11 Things to Do in August to Get Your Garden Ready for Fall

9 / 11

Order Fall-Planted Bulbs

Don’t start planting your fall bulbs in August (tulips, crocuses, hyacinth, garlic etc.). But go ahead and order them from your favorite garden catalog. Most bulbs sell out as the late-fall planting season approaches, so order yours while the selection is best. Store them in a cool, dry place until the right time for planting. Take a look at our collection of beautiful spring-blooming bulbs.

10 / 11

Prune Your Summer-Flowering Shrubs

By the end of August, summer-flowering shrubs (hydrangea, mock orange, spirea) begin to wane, which makes it a good time to prune them. You can still identify any dead branches easily and you don’t need to worry (much) about damaging the plant. Properly pruned shrubs look better and live longer. Here’s how!

11 / 11

Enjoy Your Garden

If you spend the whole summer with your face buried in tomato plants looking for aphids or scanning for garden weeds, it’s easy to miss the big picture. Take some time to stroll through your garden. Make notes. What worked? What didn’t? What should you do differently next year?

Snap photos (or draw maps and make sketches, if you prefer), take note of plant varieties and where they are planted. You might think you’ll remember next spring but don’t count on it. And, perhaps most importantly, enjoy your garden. This is why we do it! Check out these 25 tips for planning the perfect garden.

custom-tracking =

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7p63MoqOyoJGjsbq5wKdlnKedZLmqv9NoaGplpJ22r7PSZquoZZSkeqq6jJqsoK2jqXq1u4ygnK1lqaTCs3nGmqmdnZ5iv6atw7Jkn6eiYrOiuMto