The August Gardening Jobs To Do As Summer Winds Down

We are now around halfway through this scorcher of a summer and what a tough summer it has been for us gardeners with the record-breaking heatwaves and extended periods of dry weather, leading to hosepipe bans

If you’re one of the fortunate gardeners that has managed to keep their garden flourishing during this time, it’s time to start deadheading foliage and planning for next year’s flowering season.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) advises: “August is usually one of the hottest months of the year, making watering essential. Try to use grey water wherever possible, especially as water butts may be running low if it has been a dry summer. August is traditionally holiday time, so you might need to enlist the help of friends and family to look after the garden while you are away.”

The gardening experts at Greenhouse Stores say: “August is the month of abundance in UK gardens. Harvest tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans and soft fruit daily to keep plants productive.

“Sow winter salad crops now for autumn and winter cropping: winter lettuce, spinach, pak choi and rocket. Take semi-ripe cuttings of lavender, rosemary and box hedging. Order greenhouse heaters now because they sell out by October every year.”

If you’re falling a little behind on gardening or haven’t bought seeds in time, August is a great time to get back into the habit of gardening and reconnect with your green-fingered side. The experts at GrowVeg advise: “Summer is a great time to be sowing hardier leafy herbs like coriander and parsley, which are less likely to bolt after midsummer.

“If you live somewhere with very mild winters you may also be able to sow other last-minute crops like early or fast-maturing varieties of cucumber, beans and courgettes.”

The RHS says: “Towards the end of August sow hardy annuals directly into borders. They will overwinter and flower next summer.”

The society also recommends cutting back the foliage and stems of herbaceous plants that have already died as well as deadheading and watering plants in hanging baskets to make them last through to autumn.

As for what we should be planting this month, Dobies says: “In August the warm ground is perfect for sowing feverfew, field cornflower, calendula, myosotis, Siberian wallflower, cyclamen hederifolium and potentilla.

“You can also start off some pot plant seeds indoors. Why not try a cactus, cyclamen, or coleus?”