Get out your calendar and make a note to yourself about these important dates in the month of July:

July is the cutoff date for pruning and shearing woody plants, and here’s why: Pruning and shearing stimulate new green growth, which won’t have time to harden off completely before winter. Pruning and shearing after July can cause winter burn on the tender new growth.

July is also the ideal time to start your Bermudagrass control program.

To kill Bermudagrass in lawns you must spray selective Bermudagrass killer twice, first in July and again in August.

By September you should have successfully eliminated the Bermudagrass in your lawn, just in time for September seeding. A special bonus is that Bermudagrass killer kills crabgrass, too.

Here’s a timely tip for gardeners interested in wildlife and native plants. The Cincinnati Museum Center has a free exhibit called “Caring for the Worlds within Our Yards,” where you can learn nature-friendly lawn care practices and explore what you can do in your own backyard to create sanctuary for an amazing array of interesting and beautiful animals, insects and plants.

Learn about planting native plants and flowers, appreciating and attracting backyard wildlife of all kinds and dealing with yard and garden pests in more environmentally-sensitive ways.

This free exhibit is open daily through Aug. 19 in the Ruthven Gallery at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

July 27 is the last date to reserve a seat on our Philadelphia Garden Tour coming up this September. If you want to come with us and haven’t made your arrangements yet, you need to act now.

See the “Bus Tours” page at www.goodseedfarm.com or call Croswell Tours at 800-782-8747.

A July visit to the Cincinnati Zoo Botanical Garden can inspire you with ideas of how different annuals perform and look in a landscape setting.

Over 20,000 annuals are planted and labeled each year throughout the Zoo, one of the largest Annual Trial/Display programs in the Tri-State region. Learn which annuals provide the most color and impact with the easiest of care.

The Annual Trials are a cooperative effort with The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Flower Growers Association and The Ohio State University Extension Horticulture Program in Hamilton County.

Steve Boehme is the owner of GoodSeed Nursery & Landscape, located on Old State Route 32 three miles west of Peebles. More information is available online at www.goodseedfarm.com or call (937) 587-7021.