With summer winding down, vacations over and schools starting up once again, September gently nudges us to forgive ourselves for our negligence to stay on top of garden tasks and begin anew. A fresh opportunity to redeem ourselves.
Between the (often) horrid weather, going away on vacation and wanting to simply sit and enjoy the garden whenever the weather condescended to be good, I just about managed to get the requisite minimum done – weeding, the albeit inconsistent attempts at trimming plants to rmaintain some semblance of order and a spot of futile pest control of the spotted lantern flies.
Those beautiful beasts are thriving just about everywhere one looks. Gardens, car parks, streets … walls of buildings. Ugh. Nothing seems to eliminate them permanently. Our best bet are the birds but they’re rather slow in recognizing these critters as a a new source of protein.
This week I’m pressing reset – enough lolling about, procrastinating and indulging myself in yet another impromptu social gathering. I’m ready to get back to work in the garden. So here’s the order of pertinent chores.
September To-Do List –
1. Continue weeding.
2. Deadhead. Cut back anything that looks ragged or done for.
3. Mow the lawn less frequently.
4. Water judiciously.
5. Get leaf rakes, leaf bags and keep ready. Fall cometh!
6. Similarly, keep bulb planting necessaries like dibbler, bulb food, trowel, spade, etc., handy.
7. Continue harvesting vegetables. Remove plants that have given their all and toss on the compost heap.
8. Earmark plants whose seeds you want to save.
9. Stir compost thoroughly.
10. Plant in cool weather vegetables.
11. Take cuttings of plants you want to propagate and pot them up.
12. Check if fall blooming plants such as asters and chrysanthemums need staking.
13. Inspect garden for pests or disease. Take prompt action if detected. Organic practices only!
14. As days get shorter, make it a point to enjoy the garden as much as possible
Note: Last week I had the pleasure and privilege of visiting the studio of my friend artist Sourabh Gupta. From paper, clay and metal he creates exquisite botanicals that are amazingly lifelike. His work has adorned showstopping Met Gala garments, been featured a couple of times in the New York Times and other publications, installed in public spaces and hugely sought after by private collectors. I’m sharing some images of Sourabh’s work –
(c) 2026 Shobha Vanchiswar
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