Garden Keeping Journal - September Edition

Tips, Inspiration & Checklists for Zone-7 (and neighboring) gardeners

Not a Zone-7 gardener?

You can adjust your email preferences anytime to skip the Prescott Garden Keeping Journal - while still enjoying the rest of The Whiskey Porch publication.

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Hardy Plumbago doing it’s thing along my front wall by the sidewalk. This is the real color - not edited!

September in Prescott isn’t quite autumn … at least not yet.

Around here, it’s more of a “late summer” moment. The garden (with any luck) is thriving, the intense heat has passed, and it’s the perfect time to slow down and enjoy what you’ve nurtured.

Fortunately, our much delayed summer monsoon season has arrived with bells on along with some much appreciated light cloud cover.

This is the beginning of my favorite stretch of the year, which lasts for a good long while into December. Time for afternoon gatherings, generous porch sittin’, and lingering glances at the garden and the birds flitting through.

Yes, I’ve pulled together a few September to-do’s for you. But nothing too heavy. This month is about planning and reflecting, ideally from a shady seat in the garden, cool drink in hand.

Keep reading for this month’s checklist: practical, thoughtful tasks to help you make the most of this in-between season.

While we don’t offer garden maintenance services here at The Whiskey Porch, I’ve put together these monthly garden keeping checklists to help you stay on track.

Whether you’re handling everything yourself or working with a maintenance crew, these guides are designed to be practical and helpful if you’re gardening in or around Prescott, Arizona. Or any Zone-7 landscape.

Each checklist is tailored to the specific microclimate I experience here in downtown Prescott, so your own timing might vary slightly depending on your exact location, elevation, and what you're growing. Generally speaking, these tips align with USDA Zone 7b.

Of course, no two years are exactly alike. 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 checklists are geared toward landscape gardens that include mostly perennials, plus veggies and herbs.

Let’s get to it.