Gardening tips for August
The long, summer days of August allow us to spend more time in our gardens, enjoying our outdoor spaces well into the evenings. This month, garden borders will be bursting with life, and plants are in full bloom – but you can still grow plenty of plants or get ready for the season ahead.
You can use this month to start planning your spring-flowering bulbs, and even plant a few in your beds and borders. Keen allotment gardeners can also still make last-minute plantings of certain vegetables or start sowing seasonal vegetable seeds indoors ready for springtime.
Most importantly, this month is all about soaking up the last of the summer sun and enjoying your garden to its fullest. August is usually the hottest month of the year, so it's the right time to take advantage!
What can I do in my garden in August?
Before summer is over, be sure to enjoy your garden and all the hard work you’ve put into making it so nice this year.
Whether you want to fire up the BBQ, get through your summer reading list, play outside with the kids, or have a big garden party with all your friends and family, make sure you’ve got everything you need so you’re ready to go as soon as the sunshine appears.
So, after finishing off watering, feeding, pruning, and any other maintenance jobs left to do this summer, make sure you take a few moments for yourself and enjoy your garden the way you love to the most.
Deadhead your summer flowering plants regularly as they begin to fade to extend the flowering season well into autumn – particularly any Dahlias and roses.
Any herbaceous plants that have already finished flowering can be cut back and tidied too, while some plants such as hardy Geraniums will grow back with a second flush of foliage and flower for a late season display.
Many roses will put on another display of fresh blooms, so deadhead flowers that are at the end of their life cycle and boost your plant with rose fertiliser to encourage healthy growth of a late summer display.
Tie in rambling roses as horizontal as possible. Training new growth in this way helps to encourage an abundance of flowers to grow.
Now is a fantastic opportunity to start thinking ahead to next year. With spring flowering bulb collections available in-store this month, you can start to shop for inspirational new varieties and colour mixes, as well as your familiar favourites.
Why not use this month as an opportunity to take a step back and decide if there are any areas in your outdoor space you want to improve – maybe you would like to try planting different seeds or bulbs in your borders or transform your garden completely through a landscaping project. Take notes and start planning for after winter.
Flowers to plant this month
Autumn flowering crocus corms are available in-store now. Plant them in groups in your borders or directly on your grass. They’ll bloom in September and October, giving you much needed late summer colour in your garden. It also means you can keep your green thumbs busy during a month when there’s not too much to grow.
Hebes are ideal for your sunny borders, providing summer colour and year-round foliage. These neat and colourful evergreen shrubs are also one of our plants of the month. And for those wanting to encourage more wildlife to their garden, they make great plants to attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Hebes need soil that is free-draining and prefer a warm spot in your garden. When winter comes around, you’ll need to protect them from the wet and cold, depending on the variety. Be sure to check the plant label for more advice. They can be planted in large borders or for smaller spaces, they work great in containers as well. When planting Hebes, make sure to use a mature plant compost.
There are lots of options for gardening - even if you’re working with less outdoor space. Planted containers and hanging baskets are a great solution
for making the most of the space you have. If you have a patio, then bigger containers can be used for a variety of plants - including Cyclamen, garden mums, and Hebes. Don’t forget to move your containers into the shade if you’re going away, as this will reduce the risk of your plants and soil drying out.
Hanging baskets can be placed on your fence, outside your front door or even in your kitchen for access to your own fresh herbs or edible produce.
August can be a very hot, dry month. It’s important to make sure you keep your plants hydrated, especially your container plants, but also make sure to keep an eye on your shrub, tree, and herbaceous borders. Water these daily if necessary.
What fruit and veg can I grow in August?
National Allotment Week is this month, from 10-16 August, celebrating all the benefits growing your own has to offer. This year, the theme is ‘Grow to Learn’, highlighting the educational, personal, and mental development that comes with spending time in your veg plot. Here’s what you can do this month when it comes to growing fruit and veg in August.
- To ensure you’re encouraging fresh growth in your herbs make sure to cut them back if they're looking tired.
- Harvest French and runner beans, carrots, cucumber, spinach, courgettes, peas, peppers, chillies, beetroot, aubergines and tomatoes if ripe. Your second early and maincrop potatoes will also be ready to harvest this month.
- Continue to water tomato plants consistently and regularly, adding a high potassium tomato feed for healthy growth and fruiting. If you’re growing pumpkins for autumn festivities, then they need to be continually watered so they continue to grow and be ready in time.
- If you have empty spaces in your vegetable patch after harvesting the last of your summer produce, sow fast-growing salad seeds like lettuce and radishes to save your beds looking barren – and you get to enjoy fresh leaves in your summer salads!
- Harvest blackberries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, the last of your raspberries and any apples already growing in your garden.
Have a sustainable summer
It’s important to try and use water sustainably in the garden, especially during warmer weather where drought may occur, or hosepipe bans might be put in place. While you can use a watering can throughout a hosepipe ban, it’s even better if you can collect rainwater as it's better for the environment and your plants.
One easy way to collect rainwater is to leave your watering can outside so it naturally fills up with rain. You should also install a water butt in your garden to collect rainwater – read our full guide on harvesting rainwater to learn more.
We’d love to see what tasks and projects you’ve been up to in the garden this month – take a picture and tag us on socials @dobbiesgardencentres so we can see your gorgeous outdoor space!