August in the garden is a magical place. The flower summer display is at its peak, pollinators are bustling with more zucchini than they know what to do. But that doesn’t mean there’s no gardening work in August!
By the time August rolls, summer dog days are right there. All the efforts we have spent on building our garden this year are minus one or two projects.
Now the focus is on keeping your garden fun! In August, you can enjoy the bounty of all the edible plants and the beautiful decorations of Peak Bloom.
These are all gardening tasks in August that I like to tackle. How to keep your garden happy during the summer, or how to enjoy the space in its glory.
I’ll cover this post…
1. Fill the garden with water
Needless to say, the biggest challenge in August is watering. Your annuals, bulbs and vegetables will often need to be watered. When it’s very hot, this means every day. Also, the container plants are drying much faster, so I check them almost every day.
Unless we’re experiencing a massive heat wave and drought, I don’t worry too much about my perennials. Your perennials are pretty good at telling you if you need water, such as sagging or crispy leaves.
Try using these conservation tips to reduce your water needs. And are you heading for vacation? Use these plant sitters to keep your garden boning down.
2. Dead Head Flower
The key to getting more flowers is deadlock. This is when you remove the heads of used flowers before going to seed. Next, the plants produce more flowers to replace what they just lost.
This works on many plants, mostly mulched plants. Others have me regularly include Dahlia, Lavender, Hollyhock, Petunia, Shasta Daisy, Dianthus and others in my deadhead. I’ll list more in this post.
Some flowers leave them behind, like roses, poppies, nigella, iris, alliums, etc., because I like the head of the seeds.
3. Fertilization
In August I still fertilize plants that I want to bloom. Remember, you only want to fertilize during the aggressive growth season. Fertilization can be stopped if the plant is approaching harvest time. Perennials often do not require fertilizer even during this time of year.
It is recommended to prioritize not only the plants in the container, but also flowering plants such as bulbs and cut flowers. Fertilize once a month with granular fertilizer or twice a month with liquid fertilizer. I use only organic fertilizers because it is safer and better used.
4. Place the flowers
Speaking of cut flowers, why not cut flowers from your garden and bring them indoors? The bounty of flowers in August is always spectacular and can be enough to bring some to your neighbors indoors or to enjoy a gift.
To make the most of your cut flowers, you will want to harvest them on the mornings when the plants are most hydrated and then put them in water immediately. Choose flowers before they bloom. This way, it lasts a long time in a vase and does not remove pollen or seeds indoors.
5. weed
Weeding is a never-ending task during the growing months. It’ll be late by August as the plants I chose are now busy beds and lack of rain prevent new seeds from germinating.
That being said, weekly weeding is always a good idea. I walk around the garden every day to check the plants. Just five minutes a day can make a huge difference.
6. Practice the safety of the sun
Don’t forget to keep the safety of the sun in mind while doing all these August gardening tasks. There are many things you can do to protect yourself, such as wearing a hat, sunscreen and long sleeves.
That being said, the best thing you can do is avoid the sun in the first place. I like gardens in the mornings and evenings. If you are outside during peak sun hours, try your best to stay in the shade and under the umbrella.
7. Pest control
Another major maintenance task is to keep up with pests that may appear. I’m all organic gardening so I deal with pests by looking at the food chain and seeing how they move and change what they’re eating, or eat something!
For example, ladybugs are great for controlling aphids. Also include plants to attract aphids and keep them away from more valuable plants. Companion planting is a great habit to help with pest control. And when I’m dealing with really tricky pests, I make my natural pest control batches.
8. Enables and preserves harvesting
August is when many plants begin to show off their bounty. Hopefully, you will practice some inheritance gardening and hope your harvest will expand. But even with careful planning, we can have more than we know what to do.
After you share what you can eat and from your harvest, save some to save for the cold season. Make jam from pickled vegetables, fruits and berries, make dried herbs, and save petals for craft projects.
9. Help the pollinators
In the thickness of summer, we are not the only ones who are thirsty and can go to the splash in the pool. Consider adding a bee bath or butterfly puddler to help small pollinators get their water safely.
You can also add hummingbird feeders to change sugar water quite regularly in the heat, or swim feeders for local songbirds.
10. Take care of your body
A few hours in the garden is a full body workout and don’t forget to treat your body kindly. Before gardening, try doing some light stretches to prepare your muscles. Keep your water bottles outside and stay hydrated by taking frequent breaks.
As someone who started gardening as a way to deal with chronic disorders, I had to adapt my approach to gardening many times, including the garden itself. Here are some tips for using your garden to heal, as well as some gardening tips when dealing with back pain.
11. Enjoy the backyard
Your garden doesn’t have to be all work and you don’t play. Take some time every day to enjoy your garden. Sit down and enjoy cocktails and mocktails with garden ingredients. We will hold a garden party to enjoy a portion of the harvest and friends and flower companies. Sit outside, read that summer beach, and read everyone’s stories.
At the end of the season, I like to clean all my gardening tools very well. However, cleaning your tools intermittently is also a good idea to prevent them from rusting or breaking. All tools are easily wiped with disinfectant to avoid spreading disease and sharpen pruning or trimming items.
13. Renovating the planter
By the end of August, some of the plants we started in the summer may no longer be in pristine condition. At the end of the month, many autumn and cool flowers and annual plants are on sale. Get some to revitalize your planters at your entrance or patio and trade annuals past summer prime.
14. Making garden crafts
I love to be creative and use my hands to create beautiful, garden-inspired art. Sometimes I include the kid, we make a day out of it, and at other times I make items to decorate the house and share them with others.
There are many craft projects in the perfect summer blog, including DIY citronella candles, cyano-type sunscreen cards, printing flowers on fabric, creating dried flower arrangements, pressing flowers with homemade wooden presses, and making clay leaf dishes using garden plants.
15. Calendula Summer Lotion Bar
Here, it is no secret that I love natural beauty products. I always want to know and trust the ingredients I wear my skin. Every summer I always make batches of calendula lotion, from all the calendula that bloom in my garden.
These summer lotion bars are perfect for moisturizing your skin after a day, especially in the sun. They moisturize without the weight of thick lotion suitable for winter.
And all of these are the gardening tasks in August I work at this time of year. What tasks will you prioritize in your garden during August? Please let me know in the comments below.
Working on more August gardening tasks
With a city girl who learned to garden, it changed everything. Author, artist, master gardener. A better life through plants.
