What to do in your garden now ...
August nears its end .... which tasks can you do now in your garden ?
Prune now
Prune hedges
You can prune fast-growing hedges such as privet and leylandii hedges again in August. Do not do it later in the year. The shoots that grow on the hedge after pruning need to have plenty of time to ripen before winter comes.
Exhausted flowers
Both annuals and many perennials flower much better if the dead flowers are regularly removed. On some varieties such as lupin, delphinium, Geum, Alyssum and Alchemilla a second flowering or follow-on flowering can then happen in favourable conditions.
Plant now
Plant Madonna lily, autumn crocuses and colchicum
Now is a good planting time for Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum). The bulbs of colchicum and autumn-flowering crocuses (such as Crocus kotschyanus, pink flowers, and C. speciosus, lilac) need to be planted in August. Plant Colchicum 10 cm deep, Crocus 6 cm deep.
Maintenance
Lay a lawn
This is an excellent month for laying and sowing a new lawn. August can be a damp month and grass seed will germinate quickly. Plus the grass can then be fairly well-established before winter comes.
Fertilise the lawn
If the grass is growing well, the blades remain succulent and the lawn is easy to mow. You can now give lawn feed one more time. After this, only give special nitrogen-free autumn fertiliser. The grass must be able to ripen before winter in order to be more frost-resistant.
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