It's a good thing the August garden can take care of herself because I did very little this month. Mostly because there was minimal need for my interference. I planted my plants so close together that only the most persistent weeds stand a chance. These I pull up with ease after they grow tall enough to poke through the canopy. After a while one of my growing season goals becomes less about getting every weed out and more about reducing those weeds that are sending out seed heads to make next year a bit easier, so I don't sweat the small fry.

Weeds aside, the garden is (dare I say) blossoming. Each plant is growing with all her might, putting out flowers and packing on the growth. I had to rip out several square feet of toothache plant to prevent it from overrunning my calendulas and the little garden path. Don't be fooled though, there is plenty of toothache plant left.

My calendulas are producing. Most plants I leave to flower for the bees and to save my sanity, but not the calendulas. I pluck every flower and they go straight to my drying screen. When I miss a day, I let those flower heads go by so I can save the seeds. How I love calendulas.

I've been enjoying those plants that you don't harvest until the second year: valerian, clary sage, echinacea (first bloom soon!), and marshmallow. It's nice to see them growing and knowing that I'll get to play with them next year. I have several ashwagandha plants that should be in this category but they won't survive the winter, so I'll be harvesting their roots this year. This will leave me with several big spaces in the beds. Thank goodness! I mistakenly planted my rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano plants too close to some of the taller plants and they get very little sun. I'll relocate these next year to the empty spaces. This is what happens when you don't know much about the plants you're planting, and you think that blue vervain will stay small and shrubby.

I'm not sure what to do about the oats that are growing. They don't look like they'll produce heads any time soon. Although I know I have most of September before me, I'm not sure anything will come of that cluster of plants. And meanwhile they are disguising all kinds of tall grasses in there. Ah well. I'll just let them go and see what happens.

That bee balm from last month is thriving. Farmer Brittany suggested I cut the plants back to encourage root growth before the winter, so I did. The plants rewarded me with another round of blooms, which I turned into flower essence this week. August is a gift from the garden. I know it will all go by soon, and I'm planning my winterizing activities already, but it sure is good to enjoy it now.