August marks one of the warmest months in the British calendar and your garden should be at its beautiful best. 

Not only will it look good, you will be able to enjoy it for longer as the evenings have yet to draw in and the children are still on holiday and enjoying playing out in the fresh air.  And whilst the children play, you can be getting on with a few jobs in the garden! 

It is vital to water your plants and containers regularly and copiously now – collected rainwater is great for this.  And while you are at it, top up ponds, water features and bird baths too!

The Hydrangea is our August Plant of the Month with its display of large, striking blooms.  Choose from a variety of shades to suit most garden colour schemes and soils.

Your Edible Garden should be at its peak in August – bursting with delicious home-grown fruits and vegetables so pick your summer fruit and use any surplus to make jams for the coming months.  Enjoy pies, jams and desserts with apples and blackberries and prepare your strawberry beds now for next year. 

It is the perfect time to harvest your vegetables from the first of the leeks and pumpkins to the last of the mangetout peas and rhubarb.  Freeze any excess to enjoy throughout the winter.

Onions, garlic and shallots can also be raised when ready – watch for the stem to change colour and begin to bend.  They will need to dry out before you eat them and will then taste delicious.

Flowering herbs should be cut back now for a second growth and herbs can be potted and taken indoors so that you can use them easily over the winter months.  Comfrey, rosemary, sage and thyme should be ready for harvesting now.

Hanging baskets should still be going strong so keep on top of deadheading to encourage flowering right through to the autumn.  This also applies to bedding and cut back herbaceous plants and hardy geraniums this month too.

Wisteria and Pyracantha, together with climbing and rambling Roses, can be pruned if they have finished flowering and perennials can now be divided.  Make sure they do not dry out though!  Hebes and Lavenders can also be cut back gently. 

Towards the end of the month is a great time to begin to sow bi-annuals into your borders ready for wonderful displays of flowers next summer.

Top Tips for August 

1.  Continue to water weekly and feed with a liquid feed weekly or fortnightly
2.  Trim hedges – don’t forget to ensure any nesting or sheltering wildlife is protected
3.  Continue to deadhead shrubs to encourage longer flowering
4.  Your lawn may begin to look brown now but don’t worry – it will soon become green again with the first autumn rains
5.  Clean water features with algicides – especially if the water is shallow
6.  Clean your bird bath and bird tables
7.  Plant particular plants to attract insects – especially those with single flowers
8.  Watch out for British bats during the evenings – they keep midges and other small insects at bay!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Grosvenor Gardening Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.