For gardeners, each month comes with different garden tasks to complete, whether it’s planting, seeding, pruning, amending the soil or replanting tired containers. August is no different. In fact, some of the most important garden duties take place during this last full month of summer.
The days are still long and warm, but shorter days and cooler nights are coming. Right now, your garden probably looks exhausted, a sign it’s time to tidy things up. The work you do this month will refresh your garden and get it through the early autumn stretch with beauty that will last till first frost.
August through September is a good time to transplant your perennials. Moving them now, while they are full size, will help you select the best positions for them in your garden. It will also reveal bare spots that can be filled in with fall-planted bulbs. Come spring, you’ll have a garden full of blooming plants with no glaring gaps.
August is also a good month for collecting seeds as your annuals and perennials begin going to seed. Harvest seeds only when seed heads are completely dry—don’t harvest under damp conditions. After harvesting, store the seeds in a container labeled for next growing season.
Start deadheading your dahlias as their blooms fade. This will ensure continued flowering well into autumn.
Give flowering shrubs a good soak if conditions are dry. Do this each week for the next couple of months. Certain flowering shrubs—camellias and azaleas, for example—form their flower buds in late summer and autumn, so their spring performance is largely determined over the coming weeks.
Trim your hedges. This not only helps them hold their shape, it restores a lushness to their appearance.
And don’t forget to order your fall bulbs—now! Depending on your garden zone, bulbs need to be planted in September, October or November. Planning ahead and ordering today the bulbs you’ll need later will make planting and growing a breeze.
It’s full speed ahead as we prepare for the next growing season—and I’m excited about what the gardens and fields have in store!
Happy Gardening!
Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden