September Gardening

Wow, long hiatus due to not feeling well and then being in Guatemala for 2 weeks!

We arrived home expecting fall but it has been hot and sunny. The garden is bleached and dry. So it is hard to even think of typical September gardening chores. But I need to move fast in order to get some salad greens, kale, spinach and swiss chard in the ground. Too late for everything else really.

Today I hit the last day of a 50% sale at my local nursery. I love scooping up cheap perennials in the fall. Some will flower in the winter. Some I need to be patient and wait almost a year for. But I have already patiently waited to add things like bergenias and bergonias to my garden so... what's a little longer.

At the start of the month I consult a variety of sources to remind me what needs to happen. These include the monthly Sunset Magazine, Steve Whysall's (of Vancouver Sun fame) book Best Plant Picks, and The Twelve Month Gardener (an obscure but wonderful gardening book some local moms wrote way back when).

So what is there to do in September?

1. Deadhead current blooms to encourage more growth.
2. Divide perennials such as peonies. Plant new ones.
3. Plant perennials.
4. Sow seeds for poppies, cornflowers and sweet peas. (Skipping as this failed last year.)
5. Harvest and enjoy corn, tomatoes, zucchini, basil (did it survive our holiday?!).
6. Clean out summer veg garden.
7. Plant greens such as salad greens, spinach, kale, and swiss chard.
8. Aerate and patch grass (after heat wave ends).