 | | It’s August, the time to plan for late summer and early fall color in your garden. Stand back and take a look at your garden. Are there bare spots that need a little color? Is something missing up front? Is there a spot where some late summer color would be good?  | |      Internet SpecialsEvery week we have new Internet Specials -- plants, seeds, soil amendments, fertilizers -- just about anything for the garden. Keep checking back to see the latest.
Gardening News For more information about soil, plants, garden history, botanical news, watering and much more. | |  | Adding Color to the Late Summer Garden
If you want a garden that has something blooming from the moment it wakes in the spring and continues into fall, now is the time to plan. High Country Gardens offers an abundance of spectacular fall blooming perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses. Reserve your favorites before fall perennial shipping resumes August 25th.
Agastache
Among the plants that High Country Gardens has introduced to the public, our exclusive Agastache are top on our list of vigorous growers that bloom non-stop from mid-summer through fall. Hummingbirds love fall blooming agastache as they move south on their migrations.
Salvia
Come late summer, the numerous cobalt blue flowers of Salvia reptens remind you that it is a very special flowering sage. The foliage is pungently scented and resists browsing animals. Another outstanding Salvia, the stunning ever-blooming 'Raspberry Delight'® has a profusion of deeply-colored, raspberry-red flowers held well above its long, arching branches. Salvia greggii 'Furman's Red', valued for its tightly branched, upright growth habit has a profusion of dark red flowers beginning in early summer and continuing through the fall.
View fall blooming Salvia
New to Gardening? The trick to designing your garden with perennial flowers is making sure you have something wonderful in bloom all the time. If you are new to gardening, try these dependable, low maintenance late summer/early fall bloomers:

Eco Tip: Be Green with Native Grasses
Xeriscaping the High Country Gardens way is all about 'green' gardening, and we are strong advocates of xeric native grass lawns and organic lawn care. Low Water grass lawns are soft, green, resilient, and beautiful. By saving water and resources, planting waterwise native lawns are better for you and better for the planet. Summer is the ideal time of the year for planting buffalo grass and blue grama plugs. You can be very creative with xeric native grasses. Plant them between stepping stones, or create a colorful meadow by planting wildflowers into established native grass plugs.
Planting a Buffalo Grass Lawn Planting a Prairie Garden
 David's Helpful Hints: Perking Up the Mid-Summer Garden
It's that time of year--everything's blooming and the greenery couldn't be better. Still, a few more things can be done to perk up the mid-summer garden. Soil and Watering Inoculate plant roots with the beneficial mycorrhiza in Earth Magic® to make the plants healthier and more vigorous - Add mulch to moderate soil temperatures
- Newly installed plants may need frequent waterings during heat spells; check drip system emitters or rebuild water wells around plants if they have become shallow
High Country Gardens Recipe for Healthy Soil Plants Divide lilies, irises and poppies after they've bloomed; later in August is the perfect time - Keep up with weeding so they don't set seed
- Dead-head (remove) flowers; but leave spikes and stalks of re-seeding plants such as Columbine, Chocolate Flower, Blue Flax and any of the Penstemons
- Shear back the flowers on ground covers (Veronica and Thyme) to stimulate a thicker mass
- Plant the warm weather native grass lawns such as Grama and Buffalo
Fertilizers and Growth Stimulants
- Use high quality balanced fertilizer such as liquid Earth Juice for a gentle mid-season boost of transplants and established plants
- Give this season's transplants a dose of root stimulator with our Root Stimulator Combo Packs
Fall Perennial shipping resumes August 25th. Take 10% Off new orders of $75 or more placed by August 10th, 2008 (excluding S&H). Use COUPON CODE 8915 at checkout. Seeds, buffalo grass, grama grass plugs, cacti and succulents and garden goods are shipping now.
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For additional information: you can contact us via e-mail at plants@highcountrygardens.com, or write us at our physical address - 2904 Rufina Street, Santa Fe, NM 87507, or phone us at 1-800-925-9387. |
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