Gardening Guides
Central Plains Gardening
Central Plains Gardener's August Checklist
It couldn't get much hotter, but the garden can still shine with late summer blooms, thirsty wildlife and fresh vegetables
The flower season is far from over, especially if you have native plants. Butterflies and other beneficial pollinating insects are out in full force looking for food, while birds are in search of water that you can provide. Keep an eye on thirsty vegetable beds as you continually harvest, ensuring a steady supply of produce.
In August, lots of native perennials are flowering, such as Culver's Root and Eupatorium — both low-maintenance butterfly magnets for moist to medium soils. Above, tall Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) adds architectural interest to a native plant garden, and is a good perch for birds.
Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) is a drought-tolerant, late-blooming, 12-inch-tall ornamental onion with fascinating, droopy, War of the Worlds spaceship blooms (can you see it?). It attracts bumblebees and hummingbirds, and works great in a moon garden.
Sweet coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) is a taller, to 5 feet, black-eyed susan for medium to moist clay soils. Like others in the family, it will bloom cheerily for weeks in heat and humidity, and will give you a good crop of seeds to winter sow outdoors in the fall.
This is prime butterfly season. You can deadhead flowers and hope for a second, smaller flush, or leave them up for winter interest. Most birds will eat the seeds in fall, so you have to decide if deadheading is worth the gamble. Usually it's best to leave up coneflowers and other mid- to later-summer bloomers, but early summer blooms might be a good bet to cut back. Here a tiger swallowtail is enjoying a pit stop.
It's hot out there, so make sure you have a water source for birds. Running or splashing water will attract the most birds, and this action creates droplets or small pools on leaves or soil that butterflies and other insects can more easily drink. A bonus is that the fountain might mask unwanted neighborhood sounds, such as car stereos.
I see neighbors watering beds and lawns at 4 p.m., which is a very wasteful time to water as wind and heat evaporate moisture long before it gets to roots — morning is a much better time. Also, for vegetable and flower beds, drip irrigation is a great way to go — it gets water right where it's needed, and uses less water, too. Install a timer on your hose and you'll never have to think twice about watering.
As long as things are watered and you keep picking, vegetables will keep producing. Green beans are an obvious example, but watermelons are coming on, too — and tomatoes, squash and others are in full glory. Enjoy the bounty!
What are you growing for yourself and the wildlife?
What are you growing for yourself and the wildlife?