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Dear friend, how are you? I hope you are well and finding ways to thrive in the midst of the heat and humidity of RVA. This August has been a month of extremes so far. Do you agree? After surviving the blistering heat of July, we have been met with torrential summer rainstorms that have left the garden alternately blasted and lush. Good News! We are almost out of drought thanks to the copious rainfall. Some new plants that almost bit the dust have flourished in the fug of rain. And the weeds, Lord have mercy, they are growing and doing well. My panicle hydrangeas look like ginormous moons. Their enormous flower heads are so heavy they are beginning to lean over the walk. My roses have erupted in a second storm of flowers. ‘Black and Blue’ Salvia storms up and over everything. After all this rain, the grass seems to grow an inch every day. Everything feels abundant. The grass under my feet is thick like a cushion and snakes up through my toes. Butterflies are dancing above my Abelia. I’m cutting flowers, but not too many. One of my favorite flowers to watch right now is hummingbird mint. I have never seen so many hummingbirds zooming around my garden. The bees diving headfirst into flowers are a show all their own. The bluestem grasses are beginning to go to seed, and the coneflower seeds are already being discovered by the goldfinches. Every year, I am convinced the August heat will do me and the garden in, but it doesn’t. Despite blasting heat and buckets of rainfall, my garden hums and thrives with energy. I have learned that August isn’t a time for hard work in the garden. (It’s too hot!) I walk in the morning or early evening and look and listen. And learn what is doing well without me. I love this short, sweet tonic of a poem written by Mary Oliver. She gives me my garden to-do list and makes it easy. Put down the tools. Step outside in the cool of the morning. See what’s blooming. Watch who’s coming to visit the blooms. Pay attention. Be astonished. Wishing for this August to feel all the abundance that nature brings. -See you in the Garden, Wendell WWLD is in BLOOM!
We are so happy to be a team, and welcome Sarah Brazil this Summer. Sarah brings her expertise in creating harmonious landscapes that are beautiful and beneficial. She is open for Garden Assessments this Fall and is assisting me on Immersive Design Projects to enhance our client experience. We are thrilled to have her extensive knowledge of native plants to create a fuller breadth of knowledge for our clients. We are excited to bring the fullness of WWLD to your garden.
RVA Immerse This month, the James River Association has some great opportunities to explore Richmond’s most wonderful and unique feature. Explore the James The Upper James River watershed is a wonderful summer destination, offering everything from relaxing river floats to rewarding hikes to waterfalls. Whether you want to cool off at a river access point, paddle a calm stretch, or take in a dramatic waterfall view, this portion of the watershed has plenty to offer. Inspired by Lynchburg Living’s feature “Swim, Float, Wander,” here are six fantastic spots in the Upper James to explore this summer. Sturgeon Spotting Tour Secure your spot on one of our popular sturgeon tours! These September boat trips from Osborne Landing offer a unique opportunity to explore the James River and learn about the remarkable Atlantic sturgeon that return to its waters each year. Tours fill quickly, so book now! EcoFest this Fall… it’s Free! Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 11 AM to 3 PM at the James A. Buzzard River Center for our 3rd annual community celebration of nature, sustainability, and the local community. Located just off the Virginia Capital Trail near Dock Street Park, this free public event features a diverse marketplace of eco-conscious artisans and vendors, hands-on activities, and inspiration for sustainable living. EcoFest is the perfect opportunity to celebrate and protect the vibrant river ecosystem that connects us all. Garden Guidance for your Late Summer Garden August is not the month to overhaul the garden. In the heat and humidity of a Virginia summer, I like to think of garden care as a matter of noticing and responding to the weather patterns. We are coming out of a drought and have had lots of fast-moving storms dumping lots of water. Water with Intention An irrigation system is wonderful to have. You can save a lot of money by timing your system to follow the weather patterns versus leaving it on automatic. When Mother Nature is giving you an inch of rain per week, you will probably not need supplemental watering. Paying attention to the weather and your plants will help you dial in your watering strategy. Established plants that are well suited to their site, particularly many of our native plants, develop substantial root systems that help them weather periods of drought. When supplemental water is needed, water deeply rather than frequently and, whenever possible, water early in the day. Put the Rain to Work After a heavy summer storm, take a walk around your property and notice where the water goes. Notice the rain and storm water patterns and try to direct water away from your house and into your garden. Paying attention to where the water moves and stays in your garden is key to making your plant choices. Does it rush down the driveway? Pour from a downspout? Pool in one part of the garden? Stormwater doesn’t always need to be carried away. In many of my landscape designs, I work with contractors to redirect water from downspouts toward planting beds or other areas where it can slow down, soak into the soil and become a resource for the garden. Leave a Little for Your Visitors Deadheading is a great way to produce more blooms. This is the practice of removing spent flowers to encourage more blooms. Now that we are heading toward the end of the season, be mindful before deadheading shrubs and perennials. In August, take a moment to look at your spent blooms before reaching for the pruners. Those fading coneflowers may not seem as beautiful as they did in June, but the goldfinches would disagree. Seedheads provide food for birds, and flowers that have gone a little wild may still be feeding bees and other pollinators. Notice What’s Working August is a wonderful time to see what plants can really handle the conditions in your garden. Take pictures and create a visual journal for Fall Garden planning. What’s thriving in the heat? Where does water collect? Which flowers are covered with pollinators? Where does the garden feel bare? Make a few notes now. When cooler fall planting weather arrives, you’ll know exactly where the garden is asking for a little help. And Then There Are the Weeds… August weeds can be relentless! There is a strategy I try to follow in a weekly walk around. If there are only a few, pull them before they have a chance to set seed. When vacation schedules take away our attention, we can come home to a weed festival. If you’re facing a large weedy area, sometimes less disturbance is better. Cutting weeds low with a trimmer (scalping) can weaken certain weeds and prevent seed production while avoiding unnecessary soil disturbance that can bring additional weed seeds to the surface. If you remove the weeds, keep bare soil covered with mulch to prevent resprouting. Beautiful & Beneficial Agastache I think I may have fed half the bees in Westover Hills. Last year I added Agastache, commonly called Hummingbird Mint, to my garden. I already grow salvia that attracts hummingbirds, but since planting the Agastache, the garden seems to have become a hummingbird highway. They zoom through constantly. Agastache is the “attractor” kind of plant I love to include in a garden: beautiful for us and beneficial for pollinators. Its tall candelabra-like flowers add color and movement to the planting while providing nectar for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. And perhaps that’s one of the great pleasures of adding plants that support wildlife. You discover you’ve invited an entire community into the garden. Maybe that’s what August has been trying to tell us all along. We don’t always need to do something. Pay attention. Be astonished. Enjoy your garden. Client Project Just two blocks from Hull Street, this lakefront property is tucked away behind a landscape designed to feel like a natural extension of the home and its surroundings. A raised patio overlooks a modern meadow garden, with sweeping views toward the lake and a landscape filled with grasses, wildflowers, birds, butterflies, and bees. The steep grade became an opportunity to thoughtfully incorporate natural stone retaining walls, patios, steps, and pathways throughout the property. Evergreen plantings provide privacy and winter structure, while flowering trees, hydrangeas, ornamental grasses, and wildflowers create interest across the seasons. Featured in the September 2024 Modern Richmond Tour, this project demonstrates how thoughtful landscape design can work with the land to create an outdoor space that is beautiful, functional, and alive with nature.
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