| Traditionally August is one of the hottest months of the year - making watering essential. If possible use grey water or water from rain butts especially as it has been a dry summer. August is also holiday-time, so you may need the help of friends and family to look after the garden while you are away. |
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Deadhead flowering plants regularly. Deadheading is important for the general health vitality of any plant, when plants try to make seeds, they use a lot of nutrients and water, so deadheading during dry hot weather, you help the plant retain resources for flowering instead. Plus deadheading helps to keep flowering plants tidy. Spent flowers are pretty unsightly and detract from an attractive garden, so deadheading can keep flower beds and borders fresh. |
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Give lavender plants a haircut once the flowers have faded. Take cuttings of lavender by pushing 10cm lengths of non-flowering shoots into sandy compost. Keep them well watered in the shade until autumn. Rooted plants can be planted out in spring. |
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Prune Wisteria. Summer pruning of wisteria encourages the short-flowering spurs that carry the blooms in spring. The long vigorous shoots, produced after flowering are cut back to a couple of buds from the base of the current season growth. Use secateurs to cut back long shoots that were produced during the late spring and early summer. Make the cut just beyond the second or third bud from the base. |
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Watering! Particularly containers, hanging baskets and new plants - preferably with grey recycled water or stored rainwater. |
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Harvest vegetables as they become ready. The main point of growing your own vegetables is how much better they taste fresh. The only safe way to guarantee harvesting vegetables at the best time is to taste test. Keep in mind that great flavour isn't simply a matter of size or colour. There are no precise guidelines for when to harvest vegetables, but most vegetables are harvested just before full maturity, for maximum flavour and the most pleasant texture. |
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Lift and pot up rooted strawberry runners. Prepare new strawberry beds for next year if not yet done. Tie in new growth on blackberries and hybrid berries. |
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Prune rambling and climbing roses after flowering: for ramblers take out one old stem for each new one; for climbers cut above a strong side shoot, low down on the plant. |
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Take cuttings of tender perennials, such as verbenas, fuchsias, salvias and pelargonium's. Dip cuttings in hormone rooting powder before inserting in small pots of half and half peat and Perlite or peat and silver sand. Water well and keep the cuttings in a cold frame or on a warm windowsill out of direct sunlight. They should root within eight weeks and can then be potted up in multi-purpose compost and over-wintered in a greenhouse or windowsill. |
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Keep ponds, bird baths and other water features topped up. |
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Increase numbers of violas or pansies by cutting back hard and covering crowns with fine sandy soil to encourage new growth. Once growing well, rooted pieces can be gently loosened from the plant and potted up. |
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Summer prune restricted or trained fruit trees to allow sunlight to ripen the fruits. |
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Gladioli for decorative indoor use should be cut as soon as the bottom flower on the spike has opened. Most of the remaining blooms will open when the spike is brought indoors and placed in water. When cutting gladioli, be sure to leave at least 3 or 4 leaves at the base of the plant. Early morning is the best time to cut flowers. Remove all flower spikes on gladioli remaining in the garden as soon as the flowers have faded. |
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