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What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. ~ Gertrude Jekyll Our special guest speaker for June is Charlie Marquardt. Charlie is a former teacher who is now the interpretive ranger at Oak Glen Preserve. He started working for The Wildlands Conservancy in 2012 at their Bluff Lake Reserve after moving from Philadelphia to Southern California. He holds masters degrees from the University of New Hampshire and Johns Hopkins University, and assists the Botanic Garden Director, Dr. Tim Krantz of University of Redlands in maintaining the plant flora records for all three mountain preserves - Oak Glen, Bearpaw and Bluff Lake. And now back on the garden front… The longest day of the year falls on June 21. What to do in the June flower garden: If your hanging basket plants become leggy, trim off the excess to encourage bushy new growth. Continue to thin out drifts of hardy annuals if they're overcrowded. Lift and divide clumps of snowdrops and bluebells once the leaves start to yellow. Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of bulbs. Wait for old foliage to die down naturally before cutting back. Pinch out the tips of fuchsias to encourage a bushy habit with more flowers. Start to pick sweet peas as soon as they flower to encourage more blooms. Deadhead your roses if they're repeat-flowering types. Deadhead and cut back oriental poppies after flowering, cutting them close to ground level as this will stimulate new foliage. Stake tall and floppy perennial plants to prevent wind damage. Prune out overcrowded dead stems of evergreen clematis when they have finished flowering to maintain a good shape. As new shoots grow, use soft ties to train climbing plants such as honeysuckle and clematis to their supports. Towards the end of June if your hardy geraniums have finished flowering, cut them back to encourage new foliage and flowers. Remember, you don't have to be a gardener to join! For membership contact Sherry Case at (951) 533- 3584 or Linda Powers at (951) 769-3101. For general information contact President, Pam Mikkelsen at (951) 797-3080. Please support the Garden Club by purchasing See's Candy gift certificates from Maureen Keeney at (951) 797- 0011 or Janie Haughn at (909) 556-0577. 50 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | JUNE 2019 | Garden Club