We are well into August now and I hate to tell you- but our flowerbeds are coming to an end for another year. It’s sad, I know to see such a beautiful miracle of colorful blooms meet their demise when it seems like we’ve only just started to enjoy the warmer weather. I personally get a little down when the new season shows signs of ascending down upon us and grow weary of the days ahead where my green thumb’s work will be buried underneath mounds of snow. Yes, yes there’s always next year to look forward to but still- if you’re like me, the whole presumption can feel a bit depressing…
It is for this unavoidable truth that I make sure to bask in the last weeks of summer gardening with feverish tenacity in the hopes that these memories might just carry me through yet another stormy New England winter. Even though we can see the tall stalks of hollyhocks begin to bend and the heads of gigantic sunflowers withering their heads, we can still take it upon ourselves to do some last minute snipping, caring and tending for our beautiful flowers. The generation of gorgeous blooms is a talent that shouldn’t be taken lightly so why should our determination to preserve these triumphants not be weighed as equally? Just by completing a few final floral tasks, we cannot only savor the sweet success of the gardens we’ve created but also encourage next year’s harvest to be one that flourishes healthily. Take a moment to see if you’ve made sure your garden remains in good hands for the colder temperatures and don’t forget to snap a couple of final pictures to last you until next April!
- Clean out all debris surrounding the plants to make spring-cleaning a little easier next April. You’ll thank me later…
- If you have pine needles nearby, sprinkle some at the base of the plants. If we have a frigid winter, your flowers will thank you for the extra blanket.
- Remove shoot perennials that have sprung from the master source to avoid unwanted spreading that might choke other root systems.
- Make a vase of cut flowers that are still blooming. You might as well make a bouquet for yourself!