Summer continues to roll on, and by August your garden may have taken a hit from the heat. Give your garden a little extra TLC and a refresh in time for fall.  Here are 10 tips for keeping your garden thriving into fall. 

1) Water, water, and water again

Watering is the number one most important thing to keep your yard and garden looking its best during these hot summer months. 

• Your yard should be getting at least an inch of water a week. If it doesn’t rain, be sure to provide supplemental water by using a hose, drip irrigation, or other watering system. 
• Water first thing in the morning to minimize water evaporation.
• Some plants may need an extra drink in the evening if the day was very hot. 

Read our blog Summer Watering Tips 

2) Divide Perennials

Divide perennials like hostas, daylilies, lilies, ornamental grasses and irises. 

• Dig up the root ball of the plant you are dividing using a spade or garden fork.  
• Once the root ball is exposed, gently shake the excess soil from the roots. 
• Next, separate the plant into smaller sections. You can gently pull or tease the roots apart with your hands, use a knife or spade to cut it into smaller sections, or use two forks placed back to back in the center of the plant and pull them apart. 
• Be sure each division has at least 3 shoots and a healthy root system to make it a viable transplant.  

Note: Use this time to remove die back from the center of plants like irises and ornamental grasses. 

Watch our video Dividing and Transplanting Perennials 

3) Plan for Spring

Spring-flowering bulbs start arriving late this month, make a plan to determine what you want to plant this fall.

Learn more on planting Spring Flowering Bulbs

4) Refresh for Fall

• Dead-head spent flowers on annuals, roses and perennials. Prune any plants with dead, diseased, crossing or weak branches. Continue to remove leaves and debris to prevent insects and disease. Learn more on Deadheading Annuals 
• Apply repellents to keep deer and rabbits away. Add some fresh fall color by planting some cold-tolerant annuals. Plants like pansies, mums, and celosia will add late summer color and keep it looking fresh into fall. 
• Give your containers a reboot by removing tired-looking annuals and replacing them with cool-tolerant plants. Adding texture with things like ornamental kale, cabbage and peppers will have your containers looking their best. 

Watch our video: Refresh Your Fall Containers

5) Repot House Plants

Now is a great time to repot your house plants that have been vacationing outside for the summer. The summer sun will promote a lot of new growth in your plants, so before you transition them back indoors, move them to a larger pot. 

• The best way to check if your plant needs to be repotted is to see if the roots are growing out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. 
• Select a pot that is one size larger than the current size and use a potting soil formulated for house plants when transplanting. 

Note: Do not use garden soil when repotting, it doesn’t contain the right balance of nutrients for house plants. 

Watch our video: Repotting House Plants

6) Keep up on Weeding

Late summer is when perennial weeds lay seeds for next year, so it is important to get them under control early. 

• Weed often. The sooner you remove them, the more under control they will be. 
• The best time to weed is after a rainfall or the morning after a thorough watering. 
• Be sure to get the roots. Use a shovel, hoe, or your hands to dig out the entire root system to ensure the weed doesn’t come back. 
• Once you weed, add a layer of mulch or compost to prevent more from popping up.

Learn more on How to Keep Your Garden Weed Free

7) Fertilize  

Healthy plants and flowers need food and water to thrive. Mother nature washes vital nutrients away when it rains while wind and watering will leach nutrients from containers and hanging baskets. 

• Continue to fertilize containers and hanging baskets every week to maintain nutrients. 
• Water plants in the ground every two weeks to make sure they are staying healthy. 
• Start reducing when you fertilize trees and shrubs to prepare them for dormancy. 

Watch our video: Fertilize Your Annuals Now and Keeping Annuals Looking Great all Summer

8) Harvest Herbs

Although you can harvest your herbs all summer, the most intense flavors will come from herbs harvested in late summer. 

• Clip the herbs in the early morning right after the dew dries, but before the heat of the day. 
• Preserve herbs by coarsely chopping them and placing them in water-filled ice cube trays. Freeze them in the trays, and you will have frozen herbs to use whenever you need them.

9) Harvest Vegetables

Vegetables should be ready to harvest now. A good rule of thumb is when they start resembling what you would buy in the grocery store, they can be harvested. 

• Use scissors to remove the vegetables from the stems. Avoid pulling to prevent damaging stems and vines. 
• For root vegetables, carefully dig around the plant and remove it from the soil. Then use pruning shears to deadhead off the foliage. 
• Plant seeds for your cool crops like lettuce, carrots, beets and peas for a fall harvest. 

Learn more on our blog: Vegetable Gardening 101

10) Lawn Care

• Repair patchy  damaged areas of your lawn by seeding in mid-August through September. 
• Apply a slow-release fertilizer around Labor Day. 
• Make sure your lawn is getting roughly one inch of water per week to stay hydrated. Run your sprinklers about 10 minutes per zone with a sprinkler system 2-3 times per week. 
• Water early in the morning to prevent evaporation. 

Read our blog: Summer Lawn Care

For more tips and tricks on caring for your garden or yard, visit any English Gardens location and talk with an expert.