I thought the title might catch your attention and inspire you to walk about your garden to see what needs to be ‘Tied Up.’
Recently, I read the following excerpt from a lovely old book, The Flower Garden Day by Day by Mrs. Francis King, saying, “Perhaps the vital word for August is ‘stake.’ So many plants then become a menace to themselves by their own height, bulk and weight.”
After all the heavy rains that we have had recently, many of my tall perennials as well as annuals have fallen over. It is a sad sight to see when they have grown to maturity, and their height and weight pull them down. Fortunately, I have a large supply of tobacco sticks on hand as well as plenty of baling twine, so in my spare time I go about the gardens and gently pull up these plants and tie them to the supports. Most of the time this works unless they have been too damaged to come back up, at which time they will be cut back to rally later this summer (hopefully).
Look over your garden and remove any dead or dying foliage. This is also a good month to carry a notebook and pencil into the garden and make notes on what is working, what is not, what colors harmonize with other colors and what you may want to move or possibly add. As everything is pretty much in full bloom or foliage now, it’s a fun exercise.
Mark any seed pods that you wish to keep for next year with a piece of yarn or landscaper’s tape. I recently cut back all my love-in-a-mist seedheads that I will store until later in the fall. I use a sieve to separate the seeds from the dried foliage and store them in envelopes (never plastic bags that could cause them to mold).
Watch for weeds as they never give up and will still create seedheads that will spread all over the place —especially after so much rain, they are rampant.
I suggest cutting the seed heads from phlox unless you want it to show up in places that you do not want to see it. I have not been so careful over the years and have an abundance of it in all my gardens. So far it has not escaped out onto the farm where my husband will question my gardening knowledge.
This is a good time to fertilize any peonies that you may have. Leave the foliage intact until it turns brown this fall. At that time, cut them back and remove the foliage from your garden.
If you have grown herbs this summer, now is the time to harvest some to dry. Parsley, sage, mint, oregano, and dill dry easily and can be stored for use this winter.
Now is a great time to take a few days and visit other gardens. Yew Dell near Louisville is a splendid day trip with loads to look at, as well as Bernheim Forest, with 16,000 acres near Shepherdsville. The Arboretum in Lexington is filled with beautiful plantings and lots of pollinators, especially this time of year. You may be enticed to pick up a plant or two or bring home or a new plan for your home gardens.
Enjoy all your hard work and the beauty that surrounds you. Each bloom, each petal, each leaf.