Welcome to Garden Zone, a monthly newsletter for anyone interested in gardening. ​​It's produced by Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in Mecklenburg County. View in your browser August Garden Tasks It's the hot, sultry days of summer. Watering and weeding may be all you think about. Here are some things to add to that list: Perennials & annuals ✳️ Did you know ferns can become dormant if they get too dry? Check the soil regularly for watering needs. ✳️ Renew annuals by pinching leggy growth and deadheading. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer, such as fish emulsion, to encourage blooms through the fall. ✳️ Continue to prune perennials to keep in a desired space and for air circulation. Vegetables ✳️ Start seeds now for fall and winter vegetables. ✳️ Pinch the stems of basil regularly to prevent flowering, and harvest about once a week. Gather herbs for drying as they mature. Trees & shrubs ✳️ No fertilizing is necessary this month. ✳️ Trees and shrubs should NOT be pruned after Aug. 15. Lawn & landscaping ✳️ Watch out for yellow patches, leaf curl or poor growth. You may need to increase watering if you see these signs. Watering tips ✳️ Water outdoor container plants daily, if needed, as they dry out quicker than plants in the ground. Water early morning to prevent mildew from occurring. And the Winner is…. By EMG Connie Rothwell Summer plants are in their glory, and this month is great for “nominating” your most outstanding specimens. Why? Because your winners can be marked with ribbons or popsicle sticks for next year’s garden: #lovethisplant Outstanding Color and Height might go to a particular marigold or zinnia plant. Let a few of the blossoms go to seed in September or October to collect for next year. Mark the best geraniums so you are sure to dig them up before frost to store in a cool place. #youmademyday Nominate your Best in Bulb . It might be a Caladium or gigantic Elephant Ear. Mark it with a gold ribbon, so you are sure to find the corm or bulb when you want to dig it up for winter storage or divide it in the spring. #nohidingfromme Outstanding Vigor goes to the plants that did not get eaten up by deer or rabbits or succumb to heat. Mark those to divide for more success next year. #hangtough Support Roles is for ornamental grasses, ground cover, and Hosta. Mark these to divide in fall: #BFF Outstanding Taste is awarded to a non-hybrid tomato, pepper, melon, or bean. #yummyummy Once you have found all your winners, mark the location, branch, or plant. As fall approaches, let it go to seed if there is fruit or flower. Then, divide, store, or collect seeds right before frost. We are always looking forward to the new season. Photos courtesy of Pixabay My Joy By EMG Charlotte Ramirez 2020 was the start of a one-two knockout punch for me and my family. I’ve called it the double C’s: Covid and Cancer. Being diagnosed with thyroid cancer at only 40 years old, I experienced anger, I was scared, emotional and full of so many other feelings. Since we were home more, I started transforming my almost untouched and overgrown backyard into a garden. The more I was outside working, the more I felt at peace. As the plants flourished, so did my contentment. I continued to install more and more raised beds, adding a pergola, retaining wall and paver patio. I was outside every day! I was able to grow fun, funky veggies, things we’ve never seen in grocery stores before. It was fun watching my children share while helping me harvest and, of course, consuming their favorite veggies. It was amazing how much gardening raised my spirits and brought me peace and joy. My neglected backyard soon transitioned into my happy place. It wasn’t overnight, but it was mine. My hard work, my efforts, my trials and errors, and then it turned into my success. So I encourage you, if you’re feeling down, go get your hands dirty. Go plant a row of something. Go plant a cucumber, tomato, sunflower, ANYTHING. Enjoy the excitement as your seeds grow and give you gifts of food for nourishment or something beautiful to look at. May it bring you as much joy as it has for me. Photos courtesy of EMG Charlotte Ramirez Creating Eden: The Overlapping Principles of Contrast By EMG Sylvia Hindman Texture - Color - Shape - Height. These elements are linked together when one thinks of contrast in the garden. They are each important and work hand-in-hand to avoid too much uniformity. Without them, a garden could be pretty boring. Texture can be seen and felt. Leaves are succulent, smooth, wispy, downy, hairy, prickly. Trees have bark which can be rough, smooth, deeply grooved, and even peeling. Don’t overlook mulches of fine pine needles, chunky wood chips, smooth pebbles, sharp sea shells, etc. Accent rocks provide great variety from smooth river stones to rough lava rock, and from jagged boulders to porous limestone. Textures were meant to be mixed! Color can change an entire landscape from calm