Five Things to Do In Your Garden in August

The heavy work of spring and the glory of June roses may be over. But that doesn't mean it's time to hang up your gardening gloves. There's still lots to do in the garden. These five things will keep your garden looking good all year.
A few simple tasks to get your garden looking it's best as we head into the cooler season (sorry for the reminder).
Divide Oriental poppies - As with many perennials, poppies go into a semi-dormancy once they've finished blooming. By lifting the plant completely from the ground and splitting it into smaller portions, you'll be reviving your poppy plus getting new plants to grow somewhere else.
Take cuttings from geraniums for overwintering - save money and get bigger plants by taking 6" stem cuttings, dipping them in root hormone and potting up to keep over the winter. This works particularly well with Martha Washington geraniums.
Fertilize your roses - use a good rose fertilizer or alfalfa meal to give your rose bushes one last feed before the fall. By doing this now, you'll have stronger bushes heading into the winter.
Cut back any water sprouts from your flowering trees and shrubs. Water sprouts are long, thin branches that grow directly up from a horizontal branch. They won't produce flowers and will sap energy from the main tree. They are particularly rampant on magnolias and lilacs (where they like to grow from the base of the plant too).
Order your spring bulbs. If you're like me, your mailbox is stuffed with catalogs from nurseries offering all sorts of deals on bulbs. By ordering them now, you will get the best selection (and some of the best prices). Invest an hour now going through your garden to see where you need some spring colour. You'll be glad you did.
Heather (New House New Home)
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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 4 comments
  • Kim Smith Kim Smith on Aug 03, 2014
    Oh no, it's the 3rd and I am behind already. As usual. LOL
  • Patty Gentile Patty Gentile on Aug 10, 2014
    My tomato leaves are turning yellow on the container plants. What does this mean? Also on the one tomato plant, besides the leaves turning yellow, each tomato has formed a brown spot on the whole bottom of each tomato making that part unable to eat. Does anyone have a solution?
    • @Patty Gentile Hi Patty - well I'm no expert but both your problems are probably due to uneven watering - either too much all at once with drought in between or inconsistent watering - make sure you water evenly weekly (about 1" per week). You can remove the yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant without harming it.
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