Although August is the last true month of summer, the garden and veg plot are still at their best.
Some plants to enjoy in August
- Callistemon- (the bottle brush plant) is native to Australia, but the shrubs are now popular ornamental shrubs due to their vivid flower spikes. Grow in a warm, sheltered spot.
- Echinacea – these hardy perennials give borders late flowering colour.
- Lychnis coronaria – (rose campion) these magenta flowered plants thrive in the heat and will produce the best leaf colour in dry soils. Deadhead regularly to prolong the display.
- Phygelius – (cape fuchsia) ideal for subtropical borders and pot displays. The flowers should last into September, if dead-headed regularly.
- Phlox – hardy and reliable herbaceous perennials, phlox are a late-summer essential. Cut back to the ground when the foliage begins turning yellow in late autumn.
- Veronicastrum – (Culver’s root) elegant perennials with tall flower spikes, loved by pollinators. They grow best in damp but well-drained soil.
- Bergamot (monarda) has mounds of foliage topped by dazzling red, pink or purple blooms. The aromatic leaves give off a lovely, spicy fragrance when crushed. too.
General Garden Maintenance
• Now that this year’s nesting season is over for the birds, cut and prune hedges into shape.
• Summer prune Wisteria to encourage flowers next year, by cutting off the long whippy growth and unwanted laterals at the base.
• Prune shrubs like Weigela, Philadelphus and Choisya which have flowered earlier in the season, to reshape the shrub and encourage growth for next year
• As the summer goes on the Roses become more prone to black spot. Collect the fallen infected leaves and destroy (not in the compost bin) and spray to control the disease.
• After flowering, trim spent flowers from Lavender and clip the plant into neat shape. This will help to keep the plant in a good shape for the next year.
• Dead-head your flowers frequently to ensure your summer display continues to bloom for as long as possible.
Flowerbeds and Pots
• Ericaceous shrubs such as Camellias and Rhododendrons are now forming their flower buds ready for next spring’s display. If August is dry, the plants will have fewer and smaller buds, so water well to avoid this. If you have not fed your ericaceous shrubs yet, catch up by feeding in August and September using a proprietary ericaceous feed.
• Cut late flowering Lavender for drying, choosing newly opened flowers for the best fragrance and hang up in a cool, dark place.
• Give Dahlias a liquid feed and tie the shoots of tall varieties to sturdy stakes as they grow.
• Keeping hoeing and hand-weed borders so weeds don’t have time to set seed.
• Water and feed sweet peas regularly, pick the flowers every few days and remove seed pods.
• Plant autumn bulbs, including Nerines, in pots and borders.
• Feed, water and deadhead summer bedding regularly, in pots, borders and hanging baskets.
• Cut back early summer perennials, such as hardy Geraniums and Delphiniums, after flowering for a second flush.
• Feed and deadhead roses to keep them flowering strongly.
• Pick off flowers on Coleus plants to maintain their colourful leaves.
• Sow biennials, such as Foxgloves, Honesty, Forget-me-nots and Wallflowers, for blooms next year.
Fruit and Vegetables
• Continue to harvest beans, courgettes and salads regularly.
• In hot weather hose down the greenhouse floor in the morning to control temperatures.
• It is possible to get a second crop of broad beans. When the broad bean plant has finished, cut down the stem close to the ground to about 15 cms near a growing point and give it a feed. It should re-grow and produce a second, smaller crop.
• There is still time to sow quick growing salad crops such as Lettuce, Rocket and radish.
• Onions, Garlic and Shallots should be ready to harvest by the end of the month. When it goes brown, bend over the top growth and ease the bulbs out of the earth carefully, resting them on soil to dry out before bringing in for storage.
• Onions must be stored in the light, so in a greenhouse would be ideal. They must be bone dry before being stored. If damp, they will rot.
• Garlic is similar, wait till the top growth turns brown, usually in late August. Store in a dry and light spot in the warmth, rather than a cold area.
• Keep feeding tomato plants and watering regularly. Remove excess leaves to encourage fruit production and pinch out the top growing point to stop the plant growing any taller.
• Maincrop potatoes can be harvested once they have flowered and should be ready to harvest in late August. You can leave them in the ground for a while after the top growth has died back.
• Carrots can get “green shoulders” caused by the carrot pushing up in the soil. In order to prevent this, put some soil or compost around the top of the carrots which are exposed to the light.
Alpington and Yelverton 