Gardening in August
There is always something to be done in the garden, from brushing the leaves off the lawn to laying new grass seed, but when is the right time of year to be carrying these jobs out...
Things to do this month
Spend as much time as possible enjoying your garden.
Enjoy pisnics on the lawn and barbecues and evening meals on the patio.
Ensure summer bedding displays continue to flower well into autumn with regular watering, feeding and deadheading.
Keep pots, tubs and hanging baskets looking great by watering daily and feeding every 10-14 days.
Continue to feed tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers every fortnight with a high potash liquid plant food.
Keep deadheading roses as the flowers fade to keep them flowering well into autumn and beyond.
This is a great time to take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such as choisya, hebe, hydrangea, lavender and rosemary.
Keep bird baths and other water sources for wild birds topped up.
Continue to feed wild birds with a range of suitable bird foods.
Cut back the old leaves of summer-flowering perennials to encourage new, more attractive foliage.
Take stem cuttings of half-hardy perennials and patio plants, such as fuchsias and pelargoniums, to produce new plants for next year.
Buy winter and spring bedding plug plants and pot them up to produce good-sized plants for planting in autumn.
Plug gaps in beds and borders with good-sized summer-flowering plants from the garden centre.
Support branches of plums to prevent them snapping under the weight of fruit.
Tie in and train the new shoots of blackberries and hybrid berries.
Give hedges a good trim to keep them looking neat and tidy.
Lightly trim over lavender plants after flowering – don’t cut into old, leafless wood.
Top up water levels in ponds if they drop through excessive evaporation.
To keep pond water cool and well oxygenated, add a waterfall or fountain.
Sterilise secateurs blades with bleach if pruning plants with diseases to prevent them spreading.
Lawn Care
Mow the lawn whenever the grass is growing and needs a cut.
Lawns can look tired at this time of year, so give them a pick-me-up with a liquid lawn food.
Water the lawn during prolonged hot, dry periods if you want to keep it green and growing well.
Pests & Disease
Some plants are very prone to powdery mildew disease during hot, dry summer. Spray affected plants with a systemic fungicide.
Weed Control
As weeds are actively growing, this is a great time to treat them with a weedkiller based on glyphosate.
