A coneflower blooms in an August garden.

It’s too late to participate in peak garden walk season. It’s too early to hang a fall wreath. So what do home gardeners do in late August?

There’s weeding, of course. And the harvesting of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, pears and other fruits and vegetables.

For many, it’s a good time to wander around the garden and make mental (or written) notes.

“I’ve been walking around, looking to see what has worked and what isn’t working,” said Phyllis Lobbins, whose garden was on this year’s East Side Garden Walk.

“One of my beds, I would like to redo. I have a plant that has not lived up to my expectations, so I will be digging her out,” she said.

“Plus she has overstepped her boundaries and is trying to take over the whole bed. So she has to go,” said Lobbins, noting that the misbehaving plant is queen-of-the-prairie.

Coneflowers flourish in Phyllis Lobbins' garden, which was part of the East Side Garden Walk this year.

There’s more that Lobbins, a master gardener through Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County, has been up to: “In conjunction with remaking that bed, I’ve been out doing a little shopping at the local nurseries to see what’s on sale. So I’ve picked up a couple of things,” she said.

These include more of a favorite perennial – coneflowers – that she will plant soon.

“I’m looking at the yellows and oranges,” she said. “There’s still time left to do things.”

She also has been picking pears and making the most of them.

“My pear tree is bountiful this year. I think it’s because of my mason bees,” said Lobbins, who hangs nesting houses for mason bees and leaf-cutter bees on the back of her garage.

“They came out at about the same time that the tree was in bloom, and I think that they did a really good job pollinating it, so I got a bumper crop this year,” said Lobbins, who plans to use the Bartletts to make pear jam, pear sauce and pear crisp – and, of course, to eat fresh pears every day.

Courtney Gorman, whose garden was on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View and the Tours of Open Gardens in July, said she also is pondering perennials.

“Right now, and this fall, I am thinking of what perennials I want to move and splitting perennials. I like to give or swap with other gardeners some of my perennials that I no longer want or need to cut back,” she said.

“As the leaves begin to fall, I will mulch the leaves with my lawn mower and then I will bag them up. I then spread the mulch leaves over my garden beds onto the perennials to protect them for the winter. It’s a great fertilizer, as well,” she added.

Like other gardeners, she likes to freshen up her window boxes. She plants mums, ornamental cabbage and pansies to transition them from summer to fall.

One of the gardens of Jody Wienke, shown here in 2020.

Jody Wienke said, in addition to maintaining plants and nursing things along – “It’s been such a hot summer,” she said – she’s been rearranging potted plants to fill in gaps in the garden. She and her husband, Dean, were on the City of Tonawanda Garden Walk and the Tours of Open Gardens in July.

“A lot of gardeners do this. We rearrange the plantings that are in pots when all of a sudden you have something that has died, but you have an area you still want to look nice,” she said.

She said she generally has enough potted plants to do this, as well as easily moved decorative accents – often salvaged items – from their eclectic garden.

“I really don’t want to see that hole in the garden. So it’s just keeping things alive so we can still entertain back there the next few weeks,” she said.

• Don’t miss out on planting bulbs. Think about the spring-flowering ones you want to plant this fall, and review the basics.

• In the coming weeks, keep an eye out for fall planters and containers at local nurseries and greenhouses to replace any tired summer ones. Or plant one yourself. (You might even be able to keep the existing healthy foliage.) Think ornamental grasses, mums (of course), Heuchera, ornamental kale, any frost-tolerant plants.

• Is this the year to dry some of your hydrangeas to enjoy after the season ends? Hgtv.com and thespruce.com are two resources that offer step-by-step instructions for doing so.

• Before it’s time to pack away your outdoor furniture, make any repairs and take note of things you want to add next season. (If you have ample winter storage, you can even check out any end-of-season sales and make purchases now.) Clean outdoor cushions and pillows – following manufacturer’s instructions – and pack them safely away in a place where they will stay clean. You will be glad you took the time to do this now when you get ready to set up your outdoor spaces again next year.

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I write about decorating, gardening, fashion, DIY projects and entertaining for the Home & Style section. We feature many residences throughout Western New York. Interviewing people about their homes and gardens is a favorite part of my beat.

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A coneflower blooms in an August garden.

Coneflowers flourish in Phyllis Lobbins' garden, which was part of the East Side Garden Walk this year.

One of the gardens of Jody Wienke, shown here in 2020.

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