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Edition five - August 2006
August for me is always a relaxed sort of month in the garden, when I can take a break from the heavier jobs of the early part of the year and plan the Autumn/Winter tasks.
I
examine any plants that have seed pods forming, as I find immense satisfaction
in growing plants for free from seed I have previously collected. Several
years ago I spent £6 on one packet with only five seeds of the Castor
Oil plant 'Ricinus Carmencita', a really unusual monster annual. Although
expensive at the time, each year they`ve produced hundreds of viable seeds,
keeping the whole neighborhood going.
So when funds are at a premium go on a seed hunt. Have a look in your gardening books too, for any plants that are suitable for taking stem cuttings from at this time of year. This is wood that is no longer soft and sappy but not yet very ripe. Some I have in mind are: escallonia, lavender, cistus, all varieties of sages, rosemary, buddleia, philadelphus, viburnum tinus, berberis, ceanothus, weigela, hydrangea, ribes, hebe, skimmia and deutzia.
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Jobs
for the month - August
As summer begins to draw to a close August becomes a month of tidying up and preparation for the winter and next spring. The rewards of earlier labours in the fruit and vegetable garden can now be had..
Houseplants
They will still need frequent watering and feeding. Don`t forget to regularly dead-head flowering varieties. If you have plants in a conservatory make sure they have ventilation and shade on hot sunny days. At holiday time, if you have nobody to water your houseplants, put them in the coolest part of the house and stand them on wet newspaper where they will survive for the duration.
Bulbs.
Bulbs are starting to come into the garden centres at this time of year. If you are not planting them straight away, store them in a dry, dark place with plenty of ventilation. Use paper bags not polythene..
Lawns
Frequent mowings are still the order of the day unless you are suffering a water shortage and have a parched lawn. Don`t worry about brown patches in the lawn, due to drought, as a few heavy showers will soon restore it. Have you noticed how the weeds still grow even though the grass doesn't ?
Greenhouse
During the month of August you still need to make sure that plants in the greenhouse have adequate ventilation and are shaded from too much sun. Maintain humidity to avoid red spider mite by damping down with the hosepipe. Shade cucumbers from hot sun.
Hedges
Take care when pruning a low lavender hedge because only the new growth should be lightly trimmed. Any old wood you cut back won`t grow again.
Fruit and vegetables
You may be able to start picking early apples and pears. Continue cropping salad varieties. Watch out for aphids on the runner beans, and keep them well watered in dry spells.
Herbaceous plants
Carry on feeding plants. Take time to dead-head any flowers that have faded, which encourages new buds to form, and freshens the borders. Also mulch round plants with grass cuttings in dry weather, to preserve moisture. (Don`t forget to dig it in once the dry spell has passed)
Ponds and water features
If you have aphids on lily leaves, give them a blast with the hose pipe which will knock them into the water for the fish to eat. It will also serve to oxygenate the water, and raise the level, which may have dropped due to evaporation. Continue removing blanket weed if it is a problem. Feed up the fish fry that have hatched this year, on crumbled fish pellets, and watch them grow...
Wildlife
Our hedgehog seems to have found another place to live as he no longer comes through our garden. Perhaps he didn`t like the scent of our dogs. It has been exceptionally busy in our garden since we started feeding the birds sunflower seed hearts.. In fact we had to revert to ordinary sunflower seeds because it was becoming a full time job replenishing the feeders..
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Some web sites of interest to gardeners:
The living theatre of plants
and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people.
A meeting place for all to discover how we depend on plants and how we
can help to manage and conserve them for our mutual survival.
Gardening
is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to give up
gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the
problems associated with growing older. The information on their website
is designed to provide you with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National
Lottery Charities Board. It brings together information
on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23 years by Thrive and research
carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre, Oxford,
on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
www.alantitchmarsh.com Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and
thoroughly nice person. Just a few choice words to describe the peoples`
favourite TV gardener. See his website....
Thompson
and Morgan
A growing resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes
the international online seed catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK
only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together with the award winning
Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
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And some reading material:-
"The Yellow Book 2006" contains information of all Gardens of England
and Wales open for charity, from National Gardens Scheme and is available
from all good bookstores throughout the UK priced £7.99. http://www.ngs.org.uk/yellow_book.htm
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