Now that gardeners have seen the fruits of those many hours of toiling in the late spring and early summer sun we are now approaching late summer/early fall which is ripe with maintenance tasks to be completed. If mowing and weeding are not keeping you busy enough then here are some extra tasks you could complete during this time.

*Have you have been harvesting your culinary herbs? If so then keep up the good work.
*If birds have been ravaging your fruit be sure that you have a mechanism for control such as a wire mesh/cage surrounding your strawberries, also try a scare tactic, perhaps a fake plastic owl will keep them away.
*Keep up with your dead heading as this will only benefit your display by allowing the plant to devote more energy to emerging blooms
*Now is a good time to take semi ripe cuttings for propagation. Maybe your neighbor has some interesting cultivar of coleus you would like to try? Pelargonium (Common geranium) comes to mind when I think of an easy way to experiment with my propagation skills
*Keep in mind that autumn is just around the corner so you may want to consider some bulbs to purchase from your favorite bulb catalog.
*he heat can be stressful enough for your plants so they may be extra vulnerable at this time.
Keep your eye out for pests and signs of disease.

As the season comes to an end some people are under the impression that the seasons work is coming to a close – this is just not the case. So good luck with your home garden and go outside and get to work.

- Matthew Gammett
Garden Specialist