and restful to bright and energetic. Just as you would use a color-wheel to decorate your home, it can be used to decide which color combinations would look best outdoors. Interestingly, blue and purple are always complementary to other colors. Don’t just focus on flowers - include foliage, furniture, garden ornaments, and hardscape. Shape and Height are the twins of garden design. Evergreens can be short and rounded or spreading, tall pyramids or weeping, slim or contorted. Similarly, deciduous trees range from small understory trees to the towering giants of the plant world. Flowers go from miniature to statuesque, from floppy to upright, and from mounding to sprawling. There are tall climbing vines and low clinging ground-covers. By paying just a little attention to contrast, your garden will be a distinctly unique place - your own personal Eden. Photo by Janet Laughrey Beekeepers Work to Stabilize Honeybee Colonies By EMG Gina Tadle Last year, the United States experienced a devastating loss as nearly half of its honeybee colonies perished. This alarming decline has put honeybee populations at risk and raised concerns about the future of pollination and food production. Despite the challenges they face, struggling beekeepers have been working tirelessly to stabilize the honeybee population. Recognizing the urgent need for action, beekeepers have implemented various strategies to address the decline. By focusing on reducing pesticide usage, they promote organic farming practices and integrated pest management techniques to minimize the exposure of bees to harmful chemicals. Through educational initiatives, workshops, and community outreach programs, they raise awareness about the importance of honeybees, their role in pollination, and how to protect bees and their habitats. Scientists, researchers, and government agencies collaborate in finding solutions. Beekeepers share data, participate in research projects, and contribute their expertise to develop effective hive management strategies and combat diseases and parasites that threaten honeybee colonies. By advocating for stronger policies and regulations to safeguard honeybees, they engage with policymakers and lobby for sustainable agricultural practices and reduced pesticide use to create a more bee-friendly environment. Despite the immense challenges faced by struggling beekeepers, their dedication and collective efforts are making a difference. Through sustainable practices, education, collaboration, and advocacy, they are playing a crucial role in stabilizing honeybee populations. However, continued support from society, and policymakers, is necessary to ensure the long-term survival and well-being of these vital pollinators. Photos courtesy of filt.org, jooinn.com, Bing Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) By EMG Stacy Hodes The non-native Fire Ant has reached a good portion of our state leaving only the western section unscathed. These ants are tiny, nasty creatures that can cause a week’s worth of pain and itching with their sting. Spread through sod, nursery stock, soil and movement of water (flooding), they now inhabit 11 southern states. Always check your plants for fire ants before purchasing, especially with large landscaping projects. They are reddish to brown in color and of several types: workers, winged (mistaken as termites), males and queens. The larvae are called “brood” and have a rice-type appearance. Mounds can appear small but go deep and wide containing over 100,000 and can include more than one queen. In the spring, the winged males and females mate in the air and then the queen drops her wings and burrows into the ground to lay her eggs. The colonies will appear in late fall. Sustained freezing temperatures will usually kill the colonies but mild winters, like those we have in the south, will not. So, how can we as home gardeners control these pests? Take a conservative approach and treat just the mound. NC State provides a list of Pesticides for Use Against Fire Ants . Always follow the label directions precisely when applying any chemicals . The best approach starts with a bait around the mound followed a few days later with a mound drench. The bait will be more pervasive as it is carried back and shared with the colony. The drench will finish it off (hopefully!). You must kill the queen(s) in order for the colony to perish. This 45-minute Joe Gardener podcast on this topic is sure to please. Photos courtesy of Patricia Alder - NC State, M. Waldvogel - NC State, and Pixabay, Transpiration: How Trees Cool the Air By EMG Jean Wilson​ Driving home one day, I noticed that the temperature my car registered on Pineville-Matthews Road was in the low 90’s. But when we got onto our street lined with large Willow Oaks, the temp dropped by several degrees. When I brought a thermometer into the wooded area behind my house, it was even cooler, quite a bit cooler, than the shade provided by my porch roof.