August in Seattle

From top to bottom: summer squash, cherry tomato, purple broccoli, sunflower & chard.  These are all good choices for Seattle gardens.  Very large tomatoes ripen late in the season, if at all.  Cherry tomatoes produce much earlier.  Chard was bountiful this year.  All photos were taken at the Rainier Vista Sunrise Garden.

August 2014 in Seattle was significantly warmer & wetter than usual.  The mean temperature was 69.1F/20.6C, a full 3 degrees higher than normal.  Total precipitation was 1.81 inches/45.97mm, 0.93 inches/23.62mm more than normal.  The highest temperature was 96F/35.6C on 8/11, the lowest 52F/11.1C on 8/21.  There were 3 days with rain, 10 days with light rain, 1 day with hail, 9 days with fog (2 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 7 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 10 fair days.  The good thing about August 2014 was that there were only 5 days over 85F/29.4C degrees.  The extra rain helped keep the landscape green & lush.  Things usually begin to turn brown in August.   

August in Seattle

Beacon Hill in August 2013. A myriad of plants, both native & exotic, thrive in Seattle.  Yet many home landscapes are little more than lawn left to brown in the perennial summer drought.

Seattle Central Community College on Capitol Hill in August 2013. This building opened in 1970.  Tracks are being laid for the First Hill Streetcar.

Oddfellows Building on Capitol Hill in August 2013.  Built in 1908, this building contains a collection of retail spaces, offices & creative users.  Perhaps the best known is the Century Ballroom.  This part of the hill, the Pike/Pine corridor, has been recently revitalized with new shops, housing, bars & restaurants.

Alcea rosea (Common Hollyhock) in NewHolly in August 2013

Hydrangea macrophylla & Fuchsia magellenica in West Seattle in August 2013

August in Seattle was warmer & wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 69.4F/20.8C.  The normal mean temperature is 66.1F/18.9C.  Total precipitation was 1.35 inches/ 34.29mm.  Normal precipitation is 0.88 inches/ 22.35mm.  The highest temperature was 88F/31.1C, the lowest 56F/13.3C.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 4 days with rain, 12 days with light rain, 1 day with fog, 5 days with haze, 10 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 7 fair days.  It was about as pleasant as August can be.

August Garden Pictures

Anemone x hybrida August 2012

Asclepias speciosa August 2012

 
Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame', Hebe x pimeleoides 'Quicksilver' & Pratia pedunculata August 2012

Eryngium planum & Sedum selskianum August 2012

Eucomis comosa 'Can Can' & Lilium 'Black Beauty' August 2012

August 2012 in Seattle was warmer than normal & very dry. The mean temperature was 67.9F/19.9C.  The normal mean temperature is 66.1F/18.9C.  There was only a trace of rain on 2 days, no measurable amount.  Normal precipitation is 0.88 inches.  The highest temperature was 94F/34.4C, the lowest 50F/10C.  There were 11 days over 80F/26.7C, 4 of them over 90F/32.2C.  The record high temperature for Seattle in August is 99F/37.2C.   There were 3 days with fog, 3 days with haze, 5 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 12 fair days.  It was dry & increasingly dusty.  A few very hot days alternated with a few cooler days with highs of 70F/21.1C on 3 days.  Irrigation was essential.  Watering the potted plants was a major chore.  I did very little work in the garden because it was mostly too sunny & warm.

Volunteer Park Conservatory in August

Seasonal Display House August 2011

Seasonal Display House August 2011 

Cactus House August 2011

Cactus House August 2011 

Fern House August 2011 

 Fern House August 2011  

 Bromeliad House August 2011 

The Volunteer Park Conservatory is a welcome respite from the cold Seattle rain. It is open except on Mondays, even on holidays, from 10 to 4. The conservatory has 5 houses, each quite different. There are bromeliad, palm, fern, seasonal display & cactus houses.  It is hard to say which is most interesting.  The seasonal displays are changed 6 times each year.  Plants are often replaced in all of the houses. I think Volunteer Park is the greatest park in Seattle.  Not only is the park beautiful, but it has a number of first-rate attractions including the conservatory, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, Isamu Noguchi's Black Sun & the panoramic view from the Water Tower.  The park is easily reached from Downtown Seattle by the 10 Capitol Hill bus, which stops at the park.

