Provided by the Western
Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.
August 2001 - Gardening in August
by Marsha Humphrey
August can be a tough time for gardeners. You've put all your
energy into preparing, planting and tending. You've been rewarded
by the glories of June - iris, peonies, poppies, and the inherent
order and calm of the early garden palette. You've planted your
veggies and harvested those first crisp peas and enjoyed the
early tender greens. But by August, the honeymoon is over. After
an exhausting fight, the weeds have won, the garden plan that
looked so perfect in June looks rather unruly. Not much is
blooming, the shrubs have all flowered, and all you really want
to do is go to the beach. So how do you maintain your interest
through the dog days of August? I decided to look for inspiration
from some of our area experts:
Clivia Pasek - Hadley Garden Center
Jim Santospago – Landscape Gardening
Bob August - Nasami Farms
Nina Newington - Cricket Hill Garden Design
Tracy Putnam- Smith College
Peter Flynn - Bay State Perennial
Bobbie MacLeod- MacLeod Nurseries
What tasks do you consider critical for this month?
WATER, WEED, and DEADHEAD were the universal responses. Bob and Bobbie emphasized the need to continue watering deeply and consistently to avoid creating drought-like conditions for plants, especially newly planted ones. Clivia reminds us that it is a good time to transplant oriental poppies while they are in their dormant period and to divide German iris. Nina shears off the old stems before the new shoots start coming on so the new growth will look much nicer in the fall. "Then there is the last minute staking of the asters." Tracy cautions to continue spraying roses to give them a head start in the spring. Peter sees August as " a chance to correct April's mistakes”. Take stock, fill in holes, move things around. Mulch and fertilize if you haven't already done so.
What excites You about the August garden?
Clivia is in charge of perennials at Hadley Garden Center. The plant that is getting her attention these days is the hibiscus. "It's taken me awhile to appreciate them. They seemed almost too tropical, especially the red-flowered ones. Kopper King with its red foliage and white flower with a red eye is my favorite. They all look great with ornamental grasses. Another August plant I love is caryopteris, the blue-leaved varieties."
Jim is excited this year about Japanese Clethra (Barbinervis) because of their fragrant white pendulous flowers, which arrive at a time when most other shrubs are long past blooming. "This Clethra is bigger than the native one, is fast-growing and has good bark for winter interest. It looks great along with a panicled hydrangea."
Three plants came to Bob's mind when he thought of the August to early September period: "Japanese Beautyberries (Callicarpa), which are interesting for their flowers and especially their purple or white berries, the pink and white Clethra for their blossoms as well as their fragrance, and Hypericum, or St. John's Wort, which is just staring to bud up and will get a nice deep yellow flower and lots of them with a long bloom time (July through September)."
Bobby's favorite plants of the season are the new sedums. " Frosty Morn is like Autumn Joy but much paler, and it has variegated leaves. The other one is Matrona, which also has variegated leaves, but the flowers are much darker throughout the season. Either one mixed with Autumn Joy is beautiful."
Nina delights in a "Clematis viticella, Gravetye Beauty, which is a late-blooming clematis with a ruby red starry flower. I have it growing up into an old fashioned rose, which finishes blooming in June. Another spectacular C. viticella is Venosa Violacea, which has violet purple outside petals veining into white into the center of the petals. It reads very nicely from a distance. I have it against an old barn foundation and also growing up into a silver willow. These look a little wilder than the big flat clematis."
Tracy had no hesitation in naming oriental lilies as her favorite August pick-me-up, especially Lilium Scheherazade, which reaches a height of 8 feet and has 30 buds on each 1 inch round stem, carrying blossoms of burgundy with a white edge and green eye. A few other August favorites included Hibiscus, Lord Baltimore, Anna Rundell, butterfly bushes, caryopteris and ironweed.
Peter is a fan of "a lovely new summer phlox, Phlox pan. 'Katherine', which is lavender with a large white star in the center. Very long-blooming and virtually mildew free. Really nice with purples, yellows, pinks and whites and silver foliaged plants. Though not new, Nepata siberica , Souvenir d'Andre Chavaron' is rapidly becoming one of my all time favorites... imparting a light, cottage-garden feel, it has close to blue flowers, nonstop from early July to September. All of the perennial lobelias are terrific. For color in August, these beauties have no rivals.
What distinguishes a great garden from a good one? What is the biggest mistake people make?
Clivia "Great gardens are still pleasing to the eye even when they aren't in full bloom. You get a sense of continuity throughout the season. The plants work with each other in subtle ways, not just punching out the blooms."
Jim "A great garden gives you a sense of serenity and excitement at the same time. It is about a combination of foliage, texture and structure. The biggest mistake people make is crowding plants."
Bobbie "The biggest mistake people make is only buying plants when they are blooming and only buying them in the spring, so that come August they have nothing happening in their gardens. I think unusual combinations of plants is what makes the difference in gardens."
Nina "The biggest mistake people make is trying to be too controlled. What makes a garden really wonderful certainly has to do with the feeling of it... It's become its own place, not just a blob you view from the house or a virtuoso performance. It's something you enter into, someplace in particular. It has variation, but not hectic variety."
Bob "I would say the most common mistake that people make is being too conventional, not experimenting enough. They stay with things they think they're supposed to have, without using the whole palette of landscape interest: color, height, texture, and interest for all four seasons."
Tracy " A good garden is something that pleases you. A great garden should make you ecstatic at every season."
Peter "What distinguishes gardens is an indefinable quality having to do with color and texture combinations. More is less; use larger groupings of fewer varieties. Choose plants suited to your conditions and don't be shy about using proven performers - new isn't always better. At the same time, be daring and whimsical, remembering that gardens should be fun. Visit as many gardens as possible and learn from others.
The biggest mistake is being too careful. Gardening is an art, let the juices flow. Almost always use more than one of any given plant. Don't purchase only what happens to be in bloom when you visit the nursery. Think ahead and plan for season-long color. Don't get discouraged, you can always change it."
Provided by the Western
Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.