Garden Keeping Journal - August 2026 Edition
Tips, Inspiration & Checklists for Zone-7 (and neighboring) gardeners, plus a 20% Member Discount off organic garden products
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Hello my garden friends,
August is all about the beginning of the harvest season, ongoing tending, and enjoying the results of your efforts and labor so far.
With any luck, the monsoon is still visiting your little part of the world fairly regularly, and you've got a garden and landscape that is showing off its splendor.
For me this year, here in the downtown area of Prescott (at 5,600 foot elevation) we have had non-stop daily monsoon storms for almost a month now. And it shows. What a joy it is to have to deal with some humidity and those darn mosquitos in exchange for the refreshing sustenance the rains bring.
In case you missed it, I wrote about some great resources to deal with those pesky mosquitos a few weeks ago - you’ll want to read all the way to the bottom to find out about how I put together some lovely kits and get the links for all the tools and products that can make your outdoor porch sittin’ a pleasure this time of year:
By August, the character of things may not be quite as pristine as it is early in the season, but the party is well underway and meant to be enjoyed.
The days are still long and if you've done a pretty good job of tending to and feeding your landscape, you may be blessed with color and the gentle shift towards late summer. Since autumn is my favorite time of year, I find this very joyful and exciting.
If you haven't been able to keep up with your to-do's as well as you'd liked, don't worry about it. Just jump in and do what you can now. It's not too late to get some cooler season herbs and veggies going.
Just be sure to look closely, use all your senses, and slow down. A garden is truly a gift. Enjoy!
August at Juniper Hill Cottage
A few behind-the-scenes notes from the garden as we approach late summer.
🌼What I’m Planting
Another round of Cilantro*
Iris rhizomes - I went to the local Iris Society Sale and bought a silly amount of dormant rhizomes, hope to get them in the ground before September
*direct sowing seeds in the ground
🌼What’s Blooming
Sunflowers - honestly most are just volunteers at this point from prior years
Chocolate Flower
Hardy Plumbago
Wild Morning Glory
Many varieties of hardy succulents
Agastache - several cultivars
Anise Hyssop
Gaillardia
The tomatoes are coming in!
Those alpine strawberries are at it again
The Dahlias are tantalizingly close …. I’ll be sure to feature them in September
I could keep going - but I also share lots of images of garden glimpses on my Substsack daily Notes if you’d like to catch more there
🌼Last Month’s Lesson Learned
Watering is a fun little dance, and an art here in the drier climates of the western U.S. but even more so here in the high-country where we are.
Given our elevation we generally get very reliable monsoon rains beginning typically in early July and then running through into early September. If you’ve never experienced these storms - dramatic is one word that comes to mind.
Wild thunder and lightning accompanied by generally very short bursts of torential downpours. So, when it rains here - it really rains here. An inch in a day within an hour or two isn’t at all uncommon. But then the sun comes back out and it’s warm - albeit somewhat humid.
I’ve found that the drip systems are fantastic as a tool in any landscape.
However - I’ve decided that the newer wi-fi enabled controllers for your system are not only a nice upgrade but almost a necessity.
So I finally replaced my older unit, which was a high end programmable unit connected to six valves. And it worked. I mean it turned on and watered the entire landscape.
But - there’s a lot more to managing water use efficiently these days with unpredictable rain, and sometimes soaring heat waves in places you’d just never expect.
Lesson Learned: The old traditional units just do one job, on schedule, no questions asked. But a wi-fi enabled smart controller is out here checking the radar, collecting usage info, and texting you about the leak on the east side of the property that you’d never know about otherwise. And, the new ones aren’t even expensive to be honest. I mean if you’ve invested the way most of us do in our gardens it’s a drop in the bucket (see what I did there?!).
Here’s the one I highly recommend and include on most of my client design projects as well - wish I’d replaced my old one sooner:
Orbit B-Hyve Smart Controller **
About These Checklists
While we don’t offer garden maintenance services here at The Whiskey Porch, these monthly Garden Keeping Checklists are designed to help you stay on track and feel supported through the seasons.
Whether you’re handling everything yourself or working with a maintenance crew, you’ll find the tips practical and flexible - especially if you’re gardening in or around Prescott, Arizona, or in other Zone-7 and neighboring climates anywhere in the world.
Each checklist reflects the rhythm I experience here in Prescott’s downtown microclimate, so your own garden may vary slightly depending on your elevation, location, and what you’re growing. Generally speaking, these notes align with USDA Zone 7b.
Of course, no two years are exactly alike, even in the same zone. Some seasons bring an early hard freeze in late October, while others hold off until December. Keep that in mind as you plan your tasks.
These guides are geared toward landscape gardens that include mostly perennials, with a sprinkling of annuals, veggies and herbs.
Let’s get into it!
🔐The full checklist
Watering notes, closeup images of what’s blooming, detailed bullet-list guidance, plus your 20%-OFF discount code for organic garden products are available for all paid members of The Whiskey Porch here👇🏼
Not a paid member yet? You can learn more here and become a member now to unlock access to this month’s checklist and every month going forward.
What are you Working On?
It's really fun to put these checklists together. It forces me to sit down and gather all of my usual to-dos in a more logical and organized setup - which helps me too. And I'm getting great feedback from you all which really makes it all worthwhile!
I’d love to know what you’ve got going on in your garden or landscape - what’s blooming, what are you planting, are the skeeters after you too?
Let me know if you think anything needs to be added to this list.
Until next month… Have a colorful and garden-filled time!
With contentment & possibility,
** As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through one of these links, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally used in my own daily life and truly feel good about.