Seasonal Care of the Garden
Shrubs
As they finish blooming, prune summer-flowering trees and shrubs that bloom on new wood any time from now to mid-April.
Continue dead-heading roses but allow hips to form on species such as Rosa rugosa, R. glauca, and others with attractive autumn display.
Prune to encourage repeat bloom on remontant varieties of roses.
Fertilize roses for last time before winter.
Perennials
Continue routine chores such as dead-heading and staking as necessary.
Water deeply if weather is dry.
Plant Oriental poppies early in month. If available, plant peonies, and bulbs of colchicum.
Continue weeding, watering, and insect control in both flower and vegetable gardens.
Collect seed as it matures on perennials such as Echinacea purpurea, Prairie coneflower, which are easily raised from seed.
Annuals
Take cuttings of tender annuals such as named varieties of coleus in mid to late August.
Collect seed on Mirabilis jalapa, Four O'Clock; Nicotiana langsdorffii, green flowering tobacco; cleome; cosmos, and other annuals easily raised from open-pollinated seed.
Bulbs
Place catalog orders now for fall delivery.
Consider planting fall flowering crocus and colchicum which will flower in just a few weeks after planting.
Continue monthly feeding with liquid fertilizer, but not if a time release fertilizer was applied at planting time.
Vegetables
Later in month begin sowing cool weather crops such as lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula, beets and radish.
Create slings from old pantyhose to cradle developing pumpkins, melons, winter squash on trellises.
Lawns
Continue as in June: Mow regularly, removing no more than one-third of the grass blades.
Frequent mowing means you can leave clippings on lawn, returning nitrogen to the soil.
Water Gardens
Clean up dead leaves and spent flowers on water lilies.
Fertilize early in month with balanced slow-release fertilizer.
Continue treating for mosquitoes with Mosquito Dunks is your pond does not include guppies or goldfish.
Miscellaneous
Water garden if natural rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. This is especially important for lawns.
KEEP WEEDING!