August Lawn and Garden Care

Annuals| Herbs| Indoor Gardening| Perennials| Summer Gardening| Vegetable Gardening

August! Wow! Summer will be wrapping up before we know it!  There are a few things that you can do this month to keep your lawn and garden in great shape.  Don’t forget that we are always here to help!

Lawn, Tree, and Shrub Care

  • We know, we know.  For many of us, our tall fescue lawns are looking pretty rough.  You can have your lawns looking bright and green again (assuming we get rain) by fall.  For tall fescue lawns, towards the end of month, aerate and seed.  Aeration takes time and effort, but it will be well-worth!  Some stores will rent aerators, or if your lawn isn’t too big, consider using a tool like this one or this one and get a workout in! 🙂
  • Be careful, especially in August not to mow your lawns to short.  (3.5-4 inches for tall fescue, 2.75 inches for zoysia and bluegrass)
  • Fertilize zoysia and bermuda with a high-nitrogen fertilizer.  
  • Keep an eye out for brown patch.  This looks like a brown patch that gets bigger and bigger.  It is a common lawn disease, but it can be treated and killed with fungicide.
  • LAST CALL!  For pruning trees and shrubs, that is.  After August, you will want to wait until the winter to prune.  Pruning after August could produce new growth that might be killed by cold.

 

Garden Care

  • Keep an eye on your basil plants.  If they haven’t already, they will start to go to bloom.  If you want them to keep producing, be proactive and cut stems back about six inches.  
  • Fertilize repeat blooming roses (like knockouts) with a product specifically made for roses.  
  • Harvest your veggies!  The prime picking time is first thing in the morning.  Leaving veggies on the plant will cause them to become bitter and may cause your plants to stop producing.  
  • You can also sow seeds of these perennials in your garden:  hollyhock, delphinium and stokesia
  • Keep watering, especially if we aren’t getting rain.  If you need water reminders, check out this post we shared a few weeks ago about watering.
  • Start planning for your fall planting.  Fall is just around the corner! What will you plant this fall and where?  

Enjoy these last couple months of summer, friends!