Holiday season is here and gardens are hot hot hot! If you’re going away on holiday remember to ask a friend or family member to water the garden for you, read some of our top tips for holiday-proofing your garden here. Plants can wilt quickly at this time of year so may need constant attention if rainfall is limited. Most importantly August gardening is about enjoying your garden in this beautiful summer month if you are staying at home.
Essential August Gardening Jobs
- Prune wisteria
- Prune roses
- Plant Madonna Lily
- Deadhead flowers
- Prune summer-fruiting raspberries, blackberries and hybrid berries
- Lift garlic and shallots
- Divide congested clumps of chives
- Water plants
- Feed your lawn with SafeLawn Liquid Feed
Last chance to
- Harvest the last of the peas and beans
- Take cuttings of tender plants
Prune wisteria
The growth from the wisteria plants this year should either be tied into the support to cover new areas or cut back to five or six buds from the old wood. This should keep them in shape and help form next year’s flower buds.
Take cuttings of tender plants
If you would like to keep any half-hardy plants for next year, August is the time to take cuttings. Perennials such as Verbenas, Fuchsias and Pelargoniums are good plants to take cuttings from. Once you have taken the cutting, dip into a hormone rooting compound before inserting them into small pots. Fill these small posts with Seed & Cutting Compost. Water in well and ensure to keep the cuttings in a warm place but out of direct sunlight. Within 8 weeks the cuttings should have rooted.
Prune roses
Rambler roses that have finished flowering can be pruned now. Cut the long old stems that flowered this year, but leave non-flowering shoots as these will bloom next year.
Plant Madonna Lily
If you want to grow this temperamental flower, August is the best time for it. They prefer lime-based soil and should be planted no more than 5cm deep.
Deadhead flowers
Keep your garden full of colourful flowers for longer by removing flowers as soon as they fade. This helps the plant to make new blooms, instead of putting its energy into seed production.
Holiday watering
Before you head off on holiday, a few simple steps will ensure that your plants don’t go thirsty while you’re enjoying a well-earned break. Move pots and window boxes to a part of the garden that’s in the shade & stand pots in deep saucers to ensure that roots have a reservoir of water to draw from. Hanging baskets soon bake dry in the heat, so take them down and stand each basket on a bucket in a shady area, taking care not to damage trailing plants. If that’s not possible, provide a neighbour or family member with a hosepipe lance to make watering easy. Even if the weather is wet while you’re away, container plants still dry out quickly, with dense canopies preventing rain from reaching the compost so they’ll still need watering even if the heavens open.
Kitchen Garden
Prune summer-fruiting raspberries, blackberries and hybrid berries
Another August gardening job is to cut back the canes that have already fruited to ground level. This creates space for the green canes that will fruit next year. Tie in the new growth to the support.
Harvest the last of the peas and beans
August will probably be the last month of picking peas and beans. Keep picking them until no more pods are produced. Once they have all been picked cut off the top growth, leaving the roots in the ground. This is because the nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots will rot. This will benefit the following crop.
Lift garlic and shallots
Once the tops of the garlic and shallots have died off, expose the bulbs to sunlight by removing the soil from around them. This will help to ripen them. As soon as the tops have dried off, lift the bulbs and leave them to dry for storage.
Divide congested clumps of chives
If you have any congested clumps of chives, now is a good time to divide them up into smaller clumps. Dig the bulbs up and divide them into smaller clumps of about 5 or 6 bulbs. This will give them more space to grow.
Lawns
With the hot weather you may see your lawn turn brown. Don’t worry – it will recover as soon as the autumn rains return. To keep your lawn looking as healthy as possible follow these top tips:
- Cut the lawn at least once a week, with your lawn mower blades raised higher than usual to help the blades retain as much water as possible
- Leave grass clippings on the lawn as they will act as a mulch, helping water retention
- Remove obvious weeds as these will be competing for light, water and nutrients, try using this Kent & Stowe Corkscrew Weeder
