The New England Gardener’s August To-Do List (Zone 6a)

August is the month I finally exhale. The frantic energy of May planting, the vigilance of June and July, all of that settles down in August into something that feels a lot more like enjoyment. The garden is doing its thing, the harvests are coming in, and most of my attention has shifted from the veggie beds to the cut flower garden, which is absolutely the star of the show right now.

I’ll be honest: I stop worrying so much about weeds in August. Everything is so full and established that a few weeds here and there just aren’t worth the stress. August is for cutting flowers, eating from the garden, and appreciating how far things have come since those little seedlings were sitting under grow lights back in February.

Here’s what August looks like in my Zone 6a New Hampshire garden.

The Cut Flower Garden Is Everything Right Now

If you want the full story on what’s happening in the cutting garden this month, I wrote a dedicated post all about it. Go read August in My New England Cutting Garden: What’s Thriving. But here’s the short version: it’s spectacular.

The zinnias have completely taken off after a slow start following that cold Memorial Day weekend. I’m cutting armloads of them every few days. The celosia plumes are filling in, the strawflowers are finally starting to come into their own, and Dara, an ornamental Queen Anne’s Lace with beautiful dark stems, has become one of my absolute favorites of the whole season. New to me this year, and I’m already planning to grow twice as much next year.

Feverfew was another first for me this year, and I am completely smitten. Those tiny white daisy-like flowers work in absolutely every arrangement, and they dry beautifully too. If you’re not growing it, add it to your list for next year immediately.

The dahlias I started from seed after the voles took out all my tubers have started flowering. I loved the ease and price of just planting a pack of dahlia seeds, but if I’m being honest, I miss my big, bold dahlias! Dahlias are always a late-season flower here in New Hampshire; they really hit their stride in late August through September.

The important thing to remember is to keep cutting those flowers to encourage more blooms! Hey, we spent all that time planting and nursing our seedlings, so we should enjoy the fruit of our labor! So bring flowers indoors and fill those vases and jars.

The Veggie Garden In August

The veggie garden has been generous this month. Tomatoes are coming in steadily, and I’ve been using them for everything salads every single day, cooking, whatever I can think of. There is nothing like a summer tomato you grew yourself, and after switching the tomatoes to a raised bed this year to try to get ahead of the blight issues I’ve had in the past, I’m feeling really good about how they’re performing.

But I did find the dreaded tomato hornworm on one of my plants! I caught it fairly early, so it didn’t have much of a chance to do too much damage. But they are just gross; they always give me the icks!!

Have you ever seen one? It’s easier to notice the damage: you will see missing leaves and look for their black droppings. I usually use that to try and narrow my search area.

The cucumbers have been a little underwhelming this season, honestly not terrible, just not prolific. And the peppers have been slow too, which I suspect is weather-related. Some years are just like that. The summer squash and zucchini, on the other hand, have been extremely productive. No complaints there.

The real surprise of the veggie garden this year? The onions. I actually got some really nice onions, which felt like a win. In past years, they have been on the small side.

Planting for Fall

August is the time to start thinking about fall, specifically, what you can still get in the ground for a late-season harvest. The standing raised beds that held lettuce and broccoli earlier in the season have been empty since everything bolted in the July heat, and now is the right time to get them going again.

Cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale planted in late mid-August will be ready to harvest in September and October, when the temperatures drop back down and the flavor actually improves.

Fall lettuce is genuinely some of the best lettuce of the year. Sweeter and more tender than summer-grown.

Looking Ahead to September

August is also the time to start thinking about end-of-season tasks that are coming up fast. Fall bulb orders should be placed now if you haven’t already. Good ones sell out earlier than you’d expect. Costco has large bags of bulbs for great prices by the end of August. Think about where you want to add tulips, alliums, or other spring bloomers, and get your order in.

It’s also worth walking the garden with fresh eyes and taking honest notes. What performed beyond expectations? What was a disappointment? What do you wish you’d planted more of, and what took up more space than it was worth? January feels far away right now, but those notes are invaluable when seed catalog season rolls around.

August in the Garden: Final Thoughts

August is my favorite kind of gardening month. The kind where the garden mostly takes care of itself, and your main job is to show up with a pair of snips and a vase. The work is paying off in the most visible, beautiful way, and I try to soak up every bit of it before September arrives and I start thinking about putting the garden to bed.

If you want to see everything that’s happening in the cut flower garden right now in much more detail, head over to August in My New England Cutting Garden: What’s Thriving. There’s a lot to talk about out there this month.

See you back here for the September checklist, which means the first hints of fall and starting to think about what comes next.

xo, Jennifer