August for us is a slightly lazy month. Of course, that’s a relative term – there’s still work to be done, but not like March when there’s so much seeding and planting to be done and four weeks isn’t enough time to finish it all. And not like November and December with hundreds of tulip bulbs to plant and ranunculus corms to pre-sprout.
The big job for August is to nail down next year’s plan – which flowers we’ll grow, and where those flowers will go. As part of that process, I have to evaluate how plants performed this year. Some varieties didn’t live up to expectations this year (like ‘Chocolate’ ranunculus and ‘Queen Lime Red’ zinnias), so they won’t be part of our 2022 plan. Others need to be relocated to get more sun or more shade. I would love to come to a tried-and-true plan that can be duplicated year after year, but so far I don’t have enough data.
Here are a few of the best photos of the month. Zinnias were our main flowers, then the summer staples – scabiosa, strawflower and celosia. Our Mariachi lisianthus finally flowered and they were beautiful!
By row, l to r:
Bouquet with 'Elina' roses, 'Coral Daisy' mums and 'Bahama Mama dahlias;
Fama White scabiosa.
Bouquet with 'Karma Maarten Zwaan' dahlia; Don among the cosmos at the annex garden.
Rose 'Apricot Candy' and nasturtium 'Phoenix'; assorted zinnias, marigolds, rose 'French Lace.'
Zinnias on the back porch; the parking strip in bloom.