If you thought July was hot, then you had better buckle before August is full steam ahead. The steamy temperatures and blazing sunlight are not going anyplace, and your plants are showing off or slowing down. It is time to prepare for the autumn show and select the bounty that you’ve worked for all summer.
Amy Renea
While the temperatures are scorching now, cool weather will be within a couple months, so now is the time to begin seeding cool-season plants. I love planting another run of greens like chard (pictured), spinach and an assortment of lettuces. Wait for a summer rainstorm and get out there and seed!
Amy Renea
Have you harvested your potatoes? Your plants should be looking brown by now, and roots should’ve started releasing their hold on the floor. Pull up curry plants by the base if they’re in loose soil or use a scoop to dig up the harvest.
Amy Renea
The bounty from many plants is incredible if they’re planted from supermarket potatoes.
Amy Renea
Tomatoes are still going strong, so keep choosing them to maintain that plant producing to the close of the month. Store them as sauces or dry them.
Amy Renea
You can dry tomatoes and other fruits and herbs at the oven on its lowest setting, or use a commercial dehydrator. Alternatively, you can rig up a homemade version with scrap wood, display pieces and glass panels.
Amy Renea
Harvest spices, such as allspice (at left in picture ), when the plant has gone brown and the seeds have dried. Alternatively, select fragrant flowers like lavender (at right in photo) when the plant is still green.
Amy Renea
Vegetables, fruits and seeds are not the only things worth harvesting this season. The autumn flower show starts early with one of my favorite pepper plants, sedum. Blooming in shades of pink from brilliant to subdued, sedum blossoms are amazing in their own right.
Amy Renea
To show them off, strip the plants of leaves and cluster the blossoms together for intriguing arrangements. To create a wreath of sedum, merely cut the stems, place them four or them to a pit in a wreath shape and secure.
The Sedum Secret
Amy Renea
Hibiscus and other mallows are going strong at the beginning of the month. These large, tropical-looking plants are in fact quite hardy from the Mid-Atlantic area’s USDA zone 6 climate, so plant them with confidence. They bloom in shades of pink, white, red and yellow with huge, frilly petals. They spread easily by layering, so try one as a base plant for the deck or pool.
Amy Renea
Grasses are lovely this season. It’s their time to show off, putting out lacy plumes that dancing in the wind and after from the low autumn sun. Do not be scared to insert grasses into traditional flower arrangements for a spin on the norm.
Amy Renea
Whether you are picking the bounty of the season, planting for one more cool-season crop or preserving the goods for the winter, August is a month of bounty. Enjoy the last days of summer, but keep your eyes toward the future. Fall will soon be here shortly, and the garden is going to be placed to sleep until we know it.