Gardening by Month - August
There’s still lots of summer ahead of us, so give your garden some TLC to keep everything looking good. If your garden is flagging after the heatwave and needs a boost, here are some of our late summer winners. They can be planted now in your borders or in containers:
- Perennial ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus and Pennisetum – known as fountain grass – mix in well with flowering plants and add movement and a touch of style to the garden.
- Plant chrysanthemums and pansies for lots of flowers from now until autumn.
- You can also plant autumn-flowering crocus bulbs this month and they’ll burst into life in September and October. Dig a planting hole for them that’s 5-10cm deep. Crocuses are delicate, so position them in a sheltered spot.
- As always, there’s 20% off our Plant of the Month, which for August is climbers.
It was a hot dry start to the summer, but at least we’ve had some cooler, rainy conditions in July for the garden. Here are some jobs for the month:
- Revitalise tired plants by deadheading faded flowers and snipping off dying foliage and branches.
- Feed flowering plants with a liquid fertiliser to perk them up.
- Give shrubs and hedges a light prune if they’re looking untidy. It will help them maintain their shape.
- Water wisely by giving the plants that need it a good soak at their base a couple of times a week. This encourages deep root growth and is better than a more frequent sprinkle of water.
- In dry spells, keep a bird bath topped up and have a small bowl of water at ground level too for any passing wildlife, such as bees.
Until next month, enjoy the summer and happy gardening!
