North Florida Month-to-Month Gardening Guide   August 2007  by Nancy George

{sidebar id=1}Truly inspirational gardens are more than plants selected for form, function, sun or shade.  They generate an ambiance that makes one feel connected to the space.  A garden designer considers the style that each plant reveals.  By looking at plants in terms of the persona they express, you can match them with how you want to feel in your exterior setting.

What to Buy / Plant

Tuberoses are about to burst into a lovely, scented bloom.  This incomparable bulb will return year after year to delight you.  Shop for eye-popping summer bloomers like Thyrallis, with clusters of yellow flowers.  They make a great background plant for perennial beds and have no insect or disease problems.  Rose mallow or hardy hibiscus should not be missed, with their strikingly large 10” flowers.  Calliandra, commonly called powder puff, is a graceful shrub that is pretty and once established, requires little care.  Shop for the many varieties of Cassias with spectacular yellow blooms.  And Angel’s trumpet, a fast growing reliable shrub that give a lot of reward for little effort; they come in a variety of colors.

Prune/ Propagate

Remove faded flowers from hydrangeas.  Leave seed heads of agapanthus for interest until they are no longer attractive then cut flower stems to the ground.  This will improve growth and bloom for next year.  Shear plants like guara, yarrow and santa barbara daisies when they start looking scraggly due to an excess of spent blooms.  Your roses may still be blooming, but a moderate summer pruning will encourage a big fall bloom.  Fertilize after pruning.  Collect all the varieties of angel’s trumpets, which are easy to propagate by stem cutting and share them with friends.

Watering / Fertilizing

If rainfall is not adequate, give careful attention to watering because as you know, the summer sun is brutal.  Remember the basics:  Water in the early morning.  Water the soil, not the leaves.  Water deeply and occasionally rather than shallow and often.  When planting back fill with amendment rich in organic material, the basis for a successful garden.

Edibles

Plant your favorites; there is still time to produce a warm season crop before frost.  If you are planting fall tomatoes, the earlier in the month the better.  Consider the "fall" varieties this time of year; quick maturing or early varieties will often be good choices.  Begin your cool crops now too, with carrots, beets, broccoli, radish, spinach, collards and turnips.

Pests

Summer is the time to look for whiteflies, which resemble tiny moths that lay eggs on the undersides of leaves.  There are several species including the giant whitefly, which produce 2 inch long white strands that give a bearded appearance on bottom of leaf, which is often mistaken for a fungus.  Lawn pests include sod webworms; look for larvae, moths and skeletonized grass blades.  Listen for squishy sounds in your turf, a sign of spittlebug.

For Fun

Create a Shangri–La.  Find an area within your yard that feels secluded and make it even more so by adding structure.  A well-planted pergola or frame draped with outdoor fabric will provide shade and ambiance.  Provide comfortable seating, weatherproof rugs, tables and candles.  Plant with a palette of graceful plants and this area may become as important of a living space as your home's interior.

This article originally published on August 8, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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