From the August 21, 2008 issue

Now is the time to rejuvenate flower beds

Divide and conquer is a familiar battle cry of generals, but gardeners can also use the same phrase as they prepare to do battle with their perennials in late August and September.

Now is the best time to divide perennials and conquer overgrown plants. Home gardeners need to divide plants if it necessary for the plant's health, for changes in garden designs, or to share favorite (or not so favorite) plants with friends.

However not all perennials handle division successfully. Plants such as asclepia, baptista, gas plants or lavender can be lost easily through transplanting.

Most gardeners can't visit a Garden Center without purchasing "just a few" plants Then when they get home. They have to find a place that needs to be filled in, so they dig a hole which becomes the plant's new home. In about three years the plants may have overgrown the space and surgery is necessary.

Giving your garden a face lift is the ideal time to let you learn from your mistakes. You can change the shape of the flower bed; get rid of plants you don't like or that always end up with diseases, and remove those that become too invasive.

Color schemes can be altered, and seasonal interest can be added. Last fall I decided to redesign my flower borders and start all over with the perennials that I had just stuck in the ground.

I dug up every perennial, laid them on the grass and actually charted where they would be placed. Most of them needed to be divided which gave me more plants to fill in my design without spending any more money for new plants!

Before I replanted any of the perennials, I spread four cubic yards of mushroom compost on the soil. A major rule for gardening is never lose an opportunity to rejuvenate the soil. As I dug holes for the plants, the compost trickled down where the roots would find the added nourishment. I also ordered alliums and lily bulbs to which I was able to tuck into just the right space.

Keep picking the tomatoes, peppers, and squash to encourage further fruits on the original plant. Fall is a good time to plant cool season favorites such as broccoli, beets, lettuce, green beans, spinach and cabbage. Not all garden centers carry fall plants, so you might have to call around to find new starts. By-passing the grocery store is a good thing.

"What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it." Charles Dudley &emdash; 1871

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From August 28, 2008 issue

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• SPOTLIGHT BRIEFS

 
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• Looking Back
By Robin Graves, Spotlight staff

• Reality As I See It
By Denise Summers, Spotlight staff

• Sports Page