Online Gardening Calendar

August

Garden activity should now be slowing down after the previous months of accelerated growth. Watering may be necessary, but give yourself time to relax too.
Time also for a run out to North Wales Garden World to see what is new there.

Fruit

Pick early apples and pears to enjoy fresh, before they fall off the tree and bruise. Old raspberry and loganberry canes should be cut back when the fruit has been harvested, and the new shoots reduced to a few of the strongest, healthiest ones.

Trees and Shrubs

Give hedging a last clipping of the season, and remove all dead flowers and stalks from summer flowering shrubs, unless they produce berries.

Vegetables

Harvest onions, garlic, shallots and runner beans and gather herbs. Dig up early potatoes and dry in the sun. Keep broccoli well watered as the heads form. Tidy your vegetable patch, placing the remains of crops that have been harvested on the compost heap. Make sure the runner beans and peas do not go short of water.

Flowers

Remove all dead head flowers, leaves and stalks, and continue with weeding and watering. Train wisteria, honeysuckle and clematis before the shoots grow out of control, and disbud dahlias. This is a good time to take cuttings of many plants, rooting them in pots of sandy compost.

Lawns

If there has been a spell of hot dry weather, set the mower on a slightly higher setting, and trim less frequently.

Pots

Hanging baskets and pots should be watered daily and feed weekly. Be sure to remove the dead leaves and stalks, monitor pests. House plants will appreciate a spell in the open air, place them where light is dappled, but not scorching.

Ponds

Weed regularly, and keep surrounding plants well trimmed. Thin out oxygenating plants, taking care not to harm the fish. Try not to over feed the fish, as the uneaten food will rot and pollute the water.