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
- Ensure all of your winter protection structures are secure enough to withstand hard weather
- Check that your greenhouse heaters are working well
- Avoid walking on your lawn in heavy frost or snow
- On a dry day, clear out your garden shed ready for spring
- Insulate outdoor taps
- Stand potted plants together in shelter to offer protection
- Now is a good time to give alpine plants fresh gravel
- Harvest Holly for your Christmas decorations and stand them in water until needed
- Take root cuttings of Oriental Poppies
- Brush snow off evergreens, climbers and weaker plants to help them keep their shape
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.
