The bug music of August features the katydids, singing nightly from their perches with a call-and-response refrain. These critters are loud! I don’t believe their argument over Katy’s guilt has ever been settled…

A mainstay of the perennial garden, tall border phlox are in their prime now. They are the most spectacular of the bunch, but the phlox clan also includes other worthy specimens. Let’s round them up.

If you notice butterflies at all, you already know the most common species in New Jersey, the cabbage white. I never knew how much information they broadcast on their wings until I looked into it. Or how far they have traveled from their native lands.

The nose-tingling fragrance of lavender is one of summer’s sweetest smells. Lavender can be a short-lived plant but it’s easy to grow your own in a hot, sunny spot. Read on for tips on keeping it happy.

Got toad? If you do, you have a formidable partner in controlling the bugs, slugs and other pests that beset the garden. They’re harmless to humans — and kind of cute, too.

If you have a garden, you deal with weeds. So why don’t you have a hoe? Get up off your knees, gardeners! A hoe is the best friend your back ever had.

Roll out the welcome mat for wildlife and your garden will be a constant source of interest and entertainment. Butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators will thank you. Squirrels, deer and woodchucks will test your ingenuity. It’s all good.

If you associate bulb flowers with springtime, you’re not wrong. An often overlooked group includes summer-flowering plants that grow from bulbs, corms and tubers. Check out these beauties, ideal for container gardens.

There are weeds and then there are really obnoxious weeds. Garlic mustard, an invasive import, will mount a hostile takeover of woodlands and gardens if it has an opening. Counter-measures are in order.

You may dabble with other summer annuals, but smart gardeners rely on the tried-and-true. Petunias are an old-fashioned favorite for good reasons: profuse bloom, easy-going ways and (with certain varieties) a pleasing scent.

Gardeners working with soil and manures are vulnerable to the terrible disease known as tetanus or lockjaw. An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure. Get a vaccine booster every 10 years..

Among flowers that bloom in June, delphiniums stand head and shoulders above the rest (literally). The standard kind are the pride of English gardens. You’ll have better success here with a slightly different species

Summer’s coming and we’re up for spending time down the Shore. We don’t mind sand at our feet and salty ocean breezes but many plants can’t cope. Beach roses, tough enough to grow wild on windblown dunes, are a top choice for seaside gardens.

I love old-fashioned flowers and these include two favorites — morning glories and moonflowers. For these big vines, you have to seek out seeds and wait patiently for the payoff. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Beautiful, stately irises will shortly be blooming. The “poor man’s orchid” is a durable perennial that’s actually hard to kill, provided it is in a good spot. Besides the familiar bearded (German) type there are many others, all very pretty.

Dogwoods are breathtaking in bloom and spring would not be the same without them. A long-term breeding program at Rutgers University has produced spectacular new varieties worth your attention — and a spot in your garden.

Spring is finally creeping in and with it comes some of our most beautiful wildflowers. Blooming in woodlands, along streams and on rocky screes, the spring ephemerals are just that — here and gone in a brief blaze of glory.

It may seem counter-intuitive to launch a round of pruning just as new growth appears. But clearing away dead and damaged branches, lopping down spent perennial stems and neatening the shape of shrubs gets the season off to a good start. 

You may never see the secretive mole but it does make its presence known by raised runs and heaped-up molehills in the lawn. Have a little forbearance for these tiny creatures, which really are no threat to life as we know it. 

Every shady garden needs a few ferns. Their delicate fronds add a touch of enchantment to woodland settings. If you don't choose to grow them, try fiddleheads on the plate. A spring delicacy!