August -Your garden during the pandemic

Plant, Tend, and Journal

• Plant Oriental poppies.
• ​Still time to sow cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds in flats for fall planting.
• Sow cool season biennials and perennials in flats to set out in the fall but keep the flats moist and shaded. ​

Pruning and Cleaning Up

•  This is a good time to look carefully at your trees and shrubs to see how healthy they are and prune out deadwood removing the lower canes from shrubs.
• Prune maples and birches​

Fertilize and Mulch

• Pine needles, rotted sawdust, straw, and leaves make great mulch.
• ​Mulch poppies with oak or sycamore leaves.
  
• Mulching flowerbeds improves soil texture.​

Chores

•  Deadhead phlox, yarrow, and daylilies for rebloom.
• Trim brown foliage from bleeding heart and peonies and discard. 
  
• Take root cuttings of azelea , holly and hydrangea. 
• Order bulbs for fall planting.
  
• Peonies can be moved this month but must be watered well.

Tips:  

• During the hot and dry weather of August, try to water early to minimize water loss from evaporation.
• Avoid deep cultivation in your flower beds when the weather is hot and dry because loosening soil under those conditions reduces water uptake by increasing loss of soil water and damaging surface roots. 
• Freeze herbs in water- chop fresh herbs, place in an ice cube tray, cover with water and freeze in a plastic bag - to create a tasty flavor cube to add to soups and stews.
• As always, keep your tools clean and clean your tools as you move from plant to plant. 
• Wear gloves for all of your gardening and yard chores;  protect your skin from sun, dirt, bugs, and poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac.  ​

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Thanks to Suzanne Aiello who compiled these tips for the Dolley Madison Garden Club.