What Are August Garden Tasks?
Thriving During Hot Months
The hot summer temps have finally made an appearance—so this month, it's all about surviving the heat, and making sure your garden continues to thrive, as we prepare for the season ahead. Let's look at late-season color for the garden, sowing seeds for the cool-season ahead, and watering tips for your lawn.
Late-Season Color
August is the perfect time to tuck warm-season flowering perennials into the garden. Add cheerful gloriosa daisy, colorful coneflower, sunny coreopsis, fragrant hyssop, and drought-tolerant lavender for months of late-season color.
Water Rituals
Water early in the morning for less evaporation, healthier roots, and more efficient irrigation. The garden is especially peaceful at sunrise, making it the perfect time to water while enjoying your morning cup of coffee and welcoming another summer day.
Sow Seeds
If you're dreaming of crisp fall salads and homegrown veggies, now's the time to sow seeds. Plant seeds for carrots, beets, lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula, radish, kale, and collards directly in the garden for tasty harvests later this season.
Keep the Harvest Coming!
Don't let your summer veggies sit on the vine. Regular picking signals the plant to keep flowering and producing, rewarding you with a larger harvest throughout the season. The more you pick, the more veggies produce!
Mulch Like A Pro
A fresh layer of mulch is one of the best things you can do for your garden in August. Mulch helps save water, keeps roots cooler, reduces weeds, and gives beds and borders a neat, finished look. Spread a 2”–4” layer around plants, keeping it a few inches away from stems and trunks.
Lawn Care
Water your lawn the smart way with "cycle and soak" irrigation. Instead of running sprinklers for one long cycle, water in shorter cycles with breaks in between. This allows water to soak into the soil rather than run off, helping your lawn develop deeper roots while saving water during summer.
Other Timely Tasks for August
- Refresh tired hanging baskets, containers, and flower beds with heat-loving annuals like vinca, zinnia, marigold, salvia, and portulaca. These summer stars deliver nonstop color, attract pollinators, and keep your garden looking vibrant through August.
- Give houseplants a quick August refresh by dusting leaves, removing faded foliage, rotating pots, and checking for pests. Clean leaves absorb more light, helping plants stay healthy and vigorous.
- Roll out the welcome mat for pollinators! A shallow dish of water with a few pebbles gives bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, a safe place to land and rehydrate during August's scorching days.
- Spend a few minutes each morning strolling through your garden. You'll catch irrigation issues, spot pests early, harvest ripe veggies, and identify small problems before they become bigger ones.
- Provide established trees with a deep watering at least once a week using a soaker hose placed at the dripline. Slow watering allows moisture to soak deeply into the soil and encourages roots to spread outward, helping trees better withstand summer heat.
