecloth on an outdoor table, light some candles, serve a glass of wine and maybe appetizers or dinner. Enjoy the quiet mornings, long evenings and the beautiful light. Take all or just a few of these suggestions or simply soak in the essence of your garden that glows in June and await the summer joys ahead. Laxmi Natarajan is a landscape/garden designer specializing in residential design and container gardens. For more information, call 703-9756 or visit www.bagicha.com. | 
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