August can feel like the height of summer in the UK, with long, warm days and gardens bursting with colour. But while it’s tempting to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour, there’s still plenty to be getting on with if you want to keep your garden in great shape.
As summer reaches its peak and gardens across the UK are brimming with colour and life, August offers a perfect moment to take stock. While it might be tempting to simply sit back and enjoy the blooms, there’s still plenty to do to keep everything looking its best. Whether you’re nurturing a productive vegetable patch, maintaining a manicured lawn, or supporting pollinators in a wildflower haven, a little timely care this month will pay off well into autumn.
Here are some key gardening jobs to keep your outdoor space thriving through August:
Deadhead for more Blooms
Many perennials and bedding plants will keep flowering into autumn if you regularly deadhead them. Snipping off spent blooms from dahlias, roses, cosmos, and pelargoniums encourages the plant to put energy into producing more flowers rather than setting seed.
Top tip: Carry a pair of secateurs or snips with you during your garden wander – it makes deadheading feel less like a chore.
Water Wisely
August can bring hot, dry spells, so watering is essential—especially for pots, hanging baskets, and newly planted shrubs. Early morning or late evening is the best time to water, reducing evaporation and allowing the soil to soak up moisture overnight.
Focus on:
- Courgettes, tomatoes, and cucumbers – keep them consistently moist to avoid blossom end rot.
- Containers and raised beds – they dry out quicker than borders.
- Lawns – consider letting them go brown during drought; they’ll recover when rain returns.
Harvest and sow veg
August is a peak month for harvesting vegetables – enjoy your tomatoes, courgettes, beans, and salad leaves at their best. It’s also a good time to sow quick-growing crops for autumn.
Sow now for autumn and winter:
- Spinach
- Winter lettuce
- Radishes
- Turnips
- Spring onions
Don’t forget: Keep picking courgettes and runner beans to encourage more to form.
Prune Summer Shrubs
Some shrubs benefit from a tidy-up after flowering. This includes wisteria, lavender, and rambler roses.
- Wisteria: Cut back whippy side shoots to 5-6 leaves.
- Lavender: Trim back spent flower stalks and shape the plant (but avoid cutting into old wood).
- Rambling roses: Prune once-flowering ramblers after they’ve finished blooming.
Prepare for autumn
It might feel early, but now’s the time to plan for late-season and next year’s interest.
- Order spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips, and crocuses for planting in September/October.
- Take cuttings of tender perennials like pelargoniums and salvias.
- Start composting grass clippings, faded bedding plants, and vegetable trimmings to make nutrient-rich compost for next year.
Tidy and mulch beds
Keep borders looking good by removing faded annuals and clearing weeds. If the soil is dry, water well and then add mulch to retain moisture and suppress new weed growth.
Good mulching materials include:
- Well-rotted manure
- Compost
- Bark chips or leaf mould
Look after wildlife
August can be a tough time for wildlife as natural water sources dry up. Help out by:
- Keeping birdbaths and ponds topped up.
- Leaving seedheads on some plants for birds.
- Letting a few windfall apples lie for butterflies and insects.
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