Gardening: Take stock now with notes and photos for the future

The dog days of summer may be upon us, but now is a good time to take an inventory of the garden and landscape to make note of what changes you might want to make when the weather cools down. I find my camera and a notebook are the best tools for this job. Photos are best taken on cloudy days so the colors of leaves and flowers are not washed out.

I take pictures of the good, the bad and the ugly so I can remember them when shopping in spring. 

Good combinations, plants that thrive and look good together are photographed as well as those that don’t quite make the grade. 

I also use my phone to take pictures off the internet. Gardening “friends” on Facebook are always sending out shots of their gorgeous combos.  Irvin Etienne, from the Garden at Newfield’s, sent out a stunning photo of a hedge of Wasabi coleus and burgundy leafed cannas that is maintenance free and can take the heat.  Who would have thought? I put it on my list.

I also take photos of problems to send out to friends to see if they can help me identify issues. 

Photos are also good reminders of chores that need to be done in spring. Because of the weather, a cold and rainy spring that seem to go on forever, an injury from  bad tumble I am still suffering from, and the blistering hot summer, I didn’t get important things done, like fertilizing the roses early in the season. Fertilizing flowering shrubs such as roses is not recommended after the middle of August as it stimulates new growth that will be subject to winter kill. So right now I’m feeding the soil around them with compost and the beneficial microbes in Assure Microbial Magic and I took a photo to document the before to so I can measure any improvement. 

Mid-August is also a good time to sow the seeds of biennials, such as sweet William, for-get-me-nots and holly hocks, you’re hoping to see bloom in spring. It will give them time to germinate and become established before the frost hits. If you’re growing larkspur, harvest the seeds now and store them in the refrigerator for sowing when the temperatures drop to around 40 degrees. I just scatter them on the surface of the soil.

You might also want to consider taking cuttings now from geraniums, lantana and other plants to grow indoors over the winter. 

Nancy Szerlag is a master gardener and a Metro Detroit freelance writer. Her column appears Fridays in Homestyle. To ask her a question go to Yardener.com and click on Ask Nancy. You can also read her previous columns at detroitnews.com/homestyle.