Time to Divide Iris by Carol King

Photo Wikimedia Commons

How's your iris garden looking?  Mine is pretty sad.  Perhaps it's time to divide and replant them.  Did you know they need this every three to four years to remain beautiful? And August and September is the perfect time.

Here's some advice as to how from one of our mountain Colorado Master Gardeners.


http://coloradomountaingardener.blogspot.com/2012/07/dividing-iris-by-ashley-mcnamara.html

Fall Blooming Perennials Add Color to the Autumn Garden by Carol King

Aster wikipedia.org

Mid to end of August is a good time to look at your garden and find spots for fall blooming perennials. Here are four “tried and true” plants that will add color to the fall garden.

ASTERS are tough and reliable, and a natural for dry climates like ours where several native species delight mountain hikers. In fact, many aster varieties fail to survive the winter if kept too moist. Asters are easy to cultivate. Among cultivated asters, growth habits range from three-foot perennials to compact mounds. The Greek word aster refers to the yellow-centered, star-like flowers that can be white, red, pink, purple, lavender and blue. 

Ambush Bugs by Vicky Spelman

Strawflower
Photo: Vicky Spelman

They are predators of others insects, even the occasional spider.  Like their name implies, they lie in wait on plants and capture prey that comes within range by injecting paralyzing saliva through their piercing-sucking mouthparts.  Almost always found on flowers favoring yellow and white flower heads, they wait for passing flies, bees and wasps that visit.   Greater numbers can be found later in the season.  

2020 – The Year of the Lantana By Joyce D’Agostino

Lantana Photo:  Joyce D'Agostino

Each year the National Garden Bureau selects a group of plants to be featured as  their Plants of the Year. This year, Lantana was chosen as one of those honored plants.

The Top Ten Vegetables to Plant in August by Patti O'Neal

Photo Courtesy Pixabay

There is still time and August is a great time to get another round of crops into the ground for a bountiful fall harvest.  The first average frost date along the front range as been around the 2^nd week of October for most of the past decade.  This gives you nearly 90 days of growing time.  In that time, you can have a bounty of vegetables to enjoy all through fall. 

Should You Use a Mask in the Garden? by Pat Kirk

                                                    

                 The Many Reasons and Uses for Masks - 
                           Coronavirus and in the Garden

As the summer advances, all of us in the Master Gardener Program want you to stay healthy by wearing masks on the street and in the garden. Masking up helps limit the spread of the COVID-19 disease and is now required in public spaces in Colorado. But what are the reasons and uses of masks in the garden?

Top Ten Reasons Everyone Should Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden – And the Time Is Now! by Patti O'Neal

Many people are just beginning to see production on their tomatoes.  So it may be hard to think about what you will eat in October and November when your tomatoes are gone, but now is the time to think about that.  Colorado is well suited to fall gardening and winter harvest and it can be done successfully almost anywhere.  If you’ve never tried it, here are 10 reasons why you should.

Winter Hardy Rainbow Swiss Chard

1.  Gardens can be any size – So anybody can do it.

Fall crops are primarily greens and root crops, so they are very well adapted to container gardening, table top raised beds, raised beds of all kinds.  They are also well suited for intensive planting, so you really can get a big bang in a small space.  So even if you start with one container of spinach this year – do it.  You’ll catch the bug and increase it next year.

2.  There are many vegetables that thrive in fall front range gardens and can be planted NOW!

Beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, kale and chard can all be planted now.  August is the best time to plant arugula, cabbage, endive, spinach, cilantro and September you can plant bush peas, radishes, Chinese greens, more spinach and lettuce and the list goes on. Where it gets really interesting is in the varieties of each crop that is possible to try.  My fall garden has no fewer than 5 varieties of spinach, 10 varieties of lettuce and 4 Chinese vegetables, like Pac Choi and Bok Choi  and 3 kales to name a few.  Salads and stir fries are never the same. September or October is the time to plant garlic.

Even Daddy Longlegs need to relax in the garden by Vicky Spelman

Photo: Vicky Spelman

The Myth: Daddy Longlegs are one of the most poisonous spiders, but their fangs are too short to bite humans. 🕷They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food.

The Stinkhorn Mushroom by Vicky Spelman

via Extension Master Gardener

"They can be quite striking in the landscape, but are often viewed as a nuisance because of the foul order they emit.

Bumblebee Nests by Vicky Spelman

Bumblebee Nest
Photo: Vicky Spelman