July & August
Right Now:
During the dog days of summer, it’s important to make sure your plants are well mulched and to monitor your watering. If you’re trying to wean your grass off frequent, shallow irrigation (as you should be), then water only when your lawn begins to show signs of slight drought stress: blades losing their sheen and footprints lingering on the lawn surface. When these signs appear, water slowly and deeply. Two caveats: don’t try this with newly established lawns and wait until after flowering plants have bloomed to instigate any drought-resistance program. One more: if you choose to build a compost bin, repair fences, or start a whole new vegetable bed for the fall, pace yourself, work in the morning and evening, and drink plenty of water.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BLOOMS: Salvia
The sage in bloom/is like perfume/deep in the heart of Texas. Salvia, commonly known as sage, is a great plant for sunny Texas gardens. Historically, sage was prized as a medicinal herb; hence the source of the botanical name –a derivation of the Latin salveo, to heal– and the root of salvation and salve. There are well in excess of 900 salvias to choose from, and given their variety in form and flower, it’s hard to believe they’re all related. With flowers in almost every color imaginable and sizes from shrubs to dwarf perennials, there is sure to be a place in your garden for several of these carefree beauties.
| Perennial Forms | Common Name | Foliage/flower Color |
| Salvia farinacea S. greggii S. leucantha S. officinalis S. officinalis, Aurea S. officinalis, Tricolor S. elegans S. splendens S. sclarea S. vanhouttii S. superba S. guaranitica | Mealycup sage Autumn sage Mexican bush sage Common sage N/A N/A Pineapple sage Scarlet sage Clary sage Brazil sage May Night Blue Skies | Blue, white Red, coral, deep pink, white Purple blooms in fall Silvery green/blue, pink Variegated yellow and purple green leaves Variegated white, purple and green leaves Red blooms winter to spring Red, purple, cream, salmon, lavender Large grey leaves, lilac blooms Burgundy flowers Dark purple flowers Cobalt blue, deep blue |
| Shrub Forms | Common Name | Foliage/flower Color |
| S. leucophyllum S. leucophyllum | Texas Bush Sage or Silverado Sage Green Cloud celadon Compact Texas Sage | silver/purple green foliage/purple |
Summer Checklist
Your Guide to Gardening in July & August
JULY
In Bloom:
Althea, canna, crape myrtle, dianthus, gladiolas, daylilies, hibiscus, lantana, lythrum, phlox, plumbago, roses, rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan), verbena, vitex, zinnias
To Do List
- In addition to regular watering, soak hanging baskets once a week for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Tropical plants, such as caladiums and impatiens, are comfortable in our summer heat, but their natural habitat is much more moist; don’t let your tropicals dry out.
- After the spring flush, pinch chrysanthemums back to encourage branching and lots of blooms in the fall.
- Azaleas, camellias, fruit trees, Indian hawthorn, forsythia, and other spring-flowering shrubs form flower buds in July and August. Be sure to keep them watered and fed, or your blooms will suffer next spring.
- Lavish your roses with care and proper feeding now; they’ll reward you in the fall with a lovely flush of blooms.
- Remove deadwood from trees and shrubs, but hold off on major pruning until winter. Doing so now will only stimulate tender new growth too close to winter.
- Cut your flowers and bring them inside. In doing so, you’ll encourage more blooms.
- Begin to plant fall vegetables now.
- Plant, divide, and reset iris now.
- Check crape myrtles for powdery mildew. Treat with a fungicide, if needed.
AUGUST
In Bloom:
Begonias, cosmos, crape myrtle, crinum, dahlia, hibiscus, impatiens, liatris, marigolds, periwinkle, plumbago, portulaca, rudbeckia, shrimp plants, copper plants, verbena, zinnias
To Do List
- Continue planting fall vegetables.
- Sow bluebonnet seeds now for spring bloom.
- Watch for red spider mites and grub worms.
- If you’re leaving town for more than a day or two, arrange to have someone watch your garden and water, if necessary. Many gardens languish during the summer when sprinkler systems fail for one reason or another.
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Fine Feathered Friends
By this time of the year, most birds have finished nesting and their fledglings have taken flight, but there’s always something of interest above.
July and August are the peak months for ruby-throated hummingbirds. Keep your feeders full, and change the feeding solution daily. The sugars will quickly ferment in the summer heat and can be deadly to the hummers.
Watch the night sky for nature’s insect controllers, nighthawks and bats. Nighthawks are sometimes referred to as Bullbats, though they are birds. They can consume as many as 500 mosquitoes and up to 2,175 flying ants in an evening! Bats are just as handy to have around, routinely eating as many as 1,200 insects an hour. In Dallas, you’re most likely to find Mexican free-tailed bats, which are colonial nesters, so put up a bat house (available at Wildbirds Unlimited) and say good-bye to mosquito bites.
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Blue Moon Rising
In July we will have two full moons, on the 2nd and the 31st. The second full moon in a calendar month is called a blue moon. Here are a few fun facts.
The original definition of a blue moon was the third full moon in a season with four full moons. Blue moons threw ecclesiastical calendars into disarray as crucial religious dates, such as Easter, were determined by moon phases. The extra full moon in the year muddled the calculation of days.
There can never be a blue moon in February because the average span between full moons is 29.5 days.
Over the next 20 years, there will be a total of 17 blue moons.
The last blue moon was November 30, 2001.
The even more rare occurrence of two blue moons in a calendar year happens approximately once every 19 years. The last time this happened was in 1999.
There will be no blue moons at all in the years 2006, 2011, 2014, and 2017.
