Late Summer Garden Guide: 8 Tips to Keep Things Thriving
August 25th, 2025 by tisnerLate summer is a busy time for gardeners, filled with harvesting fresh vegetables and enjoying landscapes bursting with blooms. Even with the heat, now isn’t the time to slow down in the garden. This part of the season is just as important as the planning stage. To help keep things growing, here are a few tips:
Flower Gardens and Landscaping
- Weeds are continuing to grow, especially perennials that thrive in late summer/early autumn. Pull them as soon as possible. Allowing them to get large enough to flower will mean spreading more seeds and creating more work for yourself next year.
- Annual flowers need deadheading, (removing spent blooms.) This will encourage them to continue to blossom and provide full color until autumn.
- When flowering shrubs start outgrowing their space, they may need pruning but be certain you are pruning at the right time of year. For instance, a fading hydrangea should be pruned now to keep from cutting off next spring’s buds. Camellias and other late spring/early winter bloomers have already formed new buds. Wait until after they bloomed to prune.
- Spending some time away from home? If you have asked a neighbor to look over your plants, make sure you get someone with gardening experience. You don’t want to come home to plants that are dying because they were over- or under-watered.
Vegetable Gardens
- Keep your garden rows covered with a generous layer of compost to fertilize through the rest of the Summer. The nutrients will seep into the soil whenever you water the garden.
- Pinch blooming herbs back to extend their growing season. If the herb garden is giving more than you can use, give some away or freeze them.
- Check around fruit trees for windfalls following a windy afternoon storm–rotting fruit is an invitation for unwelcome pests that can kill your trees.
- Have you already cleaned out a few garden rows? Planting a summer cover crop helps discourage weeds and will be beneficial to the soil when you turn it in.
Just because fall is near doesn’t mean that the heat has left! Remember when you’re working in the garden, get out in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the heat. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen and be sure to stay hydrated. Take breaks to cool off when you need to. Taking these precautions will help you enjoy the fruits–and veggies–of your labor for an extended period!
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