August can often be a difficult month for tired gardeners dealing with too little rain and too much rain, storms wreaking havoc, excessive heat, disease, bugs, and tired plants. A walk through Noerenberg Gardens might be just the thing to get through the “dog days” of summer.

Spring blooms are long gone and summer’s garden is slowly slipping into fall. There is still a lot to see at Noerenberg and hopefully give you inspiration for next year. Many of the annuals still look good, and we’ve been steady with our deadheading (cutting off spent flowers).

Plants to Look for This August

Soft lavender pentas and white gaura steal the show.

Tall, airy nicotiana and Verbena bonariensis are a buzz with pollinators and hummingbirds. 

Many of the annual salvias (another favorite of hummingbirds) are in full bloom. 

Humorous succulents tucked along the edge of the garden bring smiles. 

Some of the perennials are done flowering but add to the scene by providing form and texture. Gillenia’s upright vase shape, feathery foliage and red seed heads contribute much to the garden even without flowers. 

Siberian iris bloom in June but still hold their spot in the garden with gray-green upright foliage, a nice contrast to the soft, billowy forms of nearby plants. 

There are some perennials that wait all summer just to begin the fall show. Anemones, hibiscus and bush clover are a few that begin blooming in August and will continue into fall. 

The grasses begin to come into their own and get more beautiful as fall approaches. 

Walking through the quiet beauty of the gardens in August, a light breeze blowing off the lake sets the garden in motion and clears the mind, ready to accept the past season and look forward to the fall.