The August Garden

August is traditionally the holiday month, and the time to enjoy the garden during the warm days and evenings. Dahlias and hydrangeas are excellent plants for displaying throughout August, with Dahlia in particular lasting well as cut flowers. 

Continue weeding pots and borders regularly, and keep an eye out for any self-sown seedlings - its surprising what you can find! Most hybrids and cultivars will not produce true from seed, but the seeds that do emerge can throw up all sorts of variations in flower colour, growth habit, and even leaf colour. 

It's never to early to be thinking about next years garden, spring flowering bulbs for example, will be available soon. Get your notepad or sketch book out, and get creative planning next years outdoor space.

Cut back perennials that have collapsed or spread over other plants in the border. In wet weather many taller growing perennials, especially plants like Achillea tend to flop over and smother other plants. Trim them back from the smaller plants, so they can recover and flower. The plants you cut back may grow again and produce more flowers in the autumn.