August has arrived in Colorado. And while it might feel like summer is winding down, gardens still have plenty of life, beauty and even a few surprises left to offer. With bright blue skies, sudden storms and that high-altitude sunshine, Front Range landscapes are buzzing — literally and figuratively.

Here are a few garden tasks to consider this month.

Vegetables

• Plant spinach, lettuce and other cool-season vegetables midmonth for a fall harvest.

• Don’t forget to harvest zucchini plants; left alone, they might reach the size of a baseball bats. And it will take all nine players on the field to eat just one!

• Harvest slicing cucumbers when they are 6 to 8 inches.

• Onions are ready to harvest when their green tops fall over.

• Peppers can be harvested anytime they achieve the preferred size.

• Water tomatoes regularly until late August. After that, fruit will ripen more quickly when water is restricted.

• Remove spent vegetable plants and dropped fruits to the compost bin to discourage pests and disease.

Perennial flowers

• Continue deadheading to extend the bloom season.

• Newly planted perennials need consistent watering to get established.

• Fertilize roses for the last time around Aug. 15. Fertilizing later might stimulate new sucker growth that could damage the plant if there is an early frost.

• Divide spring-blooming perennials when they need it. A sure sign that a perennial plant needs to be divided is if the plant has a “hole” in the middle and isn’t as attractive as it used to be or if bloom quantity has declined or stopped altogether.

• Summer-blooming plants can benefit from dividing in late summer.

• Plant cool-season vegetables.

• Remove seed heads from plants you don’t want to self-seed.

Shrubs and trees

• As woody plants prepare to move into their dormant period, it is best not to fertilize or prune. An exception is that you should prune off any broken or damaged branches.

• Consistent watering is also helpful to assist the plant to prepare for winter.

Yellow jackets

• These wasps, aggressive stingers, can be a major headache in August. Their colonies are at peak size and they are aggressively attracted to sugar and protein Control of these pests is best started in early spring when the queens are out foraging for food. In August the colonies are well established and difficult to control. Make a note to hang traps next April.

“We are not friends, the yellow jacket and I. You will not be tamed nor trained. Your sound will offer no comfort nor your numbers any sense of safety. Yet, in this evening watching you drink, I am in awe of your self-possessed beauty.” — Nikki Giovanni from “The Yellow Jacket”

Submit gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The in-person help desk is open 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visit elpaso.extension.colostate.edu and register for upcoming classes at epcextension.eventbrite.com.