Planning Next Season’s Garden: 5 Tasks to Do Before Fall
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
August is the garden’s gentle turning point. The days still hum with warmth, but the days are getting shorter and the light leans golden, touching every bloom with a hint of farewell.
This is the season for both gratitude and foresight — for enjoying what’s here while preparing for what’s to come.
A little work now, before autumn deepens, will make next spring’s garden richer, healthier, and more beautiful. Here are five tasks to help you plan for next season’s success.
1. Tuck the Soil in for Winter Rest
Just as we pull a quilt over our beds on a cool night, the soil needs a warm blanket before winter arrives. Adding organic matter now gives it time to break down, feeding next year’s plants from the roots up.
What to do:
Clear away spent annuals and weeds.
Spread 1-2 inches of compost over your beds.
Use a shovel or tiller to gently incorporate the compost into the top 3-5 inches of the soil.
Your garden will awaken in spring with rich, well-rested soil — ready for a fresh season of growth.
2. Plant Now for Tomorrow’s Blooms
Some of the garden’s most stunning displays begin quietly, long before spring. Planting in late summer and early fall ensures certain flowers and crops get a strong head start.
Try planting:
Spring bulbs: Daffodils, Tulips, and Crocus.
Biennials: Foxglove, Hollyhock, and Sweet William — sow now, bloom next year.
Perennials: Get them settled before winter settles in. Give their roots time to regrow and establish before winter.
These are little gifts to your future self, waiting patiently beneath the soil.
3. Divide and Re-home Perennials
Over time, perennials can grow crowded, competing for nutrients and space. Dividing them now keeps them healthy and allows you to expand your garden — or share with friends.
Best candidates for dividing in late summer:
Iris
Daylilies
Hostas
Lift the clumps with a spade, split them into smaller sections, and replant promptly so roots can settle before frost. My Hostas get so big that I have already divided them before. It was easy and easily successful!
4. Gather Seeds and Memories
To save seeds:
Choose open-pollinated (non-hybrid) flowers and vegetables.
Allow seeds to fully mature before collecting.
Store them in labeled envelopes in a cool, dry place.
While you’re at it, photograph your garden, or sketch a simple map of where everything grew. In spring, you’ll have a record to guide your planting — and a keepsake of this year’s beauty.
I feel like this is especially important if you are busy working and trying to garden. I think that I have accidentally pulled out some of my flowers thinking they were a weed; and, of course I let other thinks grow that end up being a weed!
5. Shield Tender Plants from the Coming Chill
Even the hardiest gardens have their delicate souls — the plants that won’t survive a harsh frost without your help. When you are building your garden and buying plants and flowers, you'll see them named as "tender perennials".
Ways to protect them:
Move potted plants indoors or into a greenhouse.
Cover seedlings or sensitive crops with row covers or cloches.
Wrap vulnerable shrubs in burlap to guard against wind and ice.
A little protection now can save you from heartbreak later.
Preparing your garden for the next season is an act of hope. Each bulb planted, each clump divided, each seed saved is a promise — that the garden will wake again, full of life and color.
This week, I’m sharing my August Garden To-Do List on YouTube. Join me there for gentle, seasonal inspiration and a little extra encouragement to tend both the present and the future in your garden.
Happy Gardening!
Tricia
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