Monthly Garden Advice for August
High Summer Colour
If you have run out of space for climbing plants, make a feature using 1 x 6’ and 2 x 3’ trellis panels erected at right angles to offer aspects to all corners of the compass. Plant a Jasmine in the East corner, a Clematis on the West, a climbing Rose on the South and a Honeysuckle in the North corner.
Monitor Pests
Set up yellow sticky traps in glasshouses to monitor the presence of whitefly, thrips and aphids. If vineweevil is suspected on container plants use Vineweevil killer as a drench or a biological control using nematodes (Nemasys).
Prolong Flowering
of summer bedding plants and roses by carefully ‘deadheading’ to remove the seed box behind the flower as well the petals. Roses can be pruned to lower buds to encourage further flowering.
Good enough to eat
use the edible flowers or petals of Calendula, Nasturtium,Viola and Hemerocallis (Day Lily ) to add colour to summer salads and Borage, Rose and Dianthus for summer drinks and deserts.
Succulent Salads
Maintain a regular supply by sowing short rows of mixed salad leaves, Mizuna, Beetroot, Radish and Swiss Chard sown now will provide foliage over Winter.
Quick Tips
- prepare sites for sowing lawns in September.
- after cropping trim old foliage from strawberry beds.
- keep cutting and dead-heading sweet peas and keep them well watered and fed for a continuous display.
- Dahlia buds and flowers may be damaged by earwigs. Place straw in upturned pots on top of a cane at flower height to trap them.
