August in the Garden

As stormier weather appears and the sun drops in the sky, the light changes this month so that rich colours such as purples, burgundies, bronzes and oranges become prominent in our gardens. The foliage can become tired and droop at this time of year. For the best results; keeping hedges cut and shrubs neatly sheared as well as the garden generally neat and tidy and dead headed, the garden will keep up appearances through to the beginning of Autumn.

Star Plants this month:

• Crocosmia

• Poppu ‘Ladybird’

• Cannas

• Cactus Dahlia

• Verbena bonariensis

• Rudbeckia

• Zinnias

These flowers are in bloom and thriving this month so make sure you spot them in your garden. If you would like any of the above plants in your August garden next year take a photo of the space you have in mind and a note of the plant and they can be added in Autumn or in Spring.

Jobs we will be working on this month:

• Dead Heading - Perennials and Annuals to keep them flowering

• Weeding - bindweed can be notorious this month so working to uproot and untangle this garden foe is a continual job this month

• Harvesting

• Pruning - plants to prune this month are: Lavender after flowering, Pyracantha, Rambling Rose, Wisteria, Espalier apples and pears, Bay trees.

• Hedge cutting - hedges will be thickening with new growth, birds will have finished nesting so it is a good time to have the hedges cut before winter.

We hope you have a lovely Summer and enjoy seeing the results of our work in your garden,

The team at Mackintosh Martin Gardening

P.S. Photos are from a visit to Graveyte Manor Gardens in July where we explored and gathered inspiration from these beautiful gardens maintained in the style and ethos of William Robinson.