Here are 5 things to do in the garden his week:

1. Propagate petunias, marigolds, impatiens, and begonias from cuttings. Make a soil mix that is half perlite or pumice and half peat moss or coco coir. Soak the mix in a bucket or similar receptacle until it has the consistency of a wrung-out sponge, and then fill up the cells of a propagation dome with the finished mix. You can order propagation domes online or make your own. Take a plastic bakery container that held cupcakes, for example, and put a couple of small holes in the lid for ventilation. Then take 3-6 inch cuttings and insert them in the cells of the propagation dome. Cuttings should be dipped in rooting hormone prior to sticking them in the soil mix; liquid hormone is better than powdered form but both are acceptable. Make planting holes with a pencil in each cell so that when you insert the cuttings, root hormone does not rub off on the soil mix. Check soil in cells for moisture and add water if it should begin to dry out.

2. Consider planting Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor) in your fall garden. Relatives of pansies (Viola x wittrockiana), Johnny-jump-ups will give you flowers throughout the year if you can find the perfect spot for them – plenty of bright light with a minimum of direct sun. The beauty of Johnny-jump-ups is that they self-sow with alacrity so that, even as older plants die, new ones are always coming along. How easily do they self-sow? The U.S Forest Service has classified them as an invasive plant even while, in our rain-deprived part of the country, there is little danger of them spreading out of control. A bonus of growing Johnny-jump-ups, or pansies or violets (Viola spp.) of any species for that matter, is that they are edible. Both flowers and leaves are high in Vitamin C and flowers are sweet enough that violet syrup was created with them as the main ingredient.

3. Much like Johnny-jump-ups are not as glamorous as pansies but are more persistent in the garden, so too with grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) and Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanicum), cousins of the more regaled common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), whose flowers are significantly larger and more fragrant than the flowers of these two lesser-known types. But the advantage of grape hyacinths and Spanish bluebells is that they naturalize or spread much more readily throughout the garden. Just remember to keep their soil dry during the summer months when they are dormant. Both types are generally seen in classic hyacinth blue, but Spanish bluebells are also available with pink flowers while grape hyacinth varieties may sport white, pink, or yellow blooms. Order them now from a bulb company for fall planting.

4. You’re never going to see hollyhocks growing in containers at the nursery, but that should not diminish their value in your eyes. These hibiscus kin are among the easiest flowers to grow from seed and now is the perfect time to plant them. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) can grow up to nine feet tall, depending on variety, and flowers can expand as wide as six inches. Double flower varieties are available as well as dwarfish types that do not exceed three feet in height. Colors include white, yellow, apricot, pink, red, and a purple that verges on black. Once they begin to grow, hollyhocks need little to zero water to perform at their peak; I have seen them shooting up through cracks in concrete at an abandoned gas station and growing mid-city at the base of a wall. Leaves are highly susceptible to fungal rust and should be detached and deposited in the trash at the first sign of infection.

5. To propagate roses, insert semi-hardwood cuttings from your established rose bushes directly into the garden this month. Stick them where you want them to root, which could take up to six months. Make sure that the soil where you wish to insert your cutting drains well, meaning that it offers no resistance when you put a shovel or a trowel into it. Cuttings should be eight to ten inches in length. Detach the lower leaves since you are going to place the bottom half of the cuttings, after dusting them with root hormone, into your planting holes. Place a glass jar or clear plastic container over the rose to act as a mini-greenhouse. You can propagate roses from cuttings any time of the year. In spring and early summer you propagate softwood cuttings, in late summer and early fall you propagate semi-hardwood cuttings, and in late fall and winter you take hardwood rose cuttings for propagation purposes.

You are invited to send questions, comments, and photos to [email protected].