August is traditionally holiday time so catch up on any gardening jobs before you go away to make sure your garden is still blooming on your return. With August usually being one of the hottest months of the year, keeping on top of watering is essential. At Haddenham we still have lots of summer plants available, come in and chat to us about what we recommend planting at this time of year. As always there is lots to keep you busy during August, but most importantly, don’t forget to sit back, relax and enjoy your garden in the sunshine.
- Prune lavender after it finishes flowering to maintain a compact, bushy shape, but avoid cutting into old wood. For rambling roses, prune by removing up to a third of the stems that have flowered and tie the rest to supports
- Collect seeds from a variety of plants, including trees, shrubs, perennials, aquatic plants, alpines, annuals, biennials, bulbous plants, ornamental grasses, vegetables, and herbs. As a general guideline, seeds are ready to be collected about two months after flowering
- Keep pots, hanging baskets, and perennials blooming by regularly watering and deadheading. If you plan to be away this month, set up an automatic watering system for pots and hanging baskets, or enlist a neighbour to help with watering. Visit our Hozelock watering range in-store
- Keep camellias and rhododendrons well-watered through late summer while their flower buds are forming
- It’s time to take softwood cuttings of woody herbs, such as lavender and hyssop. Choose non-flowering shoots for the best results
- Now that the wildflowers have scattered their seeds, it’s time to strim or mow your meadow. Although it may be difficult to cut the meadow with wildlife still enjoying it, remember that wildflowers are resilient and low-growing with basal rosettes. They benefit from cutting as it controls the surrounding grasses. If you delay cutting too long, the grass can form an impenetrable thatch
- Remove any spent hardy annuals if you don’t want them to self-seed
- Plant autumn bulbs, such as Colchicums and Sternbergia in pots and borders for blooms in September/October
- Plant well-rooted strawberry runners into new beds – planting in August or early September gives them longer to get established before fruiting, so they should produce a better crop. Use netting or fleece to protect blackberries and autumn raspberries from birds. Vitax Sulphate of Potash contains the essential nutrient potassium, and gives plants greater resistance to weather and disease, as well as promoting the development and colour of flowers and increased fruit yields, ideal for blueberries and cane fruit
- Pinch out the tops of outdoor tomatoes, as further flowers are unlikely to produce fruits that have time to ripen
- Harvest fresh herbs to freeze in ice cubes for winter use or hang them up to dry and store in jars
- Harvest tomatoes, cucumbers, and chillies regularly to encourage more fruit formation. We have cookbooks available in-store giving lots of ideas to enjoy your produce – ‘Lunchbox Salads’ by Naomi Twigden and Anna Pinder and ‘Seasonal Salads’ by Fi Buchanan invite you to experiment with delicious salads this summer
- Summer pruning of apples and pears allows sunlight to ripen the fruit and ensures good cropping the following year
- Increase humidity in the greenhouse by pouring water over the floor each morning during hot weather. During drought periods, try using grey water to reduce mains water usage
- Start watering dormant cyclamen to bring them back into growth after their summer rest
- Go on regular snail and slug hunts, especially on damp evenings to reduce their populations. Slugs are active at night and love wet soil / wet surfaces, so try watering first thing in the morning so that the soil can dry out before nightfall to reduce slug activity. In store we have a few methods for you to try such as Defenders Slug Away Barrier Tape – when slugs and snails attempt to cross the copper tape, a tiny electrical charge is produced which will humanely repel them. Or a Slug Away Wool Mat can be a deterrent, this can be positioned around plants and cut to size if required.
- Turn compost regularly to speed up decomposition
- Don’t forget your houseplants – feed once a week with liquid fertiliser and regularly check for pests. Our impressive houseplant department offers all the feed and specialised soils you need. Houseplant Focus is a multi-purpose fertiliser and will provide all the necessary nutrients
needed, or Baby Bio offer a range of feed suited to individual plant types. - Consider placing houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light