August might be a lazy month for many, but for gardeners it is a busy time pruning, harvesting and watering.

Deep watering

Hot dry weather means you need to water consistently and deeply. This is especially necessary for more thirsty plants like hydrangeas, dahlias and tomatoes. Don’t forget to water anything newly planted and especially containers, which you should move into more shaded spots in very hot weather. Pots should be fed regularly this month with liquid fertiliser.

Lawns

Hot, dry weather can lead to browning of lawns, but a good August downpour will help rectify this. Whilst it is important to mow your lawn regularly, this month you might consider mowing only every ten days or two weeks and keeping the mower blades high to prevent drying out the grass. 

Fruit and vegetables

Frequent harvesting is the key to better cropping, especially courgettes, runner beans and tomatoes. Plums and blackberries are ripe for picking this month.

As you harvest your potatoes, be vigilant for potato blight and remove any affected plants. On a dry day, lift onions and shallots if their tops have died down, then leave to dry out in the sun.

As you pick your summer salad crop, sow hardy crops such as land cress, rocket and lamb’s lettuce for late season harvest. Now is also a good time to plant potato tubers in large tubs in a cool outbuilding or porch so you can have freshly harvested potatoes with your Christmas lunch.

Flowers

Water and feed hanging baskets and pots regularly, and dead heading should be done almost daily to encourage new growth and the best display. In borders, dead head Dahlias, roses and bedding plants to ensure new growth and colour well into the next season. Likewise, hardy geraniums should be cut back a little as this will ensure new growth and flowers for longer.

Once they have finished flowering, now is the perfect time to prune climbing and rambling roses. Collect and store in a cool, dry place the seeds of your hardy annuals and perennials like Nigella and Cerinthe which you can then sow in the autumn.

Don’t cut off the flowerheads of ornamental grasses such as Indian grass and Big Bluestem as they provide food and shelter for many species of wildlife when other food sources are scarce