Living near the beach gives all of us a great excuse to prepare our homes
for summer. Slipcovers, sisal rugs, market umbrellas, sunflowers--all of
these elements say relax your body, renew your spirit, and rekindle that
youthful exuberance that is the cornerstone of summer.
Start with the garden.
Your efforts here will reward you 1,000 times over. What better way to be
greeted when you come home than with floral sentries at your front door?
No matter what scheme your garden has the rest of the year, summer is the
season for big, tall, colorful and fun.
Plant some delphiniums: the bigger, the bluer, the better. Clump them
together for dramatic effect. The giant Pacific hybrids grow up to 8 feet
high and come in colors that scream the season: "summer skies" is a light
blue variety, "blue bird" has medium azure coloring and "blue jay"
flowers are dark hued.
Dahlias are another garden giant that can grow more than 6 feet in
stature. They come in every color except true blue and have flower heads
that make dramatic displays of vibrant fuchsia, orange and chartreuse.
With blooms up to a foot in width, dahlias add bright splashes in summer
plantings.
Next come the seasonal standbys: sunflowers. As their popularity has
exploded over the years, so have the varieties and availability of seeds
and seedlings. You may make a garden almost entirely of sunflowers if
you choose.
They are tough plants and tolerate most garden conditions. Plant the
dwarf varieties in the front border and add the towering plants (reaching
up to 10 feet) in the back.
Sunflowers bring a sense of accomplishment with them. Few flowers are so
easy to grow and so mammoth in size.
Who can suppress a grin when spotting these garden giants smiling down
with a face that looks like sunshine? And you can roast the seeds and let
the kids enjoy this messy snack outside. Save a few heads for the birds
to enjoy in fall and winter.
Then, it's time to prepare for relaxing outside so you are enjoy the
fruits of your garden efforts.
Wash off the patio furniture, get the cushions out of storage and get the
big umbrellas set up in their stands. Let your patio and outdoor area be
an extension of your home.
Hey, it's summer; you can eat dinner alfresco every night if you wish.
Just make sure your outdoor furniture has had the appropriate tuneups.
And if you need to run to get another umbrella for shading your garden
bench--do it now.
Make the outside as inviting as the inside. Stock up on citronella
