Gardeners need to be tough, but when it comes to killing plants, I’m a big softy.

For six years — yes, SIX YEARS — I have put off some dirty, detestable work. And, for six years I have cursed my weak resolve.

Planted too close to the house and too close to each other, two shrubs suffer in my front yard. They get very little water. They have very little room to grow. They are right next to the faucet and get abused by the hose as I water other plants in the yard.

Every winter I vow to kill them. Every spring I have a change of heart. One year, I want to chop down the high-bush cranberry. The next year, it is the arborvitae that must go.

As you can see from the photo, both are obviously miserable. Neither are aesthetically pleasing.

What would you do with these poorly planted shrub? Keep ‘em, kill ‘em, or kick the can down the road?

Are you a softy, too? Or are you the type of gardener who gets tough with tough love?

As we northern gardeners know (and often re-learn the hard way), rabbits will eat anything. No plant, shrub or veggie is safe from these three-pound pests. GG reader, Judybusy discovered that her azalea got a most severe and undeserved pruning over the winter:

Hi Ladies!

Thanks for any help!

My tulips are toast, but with your help Judybusy’s bushes just might survive. Anyone have a tip or two to resurrect this sorry shrub?

You’re not alone. The end of July is the hottest part of the growing season and our five day forecast is less than encouraging. High heat and humidity can really deal a blow to healthy lawns and gardens. Your flowers, grass, even your established trees may be having a hard time dealing with the high temps and drought conditions.

This afternoon, I got the skinny from Mary McGuire Lerman with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. She says it’s time to give our thirsty trees and shrubs a nice long drink. Healthy plants help keep a house — and the overheated gardeners hiding inside — nice and cool during these tough weather conditions. (Check out the latest Dirt on Gardening podcast for more information.)

How are you going to help out your plants? Do you have special tricks you use to help your plants beat the heat?

GG reader Tom writes:
Do you have any suggestions for growing grass under pine trees? I have a row of mature pines that border my property. I know they are acidic, but I would like to have some kind of ground cover, and would prefer some type of grass.

Foamflower is your friend

Here’s the scoop:
It’s pretty hard to grow grass under pine trees. Even grass seed mixes for shade may not do so well because the shade tends to be so deep and the roots of the pine trees so shallow. If you remove some of the lower the limbs of the tree, you may be able to grow grass. But a shade-tolerant ground cover is a better idea.

So consider planting something made for the shade:
Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorhizum)
Spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum)
Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)
Barrenwort (Epimedium spp.)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
or that Minnesota favorite, hosta.

What do you have growing under your conifer canopy? Do you have any low maintenance solutions for Tom?