It was not hard to say
goodbye to July. It was a punishing
month, with brief, vicious storms almost every day. Hail ripped the broad-leaved perennials to
shreds. My giant hostas, for which I
held high hopes, are tattered. I could
spend August experimenting with cutting them back, feeding heavily and enjoying
new growth, but I fear that will set them back for next year.
The solution for the moment is to do nothing and think
about how to minimize the damage in future years. If you are seduced by the
largest of the hostas, it may be wise to plant them alongside smaller leaved
plants so that any damage will not be too visible. They would do well with other
shade lovers --hydrangea, fern, hellebore, epimedium, heuchera.
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| Mixed Shade Planting |
On the positive side, August is the peak month for
garden lilies. Now is the time to select
yours for fall planting. John Scheepers
and Van Engelen bulb catalogs have probably arrived on your doorstep by now, so
be sure to work your way to the back of the catalogs, past the daffodils and
tulips, to the lilies and make your selection.
There are relatively few chores to tend to in
August. Be sure to replenish mulch; it will
decompose in the heat of August. Finish
pruning spring-flowering deciduous shrubs. This is the last call to start
perennials and biennials from seed. Garden sales start up in August. Take advantage of them; container-grown plants
will continue to drop in price. Butterflybush
(Buddleia) disappeared from almost
all gardens this past winter, and the nurseries ran out of stock early. You will probably feel shortchanged in
butterflies this August, unless your beebalm (Monarda) survived.
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| Buddleia and Friends |
Among the brightest spots in the August
garden are the Big Yellows. It’s not uncommon to see Cup plant (Silhpium perforliatum) towering over the
top of a roadside fence. A native of tall
prairie grass, it is quite common in the Midwest. It’s one of the few plants that thrive in the
hot, humid summers of the prairie states, and so it seems quite at home
here. The yellow daisy-like flowers are
two to three inches in diameter and bloom at the top of the stalks. They hold their bloom for weeks. It is rarely seen in the garden, although its
dark green foliage would make an excellent backdrop for other perennials. The plants are tall and wide enough to block
an unsightly view, enhance a shed, or simply fill up a large empty space. It is
reported to perform best if given full sun and sufficient moisture, but we have
seen it in dry clay soils, where it seems to be just fine.
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| Cup Plant in an Open Field |
The Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) is a more manageable
late-summer yellow bloomer. Growing to a
mere five feet, it has a full, airy character, and is not nearly as tall as the
Cup plant. The flowers appear as sprays
across the surface of the plant, with yellow rays and brown centers. It starts to bloom mid-summer and continues
into the fall. The literature on species
and varieties is somewhat murky, and it seems to be classified as a biennial,
although it performs as a perennial for us. The form is lovely, light and full
without being dense, and more graceful than the Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). It doesn’t block a view or stop the eye; it
encourages you to draw closer.
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| Brown-eyed Susan |
Ligularia stenocephala ‘The Rocket’ will do the same for you in the shade that Brown–eyed Susan and Cup plant will do in the sun. Almost four feet tall and as wide, it sends up tall yellow spires that make a strong counterpoint to its shade-loving companions, invariably hosta and ferns. Ligularia can be a little difficult to locate correctly in the garden, as they need moist soil and shade for the foliage, but enough sun to produce their spectacularly tall blooms. Too much sun, and the foliage will wilt during the day.
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| Liguria |
A native of Japan, Houttuynia deserves to be tried more widely in American gardens. It’s very showy; mounds of tiny yellow-green
blooms are carried above white petal-like bracts. A rapidly spreading,
potentially invasive perennial, its heart shaped leaves and unusual flowers
make it a worthy risk. For the strong of
heart, it can be partnered with Gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides),
another beauty hard to control.
This loosestrife requires space, and will win out over any
competition. It will take over your
garden if you turn your back on it.
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| Houttuynia |
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| Gooseneck loosetrife |
For next August, think about more white flowers. Shorter days will bring an earlier twilight and a particular luminosity to white flowers in the garden. Think about Nicotiana and White phlox for next year. Perhaps a white Rose of Sharon at the edge of the lawn.
