August brings on the abundant fruits of our efforts in our vegetable garden. Nothing beats the taste of a garden ripe tomato. We have been enjoying sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil each evening. This year we are enjoying fresh green beans after surrounding two terraces of our vegetable garden with 2-foot-tall chicken wire fencing. Last summer the rabbits ate all the plants and young beans. I planted rows of bean seeds about 3 weeks apart so that we are enjoying a long season of picking beans. As the first rows have stopped producing the second rows are yielding their fruit. Picking the beans while they are still slender and tender helps keep the plants producing. I let bean plants continue growing and they give me an additional small yield. I also planted some pole beans which are slower to grow and will yield beans well into the fall. Bush green beans are a quick growing crop so you can plant some now and pick them this fall. I used organic garden fertilizer while planting and when the plants were about 8 inches tall, I side-dressed them with compost.

Since it has been quite dry this growing season, I have been watering the vegetable gardens often with an oscillating sprinkler on a timer so I don’t forget to shut it off. To try to reduce the damage from tomato diseases, I water the raised tomato bed with a hand watering wand at the base of the tomato plants. This avoids spraying the leaves and spreading fungus and disease. I‘ve been removing yellowing and spotted leaves and putting them in the trash, not compost. At the end of August, I will remove new growth of tomato blossoms and small fruit on the standard size tomatoes to direct the plant energy into maturing the green tomatoes on the plants before the cold weather.

To maintain a neater look in my flower beds, I’ve been trying to cut off past flowers of daisies, bee balm, lilies, and day lilies. This also stops these perennial plants from using their energy to make seeds and allows the plants and roots to grow stronger. Dead-heading bee balm also encourages them to flower again. This also works for tall garden phlox and other perennials and annuals such as zinnia and cosmos. I pick and bring into the house bouquets of these and dahlias, gladiolas, and hydrangeas. Pick your flowers in the morning before the sun dries them out and they will last longer. Also remove all leaves below the water in your vase and add a packet of floral food that comes with flowers purchased in the store. I will not dead-head my coneflowers and black-eyed Susans as the seeds in the flower heads will be enjoyed by birds.

Two of my favorite summer native perennials just blooming, red cardinal flower and Black eyed Susan’s.

Late summer is a good time to divide iris which have become overgrown and perhaps did not bloom as well this past spring. Dig up the whole clump and separate the rhizomes into healthy looking pieces with at least one leaf fan. Cut out any old pieces which don’t have roots or leaves and any areas that are soft or mushy. Cut the leaves down to about 6 inches before replanting them with the rhizome barely covered with soil, and water well. You will probably have extra rhizomes to plant elsewhere or give to a friend. Day lilies can also be divided now. It’s always a good idea to mix some compost or fertilizer into the soil before replanting.

Unfortunately, some people around the pond lost a number of trees in the strong winds on July 3rd evening. If you are planning on replanting a tree or two consider planting a native tree such as an oak, cherry, native grey or red maple. If you want a smaller tree, a red bud or amelanchier (common name – service berry) are wonderful choices with lovely spring flowers, colorful fall color and berries for the birds.