August is not the garden’s finest moment, especially after the scorching heatwaves we’ve experienced this year. Blooms are fading, lawns are brown, and it feels nearly impossible to stay on top of watering. But, there are a few quick tricks you can use to revive your garden and give it one last show of summer color before fall arrives.
Knowing how to bring back color to your garden in August is a key part of summer gardening. Deadheading, clearing out, smarter irrigation, and filling gaps with late-summer blooms all give your yard a second lease on life. Even if you just pick up this pack of vinca plants from Walmart to add some color to your patio pots.
But, it does require a little bit of work. Here, with the help of a gardening pro, we talk through how to give your tired garden a transformation in just one week.
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1. Start By Deadheading
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Deadheading is one of the easiest ways to get non-stop blooms in your yard through summer. While we’re still in the active growth season, you can encourage many plants to push out more blooms by removing the faded ones.
It’s as simple as taking sharp pruning tools (these Fiskars bypass pruning shears from Amazon are a reliable choice) and cutting off faded flowers. Always cut above a set of leaves, as this is where new growth will emerge.
Of course, this is talking quite generally and it is important to research your specific plants’ needs. Hydrangeas, for example, will not always rebloom when deadheaded.
‘Leaving spent flowers on the plant allows them to develop seeds. Once a plant has produced seeds, it may begin to slow down its flower production,’ says Shelly Deaton, co-founder of Earth Spoke Farms.
‘Throughout August, stay on top of deadheading roses, snapdragons, cosmos, zinnias, branching sunflowers, dahlias, and other repeat bloomers,’ she advises.
This is an especially important thing to do if you dahlias have stopped blooming – deadheading dahlias will help you get more flowers until fall.
Shelley is co-founder of EarthSpoke Farms. She advises on a wide range of gardening topics, including growing flowers.
2. Remove Dead Matter
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By August, many late-spring and early-summer perennials are finished for the season. While there are huge benefits to not over-tidying your yard for wildlife in fall, you may want to remove these faded plants now to give your yard an instant clean-up for the remainder of summer – you can always leave faded late-summer blooms for fall instead.
Focus on any plants that look unsightly, brown, and crisp. To avoid pruning mistakes, it’s important to research how to cut back your specific plants. For many perennials, you can cut them back to just above ground level.
It is best to leave any perennials that still have green foliage. Allowing them to dieback naturally will conserve energy for another impressive display next year, and avoid any additional stress in hot summer conditions.
There are lots of essential pruning tools for different needs. These Fiskars micro-tip snips from Amazon are good for tending to smaller plants, for example.
3. Water Deeply
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It goes without saying that watering your plants will give them a boost and rehydrate them. But, when your garden is showing signs of heat stress, it’s important to change tactics and focus on deep watering specifically.
This refers to watering plants for a long period at a time, often 20-30 minutes, if not longer. It’s an essential method to watering plants in a hot weather correctly.
Of course, this can be extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive to do this manually. That’s where a soaker hose (like this from Amazon), a sprinkler with a timer (like this from Walmart), or something like Garden In Minutes watering grids come in.
These irrigation tools not only sufficiently water plants, they can help reduce water waste in the yard by applying water directly to plant roots.
4. Feed Flowering Plants
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When our plants are working hard during summer, nutrients in the soil deplete quickly. To lend a helping hand, you can fertilize your plants to boost nutrients and encourage another flush of blooms.
As with pruning, you should do some research around your specific plant’s needs to avoid fertilizing mistakes. For example, it’s best to avoid fertilizing any sensitive plants during a heatwave, as this can encourage fresh new growth susceptible to heat stress, ultimately weakening the plant.
Plant fertilizer numbers should also be considered. You may want a phosphorus-rich fertilizer for blooming plants (like this bloom booster feed from Amazon) and a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer (like this from Lowe’s) for a general boost where a plant is struggling with a nutrient deficiency.
Fertilizing container plants in particular can be beneficial, as the nutrients in potting mix leach from containers much more quickly.
5. Fill Gaps
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The last way to bring back color to your garden in August is by taking a trip the garden center and picking up flowers already in bloom.
Use these to fill gaps in beds and borders, or plant them up in pots for your patio. This set of terracotta pots from Amazon is handy to stock up on.
You could even relocate healthy summer containers to borders to fill gaps with the existing color in your yard.
‘Look for healthy, established annuals that are already blooming or have plenty of buds. Planting a few new annuals into garden beds that are beginning to fade can give them an immediate boost of color,’ says Shelly.
Some of the best late-summer flowering plants include dahlias, salvias, cosmos, zinnias, and rudbeckias. You can also look for ornamental grasses for texture, and colorful foliage plants like coleus (view the range at Plant Addicts) and sweet potato vine.
An important note: you should avoid planting anything out during extreme hot weather and make sure to provide lots of water to newly planted additions during dry spells.
What to Shop
These carbon steel hand pruners are loved by gardeners for their durability and accuracy. They have replaceable parts for a lifetime of use.
This shade cloth can be used to protect plants from scorching afternoon sun in a heatwave.
Drip Irrigation System Kit
Use this drip irrigation system kit to create an automatic watering system for your garden in summer.
As summer starts to wind down this month, you can look ahead to fall. There are plenty of flowers to plant in August, in preparation for the fall garden, for example.
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