Garden Thymes with Jackie

August Edition

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers

in our hair" ~ Susan Polis Schultz

General Landscaping

• Let wild flowers go to seed
• If houseplants need repotting, now is the time to do it
• Watch for powdery mildew on susceptible plants like squash, pumpkins, & garden phlox
• Prepare lawn for reseeding bare spots
• Fertilize the lawn with a formula with an emphasis on Nitrogen, Iron, and Sulfur, like Jirdon Greenmaster Fertilizer formulated for Rocky Mountain soils.

Shrubs, Perennials & Bulbs

• Plan for fall bulb planting for spring flowers (tulips, daffodils, hyacinth...)
• Cut back spent flowers and prune for shape
• Continue to monitor for pests & disease
• Mid-August is the last feeding time for roses.
• Weed on a regular basis- remember a weed pulled today means less weeds to pull next summer
• Fertilize perennials, shrubs & trees with an all-purpose, slow release granular fertilizer

Veggies, Fruit & Herbs

• Continue to harvest ripe veggies
• Pick herbs and dry them for winter use (parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, etc...)
• Plant cool season crops (peas, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, lettuce)
• If you haven't harvested your garlic do so now and prepare a bed for fall garlic planting
• As areas in your veggie beds become empty, consider planting a cover crop to improve your soil

Annuals

• Continue to fertilize on a weekly basis
• Time to plant late season annuals for Fall color (mums, flowering cabbage)
• Continue to deadhead to extend your bloom time
• Pull tired or dead plants from your baskets and replace with fresh plants to keep them pretty

Insect Watch

• Aphids & spider mites
• Slugs
• Zimmerman pine moth