By Alicia Paaso - Gardenscape Sales Team/RHS Level 2 Horticulturalist
August is a beautiful summer month with flowering blossoms and usually some warm and sunny days. After recently visiting Lanzarote with its volcanic and barren scenery, I have developed a new sense of appreciation for England’s tapestry of rolling green hills and stunning landscapes. Holly hocks, Canna lilies, dahlias, cone flowers, and more are blossoming; some adding height to your borders, most with colours that are extending the summer season. As we transition into the vibrant month of August it’s the perfect time to delve into the world of gardening. See our tips and advice below on what to do in your garden in the coming month.
August Gardening
Lavenders need cutting back when they have finished flowering to maintain their compact shape, but avoid cutting into old and woody growth as lavender doesn’t easily break into new growth from old stems. Keep up with the routine of dead-heading flowers of plants whether in containers, borders, or hanging baskets to encourage a constant display of flowers.
August is the ideal time to prune wisteria and rambling roses. For Wisteria, simply cut back five to six leaves of the whippy green growth. By reducing the vegetative growth, it will result in more flowers. The best time to prune your rambling roses is after flowering. Prune any dead and diseased wood and cut the stem back to an outward facing bud to encourage more outward growth. Remove some growth where the stems are growing close together, as they will compete for space.
Collect seeds from plants you want to reseed or don’t want to reseed themselves. Seed collecting is a cost-effective way to bulk plants in your garden. It also acts as a form of security in case some of your non-hardy plants don’t survive the winter. You can usually tell when the seedpods are starting to ripen as they usually go from green to brown and the pods start to split. After you collect the seeds and they are dry and clean; store them in an airtight container in the fridge for best results, or anywhere cool and dry. A tip is to add a sachet of silica gel as it will absorb any moisture.
Add support for tall flowers such as gladiolas, dahlias, and lilies to prevent their stems from breaking caused by their large flowers.
Fruit and Vegetables
Prune your apple trees to allow sunlight to ripen the fruit. Another reason for pruning is to encourage good crops the following year. Your grapes also need sufficient amounts of sunlight to ripen, so remove some of the blocking leaves.
Strawberry runners that have started to root can be replanted into new beds or pots for strawberries before the autumn frosts. Raised beds are great for growing strawberries as they provide increased rooting depth and more drainage than planting straight into the ground.
Pinch side shoots and the top shoot of cordon tomatoes to prevent the plant using its energy for vegetative growth rather than growing fruit. For the best tasting tomatoes, leave them on the plant for as long as possible to ripen. After harvesting, avoid storing them in the fridge as it will give them a mushy texture.
For a supply of home-grown herbs for the whole year, take cuttings from your herbs and hang them to dry in the sun. After they are completely dry, store the herbs in airtight jars. You can propagate rosemary by taking cuttings and planting them in a pot filled with compost.
You can still sow rocket, lettuce, beetroot, basil, and spinach in August to have at least one more harvest before the first frost.
Garden maintenance jobs
When we have hotter days, it is vital to keep your plants watered. Keep adding soil conditioner and bark mulches in your garden to improve the soil’s structure and water holding capacity.
Collect rainwater as ‘insurance’ if possible, in case there is a hosepipe ban. It is best to top up fishponds using collected rainwater as tap water has got nutrients which will encourage algae growth.
Keep on top of the weeding as more are establishing from the recent rain we have had.
Take photos of your garden whilst it is still in bloom to remind yourself of the planting layout come next spring.
Enjoy your August Gardening!