Attn Gardeners! Is July too late?

I'm going to be moving at the end of June and my new apartment has a small fenced patio in back. On two sides against the wall is a brick flowerbed. Is July too late for planting anything? If not, what could I plant that late in the summer, that is pretty, but non-toxic for kitty, and VERY low maintenance?

I have a bit of a black thumb... 4 out of 5 plants don't make it with me, so I don't want anything delicate that takes lots of work, and I don't know a weed from a bush, etc.

My boyfriend wants to plant some fresh basil and other herbs (have to check kitty toxic list first) but I'd like to have something pretty on my half.

Any suggestions???

It depends on where you will be, some areas have later planting times. What do you want to plant? flowers or veggies? By that time it would be too late for many veggies unless they're fast growing, such as some greens are.
If you're wanting flowers you can get them as plants but you might have to look at a nursery by that time. Pansies are non toxic and pretty.

Herbs you can get from started plants and should come back in spring, if the winters aren't very harsh.

I'm in Virginia and summers are very hot. It should have sun part of the day and shade part of the day, depending on which side I plant.

I'm just looking for some time of bush or flower for decoration, but like I said, I know nothing about plants and wouldn't have a clue what to get.

Pansies sound nice! I'll have to start looking for a local nursery.

The BF is a chef, so likes to have fresh herbs so we will definitely be planting those as long as they aren't toxic for kitty.

Thanks!

Depends what Zone your in... I actually have to wait till june here to plant but in Neb I planted in march ...plus depends what you want to grow and when the first frosts appear

Flowers would be ok to plant in pots - but not vegies. We'll be putting tomatoes and beans in the beginning of May.

Swiss chard is absolutely low maintenance, I grow it every year. I am already eating the chard I planted in January. In case you are not familiar with this vegetable, it resembles spinach but actually has much more nutritional value. A light frost will not kill it, the bugs leave it alone, and it is so prolific. Here in Texas by July or August, the heat will kill it, so I till up the garden and plant it again in September. If you are lucky, if you do not have a hard freeze, you will not have to replant it again like I did this January. And the most fantastic part about this vegetable is you simply go out with a pair of scissors and cut what you need and it will grow right back in a week. I just have a little 8 by 8 foot area that produces more chard than we and all our family can eat. You can eat it raw in salads or cook it like spinach. I guarantee you, with your black thumb you will have no problems growing this. In Virginia, if it gets really hot in July and August, I would plant in Early September but you can probably get by planting in August since it will mature in September. You cannot miss with Swiss Chard!!

Have never heard of Swiss Chard but I'll look it up if its easy to maintain!

I have no idea what zone I'm in or anything. I'm in Richmond, VA if that helps..

Hot humid summer, not much of a spring or fall... winter was pretty mild this year, but I've only been here for one so don't know what's normal.

I should hook you up with my sister-she lives in Charlottesville. I can check with what she would plant that time of year.
You might just want to try container gardening this year.
But for the following year look for the perennial -catmint "Walker's Low". I think its the perennial plant of the year. It takes poor soil, heat, drought and once it starts blooming (for me early June-you would be 2-3 weeks earlier??) it blooms for months without any maintenance. About 8 -10 weeks later it might get a bit floppy-all you have to do is chop it back several inches and it will regrow!!

I agree with Gail The cat mint is a good choice.I have 5 or 6 large bucnhes of it. And its in bloom almost all summer. Plus my cats love to roll in it. Another good choice would be Purple Cone Flower.Purple Cone Flower likes hot humid summers and full sun or light shade.
Pansies are a cool climate plant .So not a good choice. Even here in Maine they peter out by July.

Yup, catmint is great! Is it sun or shade? That makes a big difference in what to plant. Your local nursery could tell you what would be good based on your zone and the amount of daily sunlight the garden would get.

The catmint sounds great! I found a little nursery nearby the grocery store so I'm going to stop in there when it gets closer to moving time and see what they have. All of this is assuming that the previous tenants don't already have something nice planted there!

If they do, I may end up taking them out and planting fresh since I wouldn't know what their plants were or if they are toxic to kitty. I would like to have some vegetables but that will have to wait until next year so I can plant them earlier.

I've never really planted anything before, but since this place has the built in flowerbeds I want to try! Its kind of exciting

GailC - Charlottesville is only an hour or two away so the weather should be the same

Originally Posted by LokisMum

Yup, catmint is great! Is it sun or shade? That makes a big difference in what to plant. Your local nursery could tell you what would be good based on your zone and the amount of daily sunlight the garden would get.

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The brick bed is built up next to a tall wooden fence, so I'm assuming it would be shaded in morning then sunny after, or vice versa depending on which side of the patio I planted. I THINK the flowerbeds are on the east/west sides of the patio.

I am in N.H. and alot of perennials can still be planted in July - August. In fact daylilies and black-eyed susan plants generally get divided and re-planted at this time. This is also the time you may see annuals on sale - they would do well in pots or in the ground. Geraniums and Portulaca are very resistant and tolerate sun. I think if you Googled a question on toxic plants for pets, you would find out just what you can and can't plant. Also, if you keep your cats indoors, then that wouldn't be a problem, either! Do you have a high wall so that your kids can't go AWOL?