Mid-August Blahs
-
- August
- 14
I’ve been talking to other gardeners and we all seem to be hit with a bad case of the mid-August gardening blahs.
The perennial beds are looking ragged and colorless (except for the phlox, which has morphed into some strange shade of Pepto-Bismo pink over the years).
The herb bed is bolting and suddenly on steroids. The annuals look spent and it’s too late in the summer to bother with new ones. I got a first rush of tomatoes and now lots of green ones again.
The big rains last week are bringing big weeds. The humidity keeps creeping back up.
Hmmmm, sounds like I need a vacation. What about you? What do you like to do in the garden in August? Any cures for the blahs?
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 5:53 pm by Bill Cary.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: 
| 
Print
| 
Email
Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
I focus on my zinnias, dahlias, trumpet vine and morning glories—you’re right about everything else looking spent. One bright note is that the Japanese beetles are going away!
Hi Bill:
My dahlias are looking good at both at my home and at
Harts Brook. I’m home for 2 weeks starting tomorrow.
Why don’t you stop on over and see.
Ed
Ok, so the perennial borders aren’t looking their best right now, but my porch is a flowering oasis. Sitting out there amongst the geraniums, mandevilla, ferns, coleus & caladiums, I can forget all about the fading echinacea and spent roses (not to mention all the weeds!).
Suki and Eve, you’re right—some of my annuals and summer bulbs are still looking great, especially the ones in pots on the porch and deck. And the ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas just go on and on.
Ed, I would love to see your dahlias. Let me see if I can find a day next week.