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Autumn is not here, it’s not even close, but it has looked up from whatever it has been doing and started to think about putting its coat on.
August is a strangely emotional month in the garden. After the long build of spring and early summer, the perpetual hopefulness of it all, the endless planting and staking and waiting, you have arrived. Everything that was promised in those seed catalogues back in January has now, more or less, delivered.
There’s always a small nagging voice about what is coming next, let’s ignore it and enjoy the rest of the summer.
JOBS FOR THE MONTH:
Fruit and veg
- Be vigilant for signs of tomato and potato blight, removing affected plants immediately to prevent spread
- Summer prune both free-standing and trained apple trees, to encourage good fruiting in future years
- Plant well-rooted strawberry runners into new beds
- Pinch out the tops of outdoor tomatoes, as further flowers are unlikely to produce fruits that have time to ripen
- Order saffron crocus bulbs (Crocus sativus) to plant in September, so you can harvest your own saffron this autumn
- Use netting or fleece to protect blackberries and autumn raspberries from birds
- Lift onions and shallots once their tops die down, then leave to dry in the sun
- Cut back leaves on grapevines to let the sun ripen the fruits
- Sow hardy crops such as land cress, rocket and lamb’s lettuce for winter pickings
- Harvest fresh herbs to freeze in ice cubes for winter use, or to hang up and dry, then store in jars
- Plant a kiwi plant, to climb over a trellis, fence or arbour
- Water crops regularly, especially during hot weather, use water from a water butt if possible.
Flowers
- Collect seeds as they ripen, from plants such as aquilegias, sweet peas and love-in-a-mist, choosing a dry day
- Deadhead dahlias and other perennials to encourage a constant display of blooms
- Keep camellias and rhododendrons well watered through late summer while their flower buds are forming
- Prune lavender once flowering is over to maintain a compact, bushy shape, but avoid cutting into old wood
- Prune rambling roses, removing up to a third of stems that have flowered, and tie the rest to supports
- Keep pots and hanging baskets flowering by watering and deadheading regularly, and add tomato feed fortnightly
- Take softwood cuttings of woody herbs, including lavender and hyssop, choosing non-flowering shoots
- Sow hardy annuals in sunny spots to provide early summer colour next year
- Set up an automatic watering system for pots and hanging baskets if you’re going away on holiday – in the case of a hosepipe ban, drip or trickle irrigation systems are usually exempt, check your local water board for restrictions
- Strim or mow areas of wildflower meadow, now that the plants have scattered their seeds
- Take softwood cuttings from penstemons, choosing healthy, vigorous, non-flowering shoots
- Remove any spent hardy annuals if you don’t want them to self-seed
- Plant autumn bulbs, such as colchicums, sternbergia and nerines, in pots and borders
