Mary Mary August 2010

August 2010 August is the perfect time to spend in the garden as the weather and the evenings are normally very pleasant. I find a lot of peace and solace just shaping up my garden. Sometimes just having people over for a BBQ is the incentive one needs to get things in order in the garden.  Part of the pleasure of gardening for me is sharing it with friends and neighbors so sharing plants and cuttings are one way to do so. Making your own garden a sanctuary and refuge can be a pleasing and inviting project for the end of summer. Deadheading always brings great satisfaction as it is an easy and quick way to enhance the health and the look of your garden in a hurry. Now is the time to take cuttings of geraniums (pelargoniums), giving them away or planting them directly into the ground, watering every three days until they are rooted. Pinching the established geraniums, dahlias and mums keeps them in shape. Plant fall vegetables, fertilize citrus, roses, azaleas, gardenias, lawns. Hope you already repotted your cymbidiums because it is too late to do so in Aug. in order for them to establish a good root system before winter. If you don’t know alstromeria (Peruvian lilies), do plant some, they give you months of great bloom and cut flowers. By the way, when you gather alstromeria’s, don’t cut them, you are supposed to pull them up and then cut them the length you need, it stimulates the root growth.  Mine have been blooming since March. August is pruning time for the shrubs that flower on the wood they made the previous year, such as weigelia, spirea, wisteria, azaleas, and philadelphus. Prune annuals such as pansies, marigolds, and bedding dahlias. If you really want annuals, (I don’t plant them), some choices are bedding begonias, impatiens, petunias, zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos. Plant chrysanthemums in Aug. for fall color. Plant herbs such as rosemary, basil, fennel, oregano, tarragon, and harvest often because the frequent pruning creates more attractive compact plants that are less woody and leggy. Plant late summer perennials like lavender (I now have 3 different kinds in my garden), asters, coreopsis, rudbeckia, yarrow, verbena, artemisia, lantana, and salvia. Stake tall perennials. It is a good time to mulch, as our days are hot and it helps keep the moisture in and the weeds out. Lift and divide iris, oriental poppies, and gerberas. Remember that container pots dry out quickly and need more attention in the late summer months because of the heat and wind. Our hottest months in the bay area are yet to come. Adding top dressing to containers such as compost, bark, lava rock or gravel adds a fresh look and keeps them moist.  Grouping your containers helps to keep the humidity high around them and adds a design quality.  Deep-water tomatoes, peppers and eggplant about every 5-6 days when they are setting fruit instead of small amounts daily.  Raise your cutting blade on the lawn mower as mowing higher prevents the soil from drying out or tell the mow and blow guys if that is the direction you go. I have been putting the lawn clippings in my compost which I moved to the front yard in a discreet corner to make it more convenient for the kitchen scraps. And my husband, John, put it up on bricks so we can remove the front brick and pulls the composted part out from the bottom easier. Also, for your lawn and plants, water deeply less times rather than shallow watering more often as it makes for better root growth. Best to water trees at the drip line (where the shade ends), rather than at the trunk.  Having a shade garden creates a respite from the heat and some of the most beautiful plants need shade to perform their best. Try some of the variegated hostas, heuchera (coral-bells), abutilon (Vine maple), camellias, fuchsia, bergenia, helleborus, campanula, cuphea, and digitalis (foxglove). Remember to control those pesky slugs and snails with SLUGGO.  Remember you may ask me questions at macro6096@hotmail.com or write to me c/o San Mateo Garden Center, 605 Parkside Way, San Mateo, CA, 94403.   Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary? by Mary Crowell