The State of August
There’s a distinct feel to an August garden. We’re in act four of a Shakespearean tragedy. I don’t want to say it’s all downhill from here because there is still so much tea to drop. But y’all…it’s downhill from here.
Spilling the Tea
So here’s the hot goss (iambic pentameter has been excluded, you’re welcome). You know Lovely July? And how she brought a magnificent flush of bee balm and black eyed susans. Well guest what? August literally murdered them. Okay, I mean, put less dramatically (why though? We’re spilling tea.) they’re just past their flowering time. Honestly, it’s fine. The seed heads look decent, so the garden’s going to lean into the “August look” and feed the birds at the same time. Kinda chic.
But also, though, so many are drooping. While I can embrace the August look, too much sagging feels like everyone has just given up. It’s sad. And internal conflict ensures. This garden is very much for wildlife, but it’s also meant to be beautiful. This must be negotiated delicately so that all parties are satisfied.
I’ll need a late bloomer to stick in among the ghosts of July. These can take over the show and keep us feeling fresh and, well, alive. Asters should do the trick. Being in the mint family, bee balm has a somewhat aggressive habit, so it’s probably for the best that some come out.
Unwelcome.
Doesn’t it also feel like August brings more mosquitos? The internet recently told me that the invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito just needs one teaspoon of water for their larvae. Cue draining every single water holding object in my yard. But the bird bath? I can’t. Ugh.
I’m going to try alternative approaches to the problem. Currently, we’re a bug spray family. But a recommended thermacell is on the way and I will also be ordering mosquito dunks. Trusted sources say they are not harmful to other insects, but use metal netting over the water source to prevent dragonflies from laying their larvae, too, because it will kill those.
I have no mercy at this point, this is the only insect I will happily mass murder. Oh and I suppose if I ever see one of those spotted lantern thingies.
Life in the Present
August also brings the felt sense of shorter days. My 5:00 am alarm clock comes with darkness. When I’m done putting my kid to bed by 8:30, it’s also dark. The feeling of not being able to fit in garden time is starting to set in.
But before we (I) start settling into the sobbing depression of it all, there are some high notes:
Winter squash squashes are on the brink of happening.
A Gooligan pumpkin has officially made an appearance.
We’ve got green beans.
Cabbage is almost ready to pluck.
Turtleheads have popped out
Somehow the spiderwort is still blooming.
I sowed seeds in July for fall harvest, August is proving a good host for them,
So yes, the wind down is really here, but magic is still happening. I, as many do, forget to stay in the present. And when an imminent end is in sight, it feels like my mind uses a zoom lens. The end feels closer than it really is.
Let’s take our notes, furrow our brows, and allow some sadness. And then make room to appreciate that there’s more to come and more to smile at. And apparently people love the fall (it’s my third favorite season, so I’m not really in that camp)! We’ll see pumpkin everything, crispy leaves, and hot cocoa. And in the famous words of Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler it’s “Sweater Weather!”