Planting In August
My latest blog post was about planting my roots, this post is about literally planting your roots (in your flower bed)! It is no secret I have a green thumb and love plants and flowers. Growing up in the country and later on majoring in Agriculture-Horticulture-Animal Science and being the local FFA President, I have a lot of hours under my belt not only in the classroom but also in the field sharpening my knowledge in this subject. Of course there is always more to learn and it is a great hobby for those who enjoy trial and error, sunshine, dirt and the peace of outdoors. 
Here is a list of flowers I have compiled that you should either plant, transplant or split during the month of August:
1. Marigolds- If you planted these flowers in early summer, great! You’re off to a head start. These flowers typically hang around through the fall season until the first hard freeze. I especially love that they compliment with hues of Autumn.
2. Black Eyed Susans- They’re often seen as wild flowers in fields around Kentucky but you can also find them at Home Depot in the gardening section around $10 a plant. If you can find them out in the wild it will obviously be cheaper. These flowers have golden daisy like blooms, they can be annuals or perennials. It’s important to go ahead and get these plants in the ground to get their roots established. Black Eyed Susans will go from summer through fall.
3. Chrysanthemums- Mums! Mums are a fall favorite of many, typically left in the plastic pots decorating grand front steps with pumpkins around and then are tossed when they dry out. What many don’t know is you can plant them as soon as you start seeing them in stores and more than likely you will see them return next year! This is a great tip as these flowers in pots can be quite expensive to purchase yearly, why not save the money and use it for more fall festivities?!
4. Snapdragons- Are annuals but they don’t mind a bit of cool weather. I purchased a few to add a pop of color to our bare flowerbeds for fall, and they will still get loads of blooms before the big freeze.
5. Iris- Plant/divide these spring bloomers now so they have a chance to develop a strong root system. Iris’s always catch my eye!
6. Peonies- Are my absolute favorite, this time is a great season to divide and plant so they will bloom next spring.
7. Hostas- They can grow quite large so it is necessary to divide during August. If you will be dividing, cut the leaves down first.
8. Day lilies- Before transplanting and dividing trim down the previous leaves.
9. Crocus- Beautiful pops of color that will bloom September through November.
-You can also transplant any spring flowering bulbs during this time such as tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinth, etc. You will want to plant these anytime between August and September-
We will definitely be using this list to start our outdoor landscaping at the new farmhouse before fall hits to help us get a head start on deep rooted beautiful flowers in months to come.
XOXO
Sophia