VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - If you haven't started your garden yet, there's still plenty of time.
June 6-12 is National Garden Week; a time of year when most of the country can get growing, Mike Westphal, McDonald Garden Center 'Garden Guru' says.
That's the cool thing about this area is we can garden pretty much 12 months out of the year," he told News 3.
Westphal says no matter what you're planting, planning out your garden is a great first step.
You can find help at your local gardening shop, but find out what you want to plant and where to plant them. His suggestion? Think colorful and tropical.
"Lantana is one of my personal favorites. It's a very easy blooming plant, it blooms all summer long. Very drought tolerant," said Westphal. "Portulaca is one of my favorites. It blooms all summer long and it is a succulent."
And if you're looking to grow fruits and veggies, the standards, like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and more grow through the summer, according to Westphal, and it doesn't take much space.
"We can do raised-bed gardens, we can do container gardens so you can grow vegetables in a small space on a deck or porch or patio or you can grow them out in your yard in a bigger garden," he said.
What will be different is how you water your plants during the summer.
"What we tell people is water deep, less often, especially when you're planting in the landscape. We've had some dry spells, we just went through a big dry spell. We've got some rain now, but the best thing to do is water deep, less often. Then, of course, your pots, your hanging baskets, they're going to need a little bit more water," said Westphal.
For more information on growing your summer garden and other advice on gardening, click HERE.
