July Fry 2023 is over. Many experts say it was the hottest July on record. Now, it’s time for the August Angst: Will we ever get rain again? Will it ever be in the low 90s? Is this the Apocalypse?
While there are still climate change deniers or folks who want to believe that we humans have no responsibility whatsoever for the boiling stew that we are in, anyone who gardens in Texas knows something is not right. From unexpected freezes and exceptional droughts to record temperatures and freak hailstorms, we’ve been through it all in the past decade. And scientists, climatologists and meteorologists are saying it’s only going to get worse.
With all this doom and gloom, it can be easy just to give up on nurturing plants and wildlife. And my garden currently looks as if I have done just that. I run from my car to the house, ignoring my struggling flora like a busy restaurant server who refuses to make eye contact with their customers. I have kept my plants alive with haphazard watering but I just can’t make myself face the heat and bugs when it comes to doing some serious weeding. And the lack of rain seems to have no effect on the invasive plants that have a stronghold in my flower beds.
I love Houston’s temperate climate most of the year, especially when much of the country is snowed-in with cabin fever, but July and August put me in a serious funk. I used to not be such a delicate flower when it came to the heat but I don’t remember it being so relentless when I was younger. Maybe that’s because it was my parents who had the job of keeping our yard in order, while I played street football and drank out of water hoses.
I am looking at the month of August, like many other Houstonians, with a wary eye. The threat of a major hurricane is always there; we’re used to that. But will we get a break from the triple digit heat? Will we get a decent amount of rain?
Despite the weather, we have to finally get down and dirty and rescue what is left of the vegetable gardens and flower beds. It cannot be put off any longer. But first, we must make a plan.
And that plan includes not only pulling weeds but also figuring out what plants can survive these extremes. Also, a gardener should consider what they want from their garden in the first place. Some folks like a neat and tidy lawn with the ubiquitous shrubs that require very little work. Others want full-on blowsy flowers and year-round color. And many gardeners nowadays want to grow edibles. But whatever kind of garden, it should be one that not only nourishes the soul of its owner but also the wildlife that visits it.
When a garden is wildlife-friendly, it provides nectar for bees and hummingbirds, seeds for songbirds and plants that provide food and shelter for caterpillars and butterflies. With the ever-increasing development of land, wildlife is dependent on us to remedy the havoc we wreak. And we can do that by growing plants that support habitats for beneficial insects and birds. Organic gardening and sustainability are key components of a wildlife-friendly space.
When an email popped up in my inbox about this year’s International Monarch Monitoring Blitz, July 28 through August 6, it made me think about my own monarch population. I have tropical milkweed in my garden that has self sown. This year, I have seen just one monarch caterpillar.
The email was from Katie Dubow, President of Garden Media Group. We reached out for some tips about making our gardens more wildlife friendly and Dubow sent us some advice from Shubber Ali, CEO of Garden for Wildlife.
Ali recommends planting milkweed, which is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Though adult monarchs feed on the nectar of a number of flowers, their larvae cannot develop without milkweed because the larvae and caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed. According to Ali, there are a dozen species of milkweed native to North America. He says that its is important to know the right milkweed for your region. For Houston, Ali recommends Swamp milkweed or Snowy milkweed.
In addition to milkweed, Ali says it is important to “plant for 3 seasons” which means including native nectar plants such as Sweet Goldenrod, Calico Aster, Blazing Star, Narrow Leaved Sunflower, Spotted Beebalm, Frostweed and Blue Mistflower in the landscape.
Providing habitat is also important. Gardeners can check out the National Wildlife Federation‘s Garden for Wildlife keystone native plant collections which are based on zip codes. He also stresses the importance of gardening organically which means avoiding the use of insecticides, pesticides and non-organic fertilizers.
For those who really want to take wildlife gardening to the next level, Garden for Wildlife has a Certified Wildlife Habitat Program.
In addition to a wildlife-friendly garden, some of us also need people-friendly vegetables and herbs. While August is not the best time for putting in new plants and shrubs, it is a good time for planning ahead for cooler weather which means putting aside funds for major nursery purchases and sowing seeds in compostable pots to plant when the weather is right.
While some Houstonians may still be getting a few cherry tomatoes (the Yellow Pear in my garden offers a couple a day), most tomato plants have bitten the dust in the heat. Now is the time to sow tomato and pepper seeds to transplant in 6 to 8 weeks in the garden. Or just plant a seed or two in a large pot to grow in place. If you’re lucky, you’ll get some fruit before the cold weather sets in.
For less patient growers, local garden centers already have tomato and pepper transplants available including Plants For All Seasons, which has two locations in north Houston. An employee told us that there would be more coming in the next few weeks. Other veggies to grow now, from transplants, include cucumber, eggplant and summer squash.
In the middle of August, vegetable gardeners can begin sowing seeds indoors for cool weather plants such as cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Toward the end of the month, seeds can be sown outdoors in the garden for kale, collards, lettuce, onions and snap beans. Getting an early start means that there can be successive sowings if the first don’t do well. Or, vegetable gardeners could just clean out the beds and prepare for September, which is a great month for creating a fall food garden.
As for flowers and ornamentals, I personally am just trying to keep what I have alive. The garden centers do have plants right now like blue plumbago, salvia, lantana, vincas and pentas available for those who want to get some color back into the landscape. I already have those flowers in my garden and some of them are still blooming, despite the weather.
August is a tough time for gardeners in Houston but there are cooler days ahead. For now, we have to get ourselves out into the yard early in the morning or later in the evening and do some culling and weeding. Jennifer Hatalski, VP of marketing at Calloway’s Nursery (the parent company of Cornelius Nursery), says that deep watering should be done in the morning before 10 a.m. because it allows plants to absorb the nutrients before the water begins to evaporate in the sun. She also says to avoid overhead watering because it can cause the spread of fungal diseases.
Hatalski recommends mulching to prevent water evaporation and to help maintain soil moisture. Though we recommended here in the Houston Press last month to hold off on fertilizing, Hatalski says now is a good time to start fertilizing because the higher frequency of watering depletes nutrients.
It’s also important to clean out birdbaths and fill the feeders because the wildlife depends upon us as well. Hummingbirds begin showing up in Houston this month and it is recommended that feeders go up now. A garden isn’t a true haven without the fauna.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