August Garden Pictures & Bloom Times

Anemone x hybrida August 2011

Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame' & Hebe x pimeleoides 'Quicksilver' August 2011

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Blue Surprise' & Echinops ritro August 2011

Lilium 'White Henryi' August 2011

 Verbascum bombyciferum August 2011

Below is a list of plants that began to bloom in my garden in Seattle in August 2011. I recorded the date when the 1st flower opened, not when they were in bud. I think this information is helpful in planning your garden. If you have room for more plants that bloom in August, you can choose something new that will bloom with something you have, or you can fill temporal gaps between blooms.  Nurseries in Seattle usually sell plants when they are in bloom. I have included dates from previous years. Weather conditions probably account for most of the difference in bloom times.

August 2011 was  slightly cooler & much drier than normal.  The average monthly maximum temperature was 75.8F/24.3C.  The normal average monthly temperature is 76.3F/24.6C.  The highest temperature was 87F/30.5C, the lowest 52F/11C.  We had 0.13 inches of rain, 0.75 less than normal.  It rained lightly on 4 days.  There were 6 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 11 sunny days.

08-04-11 Erica terminalis
08-05-11 Callistemon rigidus

08-05-11 Galtonia candicans 8-01-08

08-05-11 Lilium 'Black Beauty' 8-01-10

08-08-11 Hemerocallis 'Double Henrietta'

08-09-11 Echinops ritro

08-10-11 Crocosmia 'Corwin's Brilliant' 8-01-10, 8-08-08

08-10-11 Liatris spicata 8-03-10, 8-11-08

08-13-11 Erica x griffithsii 'Heaven Scent'

08-14-11 Calluna 'Wickwar Flame' 8-06-10, 8-08-08

08-14-11 Kniphofia 'Percy's Pride'

08-17-11 Agapanthus africanus 8-08-08

08-17-11 Eucomis comosa 8-01-10, 8-17-08

08-17-11 Sedum 'Matrona' 8-19-10, 8-17-08

08-17-11 Sedum 'Vera Jameson' 8-19-10, 8-17-08

08-23-11 Hemerocallis 'Frans Hals'

08-28-11 Hemerocallis 'Flash Fire'

08-29-11 Sedum 'Brilliant' 8-22-10

Volunteer Park Dahlia Garden

Dahlia 'Alloway Candy' August 2011

 Dahlia 'Brookside Cheri' August 2011

Dahlia 'Eva' August 2011

Dahlia 'Fidalgo Julie' August 2011

Dahlia Northlake Heritage' August 2011

Dahlia 'Snoho Doris' August 2011

August is a good month for Volunteer Park. You can wade in the pool, climb the water tower, visit the conservatory & see the Dahlias. Dahlias are at their peak in August. The Dahlia Garden lies near the conservatory, east from the main promenade, across the lawn. Watch out for guys playing frisbee or football.  The Dahlia Garden is maintained by the Puget Sound Dahlia Association.  Volunteer Park is very centrally located on Capitol Hill in Seattle. The main entrance is at 14th Av E & E Prospect St.

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009
 

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

Regent's Park: St Andrew's Gate August 2009

I returned to London from Cape Town on August 3, 2009. On the following day, I visited Regent's Park. Because the climate of southern England is similar to Seattle, Portland OR or Vancouver BC, the plants in this garden appeared much as they would in the Pacific Northwest in August.  From my journal: I walked to Regent's Park, then through the lavish gardens there.  It rained a bit, but I had my umbrella with me.  I continued along Regent's Canal Tow Path to Camden Locks, Camden Lock Market & Camden Stables Market in Camden Town.  There were hundreds of tiny shops & restaurants.  I had lunch after being offered dozens of samples.  The whole thing was really quite tacky, also fascinating & immense.  I walked back on Camden High Street.  It was very cloudy, rained very lightly & occasionally.  I was out for 4 hours, from 8 until 12.