August can be hot and dry, it also can be humid which spells the end of many of the more famous flowers of your perennial garden. With a few well chosen additions August can also be a month alive with garden color, especially if you like native prairie flowers. Here are five choices that you might include in your garden plantings for August color.
Butterfly Weed
Asclepsias tuberosa, which actually starts to flower in July, but is still going strong in August, is a native plant with lovely orange flowers on a plant that grows about 1-2 feet tall. A little late to show signs of life in spring, make sure that you don’t accidentally dig it up when digging around the garden early in the season. Liking dry field conditions, it needs well-drained soil and is drought tolerant.
Butterflies love them
Sedum
“Autumn Joy”, is one tough plant. Native to native to China and Korea, it is hardy to zone 4. It comes into its own in August and has showy flowers that are plate like inflorescences. Starting out a dusty pink they gradually darken up to give a strong bronze red color. Another favorite of mine is Sedum alboroseum ‘Mediovarigatum’ with sunny yellow blotched leaves, but its flowers are a pale insipid pink- perhaps the two should be grown together so you get the wonderful variegated leaves AND the deeper colored flowers of “Autumn Joy”. Another plant for full sun and well-drained soil conditions.
New American style garden
“Goldsturm” Rudbeckia
Or blackeyed Susan, as it’s commonly known, is always a feature in this month. The golden daisies create a strong impression and mix exceptionally well with the ornamental grasses that look good in this month, too. In fact, the combination has become a classic for many modern landscapes. Full sun is best.
Phlox paniculata
This grows best in moist, well-drained, loamy or sandy soils with a pH of neutral to slightly alkaline. It is a full blown garden flower which can put on quite a show. A very good white variety is “David” and one of my favorites is the coral red “Starfire”. Garden phlox comes in wide variety of lavender, purples, pinks, and has bicolor (eyed) selections. They are also fragrant. Height ranges from 30-42″
with a spread of 21-14″; its look in the garden is of an upright form. Native to the eastern half of the U.S.Phlox paniculata
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Plumbago, or leadwort, is from the opposite side of the spectrum from many of the gold to orange August flowers with a vivid blue bloom. It grows equally well in sun or shade, takes average conditions and grows well enough to qualify as a groundcover. It has always behaved in my own garden, and I am very partial to it. It is native to China, and tolerates dry soils, need good drainage, hardy to zone 5, full sun to part shade, and the leaves turn a lovely red burgundy color in the fall.
plumbago
