August gardening guide
As many summer perennials finish flowering by the end of this month, it's richly coloured autumn daisies such as Echinacea, Rudbeckia and Helenium and late summer shrubs like Buddleja and Abelia taking centre stage. The garden is buzzing with bees, butterflies and insects attracted to the sweet scents of August. Enjoying the garden as an entertaining space is one of the joys of late summer British weather permitting of course! August is also brimming with crops to be harvested and jam jars to be filled.
Checklist
- Spot treat weeds in your lawn, filling in any holes with gritty compost to encourage regrowth
- Summer prune any fruit trees
- Peg down runners on Strawberry plants ready for detaching once they have rooted
- Trim Lavender bushes after flowering to remove the dead flower spikes
- Divide summer flowering perennials as they finish flowering
- Summer prune Wisteria by taking any long, unwanted growths back to five or six leaf buds
- Feed Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Pieris and Camellias with a suitable granular fertilizer
- Pay particular attention to watering containers and new plants, preferably with stored rainwater
- Dead-head annuals as well as spent flowers on perennial plants
- Keep ponds and water features topped up
Planning
- Any gaps in your border are prime locations for spring flowering bulbs that can be planted over the next couple of months
- Visit your local Notcutts centre and pick up the first of the autumn and winter bedding plants towards the end of August
Planting
- Sow seeds of perennials that need a frost to germinate and leave them outside in a cold frame
- Take tip cuttings of woody herbs such as Rosemary and Sage to replace any old plants next spring
- Transplant leeks to their final positions once they are the thickness of a pencil
- Pinch out the tips of Runner beans once they have reached the top of their poles
- Plant up autumn flowering Cylamen to replace any faded summer bedding plants
Maintenance
- Sweep your patio areas regularly and treat any small weeds as they germinate
- Hoe weeds from gravel areas and treat with a residual weed killer to prevent more weed seeds from germinating
- Clean out your water butts if they are empty, removing sludge and algae
Top Tips
Summer prune shrubs by removing two thirds of the long, upright growths that have developed since the spring.
Pruning
- Continue to cut down stems on perennials as they finish flowering, add these to your compost heap
- Cut Oriental Poppies and Border Geraniums to the ground after they have flowered. Mulch around the crowns and water well
- Trim hedges that are becoming untidy
- Finish summer pruning side shoots on trained Apples, back to four or five leaf buds
Wildlife and pests
- Dead-head Buddleja bushes to keep them flowering into the autumn for bees and other insects
- Keep bird baths topped up with fresh water
- Leave seed heads on some of your plants as extra food for birds and small mammals
- Leave some windfall fruit on the ground as a tasty treat for wildlife
