Michelle’s Mid-Summer Musings: Slugs, Sun & Getting Back to the Garden

Hello friends,

Let’s just call it what it was—this past spring was a soggy, slug-filled, fungus-fueled mess. For weeks, I felt more like a puddle-splasher than a plant whisperer. But good news: summer is officially here, the sun has returned, and it’s time to shake off the mildew, hose off our trowels, and get back to the garden with a fresh dose of joy.

If you’ve been in the store lately, you’ve probably seen the same thing we have: gardeners on a mission. Not deterred. Not discouraged. Just determined. Whether it’s black spot on the roses, slugs in the hostas, or a little tomato trouble, you’re all asking the right questions and tackling the challenges head-on. That’s the kind of gardening grit my grandmother would’ve admired.

Speaking of my grandmother—when I first started writing our garden blog many, many moons ago, I would post a monthly “List of Garden Chores,” full of  what I considered helpful to-dos, tips, and tricks passed down from her and from my own hands-in-the-dirt experience. Then one year, I sat in on a marketing seminar where the speaker firmly declared, “Never use the word ‘chore’—you’ll scare people away!” Dutiful student that I was, I swapped out chores for blog articles about cool new plants and easy-peasy design ideas.

But time has made me older and, hopefully, wiser. You, my fellow plant people, aren’t afraid of a little honest dirt. You don’t need me to sugarcoat the reality that rain brings fungus or that earwigs are jerks. So with these Lakeview enewsletters, I’m bringing back my beloved lists—but with a rebrand – it’s a list without being called a list! 

Because digging in the garden is what we do, and plant geeks is who we are, these newsletter are full of helpful, hopeful, and honest advice to keep your garden growing strong.

As always, thank you for growing with us—rain or shine!

With dirty hands and a full heart,
Michelle and the Lakeview Plant Geeks