A Gardening Checklist for August

As with fall-planted bulbs, shop now for garlic and shallots if you want to choose from the widest selection. Site your garlic and shallots in full sun, clear weeds, and prepare beds ahead of time with a fresh application of compost. Learn more about growing garlic here, or refer to this beautiful Garlic Planting Guide Poster created by artist Dayna Walton.

Your garden might be looking lush in summer, but how does it look after a long Northeastern winter? If the answer is “pretty bleak,” then consider landscaping with more fall-planted bulbs. Right now the selection of fall-planted bulbs is at its peak! So, whether you’re the type who covets unique and hard-to-find varieties, or just want flowers blooming your garden as early as possible, now is the time to pre-order flowering bulbs. To achieve early blooms in your garden next year, plant Snowdrops, Crocus, or Winter Aconite this fall. For non-stop blooms from late winter to early summer, select bulb varieties according to their bloom time. Learn more about staggering bloom times in this post.

Fall-planted bulbs are generally low-maintenance and will be happy with the fertility in most garden soil; however, it is important that the soil is aerated and well-draining, since excessively wet soil can quickly lead to bulb rot. For optimal results, site your bulbs in the light conditions and depth specifications listed for each variety. For example, Tulips generally prefer full sun and want to be planted about 6” deep; Erythronium, on the other hand, will do best planted at 4” deep in an area with partial sun. For a great bulb-planting tool, try our Hori Hori Knife which includes a ruler for measuring soil depth. Attending to these little details in your gardening can make all the difference.

One of the easiest ways to landscape larger areas in the garden is to sow perennials. Seed-sown perennials are a cost-effective way to establish permanent plantings that require very little maintenance. Native varieties are particularly fuss-free and well-adapted to their environment. And because many perennial flowers require cold-stratification to break seed dormancy, fall is the perfect time to sow! The freeze and thaw cycle of winter will do all of the hard work, so that you do not need to coddle these seeds in a refrigerator.

Use this month to clear weeds from the area where you'll be sowing (if it's a large, overgrown area, try mowing first, then lay down cardboard or a tarp for a few weeks ahead of sowing; this will make it significantly easier to cultivate). In cold winter regions, wait until the first killing frost to sow (around the same time you plant your fall bulbs).

Some of the most common fall-sown perennials include Rudbeckia, Echinacea, and Milkweed, but cold stratification works for several annuals as well, including Johnny Jump-Up and Poppies. Explore more cold-stratified flowers and flower mixes here.