As the temperature rises, make your garden crisper
August discourages even the most determined of gardeners. Amid scorching heat, suffocating humidity, drought and general inattention, most gardeners retreat to the drone of the air conditioner, content to enjoy their garden from the window until the hot summer weather takes a break. But the view from that window is rarely good. As the balmy days of summer give way to the season culturally known as "back to school," the garden too often sinks into the gardening equivalent of a long sigh. Its signs and symptoms are well known: "burnt" appearance, thin leaves and other signs of distress that frighten gardeners.
The absence of brilliant gardens in July, August and even early September may be due to our shopping habits. Most gardeners shop and plant in the spring and early summer, and late-summer blooms don't always fill the shelves at garden centers in the spring. Things need to be pretty in a pot, and sometimes these sleepy, gently resting summer perennials aren't quite ready for display time on Mother's Day weekend.
But there are plenty of palettes of lush plants that can make August brave. Seek out these artists and plant your way to a garden that transcends and celebrates high season.
1. Purple Burnet is an attractive combination of foliage and flowers
If you're looking for a trendy alternative to late-summer black-eyed Susans and ornamental grasses, replace those plants with bullet-shaped, ruby-hued purple burnet flowers. A few plants pull in the same grouping in form and color, its flowers add subtle beauty to plants like meadow sedge (Sporobolus heterolepis, Zones 3-8) and Korean feather reed grass (Calamacrostis brachytricha, Zones 5-9). Purple burnet's leaves also provide a contrast: the jagged, blue-green leaves differ in shape and color from the slender-looking, firm grasses.
2. 'Axminster Gold' comfrey is sure to attract attention
Imagine a tussock with luxuriant, pale-golden-green leaves, and you've got a mental image of 'Axminster Gold' comfrey. Cold hardy and heat tolerant, this worthy addition to the shade garden shines like a lamp; Just one plant can change the look of your backyard. Small pink flowers hang from tall stems for a week or two in late spring. Cut back the stems in mid-June to make way for another summer-long golden foliage. This plant is surprisingly wilt-proof through spells of poor humidity; The only downside is that you can try to find it at garden centers.
3. Letterman's ironweed attracts the right kind of wildlife
One of the best new native plants to hit the gardening runway, Letterman's ironweed is a must-have plant for some gardens. This purple-blooming bomb displays soft texture until late July, with abundant blooms that elevate it from C-list popularity to mainstream attraction. Butterflies and hummingbirds flock to nectar-rich flowers in late summer. Do you have dry soil? You'll be fine with this Oklahoma and Arkansas native. Thanks to the rough, sandpaper-like leaves, deer steer clear of this plant.
4. 'Henry Eilers' Sweet Cone Flower A twist on a summer staple
The hottest daisy in American gardens right now, this quilted form of black-eyed Susan reigns through mid-August. 'Henry Eilers' Sweet Cone Flower A chance seedling was discovered in the woods of Arkansas, and this marsh baby has risen to horticultural fame for good reasons: it grows easily, thrives in a variety of soils, laughs in the face of moisture, resistant to flopping, blooms 4 to 5 feet tall, and is an excellent cut flower. does. Resist cutting those stems, and you'll enjoy them better in the depths of winter, when the snow finally thins them out.
5. Naked girls dance without leaves to hide behind
Naked women have amazed gardeners for more than a century, a testament to the staying power of the least flattering moment of the growing season. It tops the charts when many gardens go quiet in early August, shedding their leafless scapes of trumpeting pink flowers; The leaves appear the following spring. Enjoy singly or in concert with silvers such as western mugwort (Artemisia ludoviciana, Zones 4–9).
6. ‘Black Neckline’ Bugbane Brings Drama to Shades
Naughty meets novel in this new cult. With lacy purple-black foliage that unfolds in late spring, 'Black Necklegee' buckbane is attractive in mid-summer alongside other shade lovers such as 'Areola' Japanese forest grass (Hakonegloa magra 'Areola', Zones 5-9). , and promises a show of grape-scented flowers in late summer and early fall. Even if it doesn't suffer from the heat of summer, you'll do your buckbane a favor by planting it in a location where it can get consistent moisture.
7. Yellow wax beads add spring color to summer woodlands
Which plant has waxy, drooping yellow flowers in the shade in September? Not many - except yellow wax beads, reliable performance for dry and wet shade. Native to the mountains of Korea and Japan, this essential perennial is both luxurious and practical, making one of the best late summer and early fall garden staples. Maplelike leaves provide contrast to other woodland garden staples such as hostas (Hosta spp. and cvs., zones 3–9), epimedium (Epimedium spp. and cvs., zones 5–9) and ligularias (Ligularia spp. and cvs). ., zones 4–8), produces beautiful textural vignettes before the yellow wax beads begin to bloom.
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