All the Dirt on Gardening

August is a gardening month when there is either nothing to do but enjoy the garden or an endless list of tasks to accomplish before the leaves fall. An early morning walk around the garden and yard with a pad and pencil can be very productive. Make of note of which trees and shrubs need to be thinned or pruned up, which perennials would benefit from being divided, where the bare spots are, which plants need to be removed, etc. Also on that walk, note the bare spots in the turf and mulch, inspect plants for signs of insect damage, irrigation leaks, fence or deck work to be done, etc. Look for plants such as Hostas that have centers dying and plants that have outgrown the amount of space thought they would need. Consider where pieces of those divided perennials might look good next year. Take a pair of clippers on your walk and remove any dead or diseased twigs. Make a note of limbs or branches that should come out because they are crossing another branch. This is a ...

We still can't really get out into the garden but we can look at catalogs, order plants and seeds, read books and attend one of the dozens of gardening programs available right now. P. Allen Smith's website and his television program on gardening are good ones. In his gardening email newsletter this week he recommended ways to think about planting borders and beds. Consider contrasting plants next to each other such as ornamental grasses with Phlox Look at leaf texture - put a fern next to a hosta Consider leaf and flower color. Purple and orange are popular this year. But if you prefer a more subtle look, put grey plants like dusty miller into the mix. Allen says to use yellow sparingly. White flowers can soften a garden arrangement. Always a good idea: Start your plan with one single color (red, blue, yellow) and work from there.