The Whistling Gardener

by Steve Smith

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, located at 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., and a respected local expert on all things horticultural. You can reach Steve at 425-334-2002 or by e-mail at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

In August our gardens should be in their height of glory with containers full of annuals and beds full of perennials and summer blooming bulbs like dahlias, cannas and gladiolas. Our hedges should be trim and tidy, and even our lawns this year should still be green and lush. If your garden is anything short of spectacular this month, you need to try some of the following "boring yard-busters" to put a little drama and pizzazz into your outdoor living space.

TREES: I can think of only one tree that actually blooms in August and that is the Sourwood or Oxydendron. If you want to see some mature ones, drive down Avenue D in Snohomish. The flowers are white and drooping much like a Pieris, but the real beauty of this tree is its fall color. Still, having a tree in bloom in August will help break up the boredom of any garden.

SHRUBS: We have several good choices for flowering shrubs in August. The P.G. Hydrangeas are at the top of my list. There are so many cultivars now that I won't even begin to list them. You have to come into the nursery to see for yourself. For the most part, the flowers start out white and fluffy and mature to a strawberry pink. PGs do best in full sun.

Butterfly bushes are magnificent in August but be sure and buy the ones that have sterile flowers so they don't spread seeds all over the country. Hardy Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon) will bloom for us in August and comes in several colors although I much prefer the blue single one. Lavatera or Tree Mallow is sort of a woody perennial in the hibiscus family that blooms all summer, mostly in shades of pink. It blooms so much that it usually blooms itself to death after 4 or 5 years.

Caryopteris is another small woody perennial/shrub that has lovely blue flowers in August and the bees just love them. Himalayan Honeysuckle is a fun shrub with green hollow stems that resemble bamboo. The flowers are rather exotic with metallic blue berries that the birds love. The variety Golden Lanterns is my favorite, even though I lost it this last winter.

PERENNIALS: Yikes, there isn't enough space to list all my favorite perennials for this month. Dahlias and cannas, of course, are hitting their stride this month despite the lack of summer heat. Many ornamental grasses in the Miscanthus genus are also looking smart. Autumn Joy Sedum and all of its sports are starting to show some color with their pinkish broccoli-looking flower heads. Crocosmias are still nice to look at and Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) and Echinacea (cone flowers which, by the way, now come in a rainbow of colors) are coming into bloom in my garden.

Hardy fuchsias (which can actually be more shrub-like in a mild winter) are in full bloom and Helianthus (perennial sunflower) Lemon Queen and 'Flore Pleno' are both starting to bloom. Joe Pye weed is coloring up nicely in my back yard as is the early fall blooming aster "Frikartii Monch." And last but certainly not least, many of the new and continuous blooming red hot pokers (now known as torch lilies) are doing their thing in grand style. Really, this is just the tip of the perennial iceberg but all that space allows.

ANNUALS: This list includes plants that I grow as annuals such as Angel's Trumpets and red-leafed bananas and Egyptian Papyrus. Pound for pound, these bold and dramatic plants give me just as much bang for my buck as a pot full of petunias and I don't need to deadhead them. The many new forms of Coleus are dramatic and equally happy in sun or shade, and for nonstop bloom you just can't beat Impatiens, also adaptable to sun or shade.

Dark leaved dahlias and golden-leafed pineapple sage are two show stoppers, and for late color try some Four O'clocks. Plant them now and they will usually form a tuber and come back every year. Finally, zinnias are the quintessential annual for the month of August with their vibrant assortment of colors.

The real trick with annuals in August is to keep them well fed and remove the spent flowers and seed heads. I see a lot of tired baskets and planters that have just run out of gas, and by mid-August the best strategy is probably to dump them and either plunge in some gallon color or wait to September when the nurseries have a full selection of fall blooming plants that will go all winter.

If you want to see first hand how all these plants make a yard interesting, come visit the nursery and my garden this month and see for yourself how to break free from that boring yard syndrome. The missus might even have a glass of iced tea for you.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at 425-334-2002 or online at info@sunnysidenursery.net