The lighter evenings are slowly on their way out as we enjoy the last month of summer. However, there's still plenty to be doing this August, including dead-heading, cutting back and dividing. Check out our August gardening hints and tips put together by Chairman and horticulturist John Richardson below.
1) When going on holiday and concerned about indoor containers being watered, try placing a full bucket of water on the garage floor and placing your pots around it on their own saucers. Using a piece of thick wet string about the consistency of a thick bootlace, tie one end to a piece of old cutlery and place it in the bucket. Push the other end of the string into the compost in one of the pots. Place strings from the cutlery to all the other pots and cross fingers!! It works for me !!
2) Complete the lifting of last seasons bulbs and dry them off naturally in light woven sacks for maximum ventilation.
3) Keep dead-heading the really good flowering plants, and don’t allow them to dry out. This should encourage new flowers and stop them from setting seed. Where heavy watering has been applied, consider giving the plants a top-dressing of general fertilizer, either dry or liquid, to keep them growing well into the autumn.
4) Cut back the long whippy growths of Wisteria to within 3 buds of the old wood if they are not required to extend the area covered by the plant.
5) Keep an eye on the whole garden and spray or pick off pests on Dahlias and Chrysanthemums in particular.
6) Collect and dispose of the first fallen fruits from apple trees. Many will be damaged and prone to spreading diseases such as brown rot.
7) Divide and replant rhizomatous Iris, and layer Carnations and Pinks. Peg them into moist soil after carefully cracking a small section of the stem. Ensure the treated area remains in moist soil.
8) Continue to water new lawns recently established. I suggest that it would be better to leave further lawn development until after mid-September when the weather is cooler.
9) It is important to provide water for wildlife in the dry months, a substantial bird bath plus a large saucer of water let into the ground for mice, hedgehogs, insects etc., will be much appreciated!
10) Collect seeds of any plants you may wish to reproduce for next year. Cover seed-heads with a paper bag and tap them to release seed over time. Do not save seed from plants described as being of F1 origin.
11) Cut back to ground level the canes of summer fruits such as Raspberries, Loganberries, Blackberries etc., as soon as fruiting is complete. Tie in the growth of this year’s new canes as these are your next year’s fruiting canes.
12)From the middle of the month begin successional sowing of spring cabbage for winter harvest and lettuce sown under glass for use during the winter
13) Make sure to leave time to be able to sit back and enjoy the late August evenings before the need to start winter digging and tree pruning becomes an urgent matter!
Posted 6th Aug 2:36pm
