As the evenings are now pulling in, there are whispers in the garden of autumn arriving but we still have plenty of daylight and warmth to keep gardening pleasurable in this last month of summer.
You will not be short of company either, as the mild winter and the bounteous summer have provided for more birds to have extra broods – and I have welcomed the chirpy blackbirds who have taken all the grubs I’ve unearthed and all the other insects and creepy crawlies that they’re happy to make off with.
I’ve noticed a lot of little frogs, and I also even had a grass snake for company one afternoon this month too! It has been another month of storms but these have been some of the most spectacular thunder and lightning storms I’ve seen for a long time, and thankfully miraculously the storms haven’t battered down any of my plants – yet anyway, fingers crossed!
Gardens are a real pleasure to work in at the moment, partly because of all the strongly scented plants in flower particularly Jasmine and Honeysuckle, but also the colour is breathtaking with the combinations of Phlox, Cistus, Hydrangea, sunflowers, poppies, dahlias, Crocosmias, and one of my favourite most intricate flowers the passionflower.
Another plant I love to see is Achillea, best grown en masse it has great feathery foliage and gives beds a bit of a softer, dreamy feel – it’s great for coping with well drained soil and periods of drought, and it’s evergreen so it doesn’t disappear over the winter or look unsightly. Its only drawback is that it sometimes needs a bit of staking.
Garden centres are now selling Rudbeckias, Heleniums and Echinacea so there is plenty of choice of plants if you fancy peppering your borders with a bit of late summer interest in your garden.
For more plant inspiration why not check out my Pinterest page?
Happy Gardening!
Jobs for August:
- Divide up irises.
- Cut back persistent geraniums after they’ve flowered to keep their growth in check.
- Stake plants and check stakes if stormy weather is forecasted.
- Remove caterpillars, slugs and snails.
- Divide and plant perennials but make sure you water them in well.
- Feed roses with liquid tomato feed like Tomorite.
- Tie in climbers, particularly sweet peas.
- Weed, weed, weed!