The Best Garden Yet! - All 12 months

July 10, 2026 Fawn Rueckert

A few years ago a friend from Arizona reached out about gardening advise for a friend of hers. Her friend had moved from Arizona, growing zone 9b, to northern Utah, growing zone 6/7ish. Such a difference in growing conditions and climate!

Since then I have been writing posts of what I do in the garden for each month here on my urban farm in zone 6b/7a. They were written out of order, so below is the comprehesive list. I hope these posts help you have the best garden yet!

June-Coming soon

August-Coming soon!

October-Coming soon!

Best Garden Yet: December Edition

July 10, 2026 Fawn Rueckert

I almost decided to skip this month because after all who really gardens in December in Utah. But maybe we need a chance to chat about our beloved blooms during our hemisphere’s darkest month, right?

A December snowfall at Sego Lily Flower Farm

Outside-

Most likely your soil isn’t quite frozen yet, meaning you can still plant the last of the bulbs you’ve bought with the best intentions. While not ideal, it happens to all of us sometime.
The same goes for cleanup. If you haven’t yet, clean up anything that might reseed more than you want or anything diseased.
Postpone other tidying up if you can manage it. Lots of beneficial insects live in overwintering plant matter, so leave it for late winter or early spring clean up.
Hold off doing any pruning of trees or shrubs until things warm up later in late winter or early spring. A rule to remember-Don’t prune in any month that ends in “R” unless the branch has one of the 3 “D’s” going on. The 3 “D’s” are dead, diseased, or dumb -for example if a branch is blocking your driveway you can prune it to get it out of the way.

Inside- (you know that there will be at least a few snowy or rainy days this month)

Sharpen your tools! Treat those hard working tools to a little spa day. They will work much better for you when they're sharp and clean.
Divide your dahlia tubers. This gives you an idea of how much space you'll need to plant all your tubers, and if you have some to share.
Inventory your seeds
Make a list of gardening related gifts for your family to get you! Like gift certificates to Johnny’s Selected Seeds or a local nursery.

Just germinated Lisianthus seedlings-so tiny!!

Seeds to start -

Direct sown flowers-Any cool season direct sown flowers can go out now, they will wait for just the right conditions to germinate. Ammi, agrostemma, larkspur, nigella, bells of Ireland, bachelor buttons, bupleurum are all great options
Indoors- Lisianthus and trachelium, you can also start slow to germinate perennials like delphinium.

Happy gardening in December! See you with a new list in January.

The Snuck Farm Flowerhouse in December, my home away from home all winter and spring.

Best Garden Yet: July Edition

July 10, 2026 Fawn Rueckert

July in the garden is not for the faint of heart! It’s not the most pleasant month in the garden because of the heat, but spending some time in the early morning is a great way to beat the heat and get some time outdoors. I've made a list for you according to what I do here in my zone 6b/7a garden. By no means is it exhaustive, but it can give you a good idea of what you can plan to do this month in your garden.

Zinnias at Sego Lily Flower Farm in July

Outside-

Harvest! You’ve got to harvest or deadhead to keep those summer blooms going. Shoot for two to three times a week to get the blooms (and veggies) at just the right stage.
Deadheading is an important task in the cut flower garden, but you want to do it a little differently than you would in a landscape. Cut your old blooms down deep so that the fresh new growth will be on long usable stems. Deadhead any seed pods that you don’t want going to seed.
Keep weeding! I like to give myself a small daily goal of pulling weeds in just one area or snagging any weeds going to bloom. Then I’ll have a longer early morning or late evening session about once a week to keep things under control. This is when you are really grateful if you spent time weeding and mulching earlier in the season.
Take some time to enjoy your garden! Sit on a bench, swing in a hammock, watch the sunset or sunrise.
Train your veggies. If you are growing on a trellis or cattle panel take a moment every day or two to train vining plants like tomatoes or cucumbers up the trellis
Adjust your watering. It’s hot, your plants probably need more water than any other time of year.
Keep your birdbaths full of fresh clean water. Not only will the birds thank you but so will the thirsty beneficial insects.

A cucumber vine trained up a cattle panel trellis.

Inside-

Take notes of when varieties bloomed, any pest issues, flowers that you wish you had more of and those that you maybe had too much of, even your favorite color combos. You’ll be glad you have the notes when you go to plan next years garden.
Make sure you put on your sunscreen before heading out to the yard!
Order the bulbs you want to add to your garden in the fall. Some suppliers will offer a discount if ordered early.

Seeds to start -

Direct sown flowers- early in the month you have time to plant zinnias and sunflowers.
Indoors- look for any “cool season” flower seeds that you would like to fall plant, order them now to start indoors in August.
You can try veggies like zucchini if they have a short days to maturity.

Happy gardening in July! See you with a new list in August.