By Sarina Rattler
For the Salisbury Post

The summer solstice has arrived bringing with it the familiar heat and drought that Southern gardeners are accustomed to handling. Personally, this is my most dreaded time of year. There are days at Hurley Park where we spend the entire day watering trees, shrubs and perennials. Oftentimes these are our newly planted selections, but even established plants can suffer through the heat of a southern summer.

From last fall to early spring staff added 14 new trees around the park. Some include replacements, such as three Fringetrees (Chionanthus virginicus) at Haden’s Gazebo that were damaged by the tree fall on the gazebo last summer. Others are new to the park like the redbuds and serviceberry at Gordon’s Gathering Place. Even though they had a few months to acclimate to their new home, these trees can still suffer through their first summer. If you are in the same position with a new tree, remember to water thoroughly and deeply. This will help the roots grow deeper, giving the tree more resilience to drought in the coming years. If you didn’t add mulch to a garden or tree ring when you started it, it’s not too late and will help keep the soil moist and weeds down throughout the rest of the summer. Just be sure to keep yourself watered along the way, too.

I would like to also highlight a few of our established perennials that stand up to the drier summer conditions. Keeping in mind that these have been established in the ground for over a year — The purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) do exceptionally well in the summer. Similarly, the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia sp.) are a great choice for the hands-off gardener. Many gardeners prefer native perennials for this simple reason — less watering. This includes perennials such as butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.) and passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), all of which can be found at Hurley Park. Take a look around your garden this summer and make a plan to add drought-resistant perennials this fall to enjoy the colorful blooms next summer.

For updates about Hurley Park, follow our Facebook or Instagram @HurleyParkNC. You can make a donation to Hurley Park, by visiting our website at salisburync.gov/hurleypark. If you have any additional questions or would like to book the park for an event, please give us a call at 704-638-5298.

Sarina Rattler is public garden supervisor for Salisbury Parks and Recreation.