Garden Jobs in August in Buckinghamshire
As our summer matures in Buckinghamshire, August brings long, warm days and the first signs of the season’s shift, so garden jobs in August can be done at a more leisurely pace! There’s not the same sense of urgency at this time of year but still plenty to do and see in the garden this month.
Water, water, water.
After the very dry start to this year and with the hose pipe ban water has become more and more precious. We need to use it wisely in our gardens. Established plants and trees in general do not require watering. It is best to let plants reach for their own water, excess watering can lead to the formation of shallow roots and thereby creates a plant that is vulnerable to drought and wind. However, in a hot spell, newly planted shrubs and trees will require irrigation of some sort. The first sign that a plant is suffering from drought is the leaves wilt, they become limp because they are no longer swollen with water. They nearly always turn yellow and sometimes they become brown at the ends and the leaves drop off. It’s much better to give a newly planted tree or shrub a good soaking two or three times a week rather than a little sprinkling every day. So, if you have just planted a new garden, water in the evening or early morning before the heat of the sun evaporates the water. If you do have to water in the middle of the day, try not to let the water fall on the leaves as this can scorch the plants, get to the bottom of the plant with your hose pipe or watering can. All plants in containers rely on someone to water them or they will die, even if we have a bit of rain, plants in containers need a lot of water. The smaller the container, the more watering it will require. Adding water retentive gel when planting containers helps.
Use a mulch to preserve water.
If you’ve never used a mulch before this might be the summer to consider it. Mulches are basically ‘coverings’ placed on the surface of cultivated soil. They can be applied to bare soil or to cover the surface of compost in containers. Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of materials as a mulch and have found the best one to be well rotted bark, that’s the very fine sort, not the thicker pieces of bark used in car parks. Bark breaks down gradually to release nutrients into the soil and help improve its structure. It will need replacing when it has fully rotted down and the key is to apply a really thick layer. An 80L bag will cover an area of about 1 meter. In addition to preserving water, a thick layer of mulch suppresses weeds, improves soil texture, deters some pests, protects the roots of plants from extreme temperatures and give a decorative finish. What’s not to love? If there’s one thing I’d encourage all gardeners to do this summer it would be to become a mulcher!
Deadheading and Cutting Back
Removing spent blooms from plants like dahlias, cosmos, and roses helps redirect energy into more flowers rather than seed production so you can help the plant continue to flower into the autumn. Most deadheading can be done with secateurs, cutting back to just above strong buds lower down the stem. Try to do this weekly for continuous flowering. For long-lasting display, cut some blooms for indoor arrangements – this encourages further growth. Flowers such as sweet peas are particularly good at continuing to bloom well into autumn provided the seed heads aren’t allowed to form.
Perennials like hardy geraniums, alchemilla mollis, and delphiniums can look tired now. Cutting them down to the base encourages fresh new foliage and sometimes a second flush of flowers in early autumn.
Sow Biennials for Next Year
Biennials such as foxgloves, honesty, sweet williams, and wallflowers are best sown now. They’ll germinate and form leafy rosettes this year, ready for a good start next spring. Sow into seed trays or directly into well-prepared seed beds. Keep moist and plant out in autumn. Alternatively scatter them over the area you want them to grow.
Garden Jobs in August – Lawn Care
Mow grass regularly to encourage good growth. Mowing is the best way to ensure you have a good lawn. Once a week is fine but for a really good lawn, twice a week. The reason for this is that the less grass that is taken off at each cut the healthier it will remain. It is also important to mow the grass in a different direction each time. If you mow in the same direction every time the grass begins to grow that way and the mower blades, especially on a cylinder mower, will not cut is as well. Don’t forget edging trim the edges at the same time as the lawn is cut. It makes all the difference to the appearance of a garden if the edges are cut regularly and it’s less work doing it once a week as the trimmings are few and don’t have to be cleared up.
Hoe or hand-pull Annual Weeds.
I wish there was an easy solution to weeds in the flower beds but it is an ongoing job! Weeds are just plants in the wrong place that compete for water and light so it is one of the important garden jobs in August to keep on top of them. If you can hoe this is the easiest way to control weeds. Choose a dry day and leave the leaves on the surface to wither. Perennial weeds (things like dandelions, ground elder and bind weed) are trickier to deal with. They have to be dug out effectively removing completely, if any trace is left in the soil, be warned, they return! The best gardening tool and I have found to deal with weeds is a hori hori knife
Prune Rambling Roses…
…after they have flowered. It’s really very easy, all you have to remember is they produce flowers on wood produced the previous year. All side shoots that have flowered can be pruned back to one or two buds from the main stems. Any new, strong shoots should be tied in to replace older shoots. Any very old stems should be cut right back down to the base. In this way you’ll encourage new shoots.
Light Prune Wisteria
Complete summer pruning of Wisteria this month. Again it’s very simple, just prune all the long new whippy growth back to five or six buds from the main stem. This encourages the plant to produce flower buds. If you have a young plant and want to extend the framework, leave the side shoots on but tie them in to where you want the growth to be. Established Wisterias are very vigorous so it’s important to let them know who’s the boss in the garden, prune this month and again in February and they will reward you with abundance.
Garden Jobs in August in the Vegetable Garden
One of the nicer garden jobs in August is to harvest crops regularly. Courgettes need picking when small (15–20cm) to stay tender. Beans can become stringy if left too long. Keep tomatoes picked to encourage ripening. Harvest early apples, plums, and berries as they ripen. Remove windfalls to avoid pests and wasps. The wasps have loved the warm summer we’ve had in Buckinghamshire this year and have been a problem much earlier than normal. There really isn’t much to do except try and keep ahead of them and harvest before they do!
August is ideal for sowing fast-growers for autumn: try rocket, lettuce, mustard greens, radishes, turnips, and spinach. Use cloches or fleece to protect seedlings from temperature drops later in the month.
Crops like tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, and cucumbers are heavy feeders. Feed weekly with a high-potash fertiliser (like tomato feed) to boost fruiting.
Think ahead to bulb planting next month
You can save money by buying your bulbs in bulk online this month. They are usually better value than in garden centres and arrive packaged with instructions on how to plant.
We have a bulb planting service in Buckinghamshire with a ready made selection of bulbs that we plant for a succession of seasonal interest from the first snowdrops to gorgeous alliums in May. Prices start from £150 + VAT for a full supply and planting service. Please contact us for more information here.
