Your garden might be drooping, but don't plant yourself indoors quite yet

Here's a look at what's new for August.

Maple-pruning workshop

You shouldn't dare put clippers to lacy leaf or delicate stem until you've taken this workshop on pruning Japanese maples.

These gorgeous trees are prized for their graceful lines, reason enough to proceed with great caution in any venture that involves sharp blades.

But sometimes even Japanese maples need shaping.

Come learn how to prune with such a soft hand that your Japanese maples will look natural and be healthier for your efforts.

On Aug. 21, professional landscaper Barb Engram will demonstrate Japanese maple pruning techniques in the Seattle Japanese Garden in Washington Park Arboretum. Surrounded by trees that have been artfully pruned for years is the perfect place to learn the restraint and skill necessary to have the nerve to even think of clipping Japanese maples.

The workshop runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon and costs $45, which includes admission to the garden.

Registration is recommended. Call 206-684-4725 to sign up for the workshop.

The Seattle Japanese Garden is located at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. E., the main road through the Arboretum.

On July 19, Mayor Greg Nickels announced that the city will be using fewer pesticides in city parks — good news for all of us who like to sit on the grass, play sports or walk our dogs.

As part of meeting the city's pesticide-reduction goals, 22 parks and 50 acres will now be cared for without any herbicides or insecticides (up from 14 parks and 25 acres).

These chemical-free parks take more labor to maintain, so Seattle Parks and Recreation wants to expand its volunteer support for the program.

And all of us need to learn to be a little more tolerant of less-than-perfect maintenance in return for peace of mind.

Fest for fern fans

Mark your calendars and rest up for the event that's been called "Woodstock West" for its funky vibe and lively revelers. This is the seventh annual Fabulous Fronderous frolic at Fancy Fronds Nursery in Gold Bar.

The frolic combines garden art and crafts, rare and unusual plants, and a sense of fun, all brought to you by the creators of some of the most show-stopping gardens ever at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show.

Fancy Fronds proprietress and fun-monger Judith Jones is a woman firmly in touch with her inner child, which she lets out regularly, and especially next weekend.

You're invited to picnic by the Skykomish River, tour the nursery grounds, learn more than you ever imaged about ferns and consider plant offerings from some of the best specialty nurseries around.

Expect to find twig furniture, hypertufa troughs, handmade garden lights, tropical and Mediterranean plants, and lots of ornamental grasses as well as ferns and perennials.

The frolic will be held Aug. 12-13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at Fancy Fronds Nursery off Highway 2 just east of Gold Bar. For directions or more information, see www.fancyfronds.com or call 360-793-1472.

Tending perennials

While perennials may be the stalwarts of the garden, they're starting to look a little tired by this time of year, with another month or two of dry weather still to come.

Learn how to keep your plants looking their best for as long as possible, with the new and expanded edition of Tracy DiSabato-Aust's best-selling classic "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" (Timber Press, $34.95).

This is a practical book filled with the details of how to care for perennials, from cutting back to fertilizing, staking and dividing. Is that aster about to fall over? Should have pinched it back in July. How about daylilies with fewer and fewer flower stalks? Dividing the clump is the answer, and Aust thoroughly explains the how and when for all these techniques.

Her precise instructions are accompanied by line drawings and photos. The book includes a perennial maintenance journal to help you keep track of what needs doing when in your own garden.

Perhaps the most useful section is that of lengthy lists in the back that help you determine which perennials you do and don't want to grow, depending on your tolerance for maintenance and where you live, and which perennials are deer-resistant, have seedheads that attract song birds, are short-lived, need deadheading or lots of other categories thought up by this walking encyclopedia of a perennial expert.

Valerie Easton also answers questions in Wednesday's Plant Talk on the back of Northwest Life. Write to her at P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111 or planttalk@seattletimes.com. Sorry, no personal replies.